‘The people who once granted power, high office, legions, everything, curtailed their scope and revealed their anxiety for two things only: bread and circuses.’
– Satire X, Juvenal, 100 CE
The phrase bread and circuses—Panem et circuses in Latin—is mostly credited to Juvenal, a late first and early second-century Roman poet who adopted it in some of his political satires (particularly Satire X).
The phrase means to generate public approval, not by excellence in service or policy, but by diversion, distraction, or superficiality that satisfies the most mundane requirements of a populace. This is exemplified by offering palliatives such as grains (bread) or public distractions in entertainment (circuses).
In Nigeria, stomach infrastructure is widely acknowledged as a dimension of infrastructural development. Besides, in recent years, there seems to be tonnes of rice to the rescue for every one of our national issues.
Bread and circuses might be useful in politics but not as essential in governance. The drama of politics often mirrors the culture and reality of a people’s existence at a particular time. Therefore, bread might be a priority in a nation ridden with multidimensional poverty. On the other hand, transformational leadership and governance envisage and accept the challenges and responsibilities of change. In essence, effective leadership does not merely aspire to transformation but must be able to communicate and willing to accept the responsibilities and demands of change that national transformation requires. Unarguably, the demands of transformational leadership and governance are beyond the tokenism of bread and circuses as noticeable in this clime.
The Nigerian reality is comparable to an attempt to power a gas engine with diesel, meaning that expecting national transformation in its current state is mostly improbable. Some have described this reality as a ‘collision of civilisations.’ For clarity, Nigeria is a part of the global economy with a Western epistemic structure. Nevertheless, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the adult literacy rate in Nigeria remains below 60 percent, ranking 187th globally.
Additionally, about 18.3 million Nigerian children of school age are currently out of school, and many more do not have access to quality education. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria, making Nigeria the highest contributor globally.
Similarly, a significant portion of economic activities in Nigeria occurs in the informal sector, which, although might have a tangible market value, is often troublesome and difficult to manage. This is due to a lack of data and a workable legal framework and institutions, thereby leading to a lack of transparency and accountability in the system. This has further allowed unscrupulous individuals in both the private and public sectors to perpetuate the underdevelopment of the nation.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regions with the lowest levels of informality are the most developed in the world, and vice versa. Nevertheless, more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s economic activities are informal. This raises the question: how can a nation be governable or achieve sustainable transformational development without first addressing this reality?
The transformation process starts with recognising and acknowledging the value and identity of a people. Every Nigerian should be aided through quality education and proper orientation to recognise their individual and societal worth. Nevertheless, an identity that goes beyond numbers begins with recognising the dignity of every human being, which will be evident in a tangible investment in human capital development, particularly quality education, healthcare, relevant skills development, and a generally humane cultural experience.
However, human life seems to be less valued in Nigeria compared to other parts of the world, with the average life expectancy in the country being 54.6 years, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This is largely due to the very poor standards of living of the population and the severity of human rights abuses rampant in the country. Human capital development must be prioritised for national development and transformation before the demand for patriotism and dedication to one’s country through civic responsibilities and tax payments, among others. It is simply unreasonable to demand values that were never invested.
When people are empowered through human capital development, they will, by extension, learn to appreciate and value each other’s diversity and develop the ability to add value to things while contributing positively to the economy through productivity, patriotism, tax payment, and other requirements for national development.
Furthermore, it will significantly reduce the unnecessary demands of palliative and government subsidies. In situations where palliatives and subsidies become unavoidable, transparency and accountability provided by data, institutions, and a well-organised economy will minimise the misuse of efforts and scarce resources as currently being experienced in Nigeria.
Unarguably, those unwilling to uphold accuracy in history and records through institutional development cannot embrace the requirements of transformational leadership and development. Institutional development is integral to the process of transformation and growth for any society.
Imagine the challenges that the availability of data and accurate record-keeping mechanisms and accessibility through effective institutional development will pose to earthen vices that have held the nation in bondage, such as misappropriation of public funds, ballot box snatching, certificate forgery, banditry, and kidnapping, among others. No doubt, such vices would have been significantly minimised with proper structure and institutions in place, while tokenism and mediocracy that have hindered transformational leadership and development in nations like Nigeria would have been greatly reduced.
Some have in fact argued that the critical challenges of Nigeria stem more from incompetency and mediocracy than from corruption, as it is widely believed. Nonetheless, the unavailability of records through effective institutions, incompetencies, mediocracy, nepotism, corruption, and related vices are not unconnected to underdevelopment.
In summary, the idea of tokenism, superficiality, and mediocracy that is gradually becoming a culture in Nigeria due to the lack of workable institutions is a threat to the developmental aspirations of our country. Therefore, leaders who desire to see the birth of a new Nigeria must prioritise human capital development and value transparency, accountability, and competency in governance as afforded by accurate data collection, record-keeping, and effective institutional development.
Tolu Olagunju; School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos
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