National Issues
The Slang: ‘Up NEPA’ -By ‘Tope Oriola
I am happy to report that after 12 years, three
You see, I was denied the pleasure of a proper power outage back at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. I was in my department’s computer lab with several other graduate students. There was “low current” and the brightness of the electricity bulbs reduced but never went off completely. All the other students ran out of the lab. Yours truly was the only one who remained in the lab. The computer backup power was on, so I continued working. The issue lasted less than a minute. Only a few of the students returned to the lab. They were apparently “too scared” to return to the lab that day. One of them in fact never returned to that lab until she graduated as she was “traumatized” by that experience. Some of the “brave” oyibo students returned to the lab. One of them was an acquaintance. She sat next to me and asked if I noticed what just happened and how everyone was scared and ran out. “Did you notice the power issue? Why did you remain in the lab”, she asked. In my head, I said “ma koba mi, arabinrin yi” (sorry, that does not translate well. I tried). I wanted to tell her how accustomed Nigerians were to power outages and how millions would be generally pleased with low current and had elaborate power stabilizers to boost power supply. I wanted to tell her that such could have been viewed as the answer to the request of prayer warriors all over Nigeria. I wanted to tell her that young children in Nigeria would not have been scared and would have instead shouted “Up NEPA”. I wanted to tell her that my fellow Nigerians would have seen nothing wrong with that and would be pleased to at least not sleep in darkness. I wanted to tell her that my people neither demanded nor expected anything significant from their government and public and private institutions. I wanted to tell her many things. But I thought to myself “shame on my enemies; why would I embarrass Nigeria and myself?” Therefore, I told her: “I didn’t think it was a big deal. It seemed to me like a massive overreaction to a minor issue”. In other words, the problem was with my fellow students who could not bear a moment of near institutional failure.
I returned to my room at Tache Hall that night and had a good laugh. I shook my head in pity at how I had been socialized to what was clearly an abnormality. I shook my head at the conditioning of my reflex reaction. I shook my head at the conditioning of my psyche. Why did I not run out like others in the lab? I told myself that I too would run out next time anything close to a power outage happened.
That was early 2006. Fast forward to 2019. I was surprised that as power went off at this furniture store, my friend and I did not react in horror. We had seen that multiple times before. Even though we had between us over 30 years of diaspora living and transnational lifestyle the conditioning of our psyche remained. One guy took out his phone and snapped pictures of the power outage. It was new and entertaining to him. The guy was probably in his 30s. It was his first time of witnessing power outage.It became clear that the effects of where children are born and/or raised last through the life course. Even reflex reactions are shaped by early socialization experiences.
Before anyone decides to use that to excuse incompetence in
To my fellow Nigerians, I am pleased to be able
Follow Oriola on Twitter: @topeoriola