We’re Permitted To ‘Giraffe’ Merkel’s Homework -By Angela Merkel

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany

Opportunity is something we all need. Give it to some and they’ll seize the world. When Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, provides opportunity in her country, the smart ones step into the ring and take it. This matter reminds me that those of us here may need to look at Germany and “giraffe”, a term used in school when a pupil peeps into another person’s work. Well, it happened that a young man arrived Germany under Merkel’s Refugees-are-welcome policy. Ramy Alasheq. He is a Syrian-Palestinian. A journalist and a poet. He leaves the trouble in his country behind, and has asylum in Cologne where he lives with a host family. He must have thought of many things he could do. He could have seen a barricaded highway if he had allowed himself to so do. For here’s an advanced country where every profession is set in its place. Starting out in western countries can prove intimidating for an outsider. But the young man looked at the profession he had always known. He thought just a bit more out of the box. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and rolled out his first edition of an Arabic newspaper not long ago. That was Alasheq’s response to the opportunity Merkel provided for millions of his kind.

Weeks back, I was in a crawling traffic. One pays attention to mundane things when one’s caught in the traffic. Enterprising youths stood by the side of the car, hawking pop corn. Well, I had had to guess it was pop corn, then someone confirmed it. That was because this transparent bag showed cream pellets, half the length of an adult’s finger. I was fascinated. I like creativity, and as one who exhibits it through fiction writing too, the creative dimension to any effort is what I see first. I may not like the lyrics of a song, but if the singer sings with something that smells like talent and originality, I appreciate such, and move on. So, how someone thought of making pop corn in a different way was my first thought on that occasion. I called the attention of the persons in the car with me to this point, and a conversation ensued.

That time, my emphasis was on the fact that someone came up with something that set his ware apart. He knows pop corn sells. Mums and Dads must get something for the kids. But this producer does not hit the market with what we are familiar with. He does with a brand that may soon make most children start to say, “Mummy, buy pop corn; that cream type that looks like a finger”. Even an adult would like to sample the latest pop corn in town. We all like to try something new, something different. We were still discussing when someone, who knew more than I did about the new pop corn, called my attention to a stationary vehicle a few feet away from the road. It’s one of those small trucks that sit on three wheels. The goods section of the vehicle was turned towards the road. Bent double in it was a young male Arab. Bags of pop corn, the cream, half of a finger type filled the available space around him. No doubt, he, the manufacturer, had organised the pop corn hawkers for his business. That led to another theme in the conversation I was having with the persons in the vehicle with me.

One point I emphasised was that a foreigner had seen an opportunity locals did not see. It’s often the case everywhere, not only in Nigeria. It occurred to me that I had seen many of our people making pop corn, but it was an outsider that was behind the idea of preparing and packaging it in such a different way. There’s a risk for us in that as a nation, although it’s not exactly where I am going. But the issue is that just as every Nigerian with significant naira notes in his pockets wants to be seen shopping in the more famous foreign-owned superstores, local pop corn producers may lose market to foreigners with more innovative streak. That’s one point.

The other point, which is still not where I’m going, is that many of our school leavers do not have jobs, but do we imbue them with the mentality of rolling up their sleeves, and creating something out of nothing rather than searching for jobs? Do we put in them the culture of doing something to create wealth first, before they think of expending wealth? I see many who are so self-conscious that patiently building something that will make them employers not employees isn’t an option they wish to consider; meanwhile, the opposite is the norm in advanced nations. Here, the work ethic is generally poor, and for the immediate gain, “show off” of material things, the pressure of culture, many don’t seize and utilise the “thing” in them that should make them a Bill Gate few years down the line. But above all, and this is where I am going, does Nigeria create enough opportunity for those with the mentality of Alasheq?

The question leads me back to Merkel. I was curious when Germany said it wanted refugees. Other European nations mostly rejected people from war zones, but Germany wanted them. I had taken up this matter on this page twice in the last four months. I remain fascinated by Germany’s position, nevertheless. Yes, it’s a prosperous country. But it’s not just about the wealth; Merkel has been telling critics that the immigrants will soon start to contribute to the German economy. It means she knows there’s room for foreigners to make a living. The last time I raised this subject, I had stated some of the facts and figures that Germany had, and which made it to accept a million refugees in 2015 alone. It intends to take more. This shows that the German leader has done her homework well. She knew her government had created enough opportunity that any enterprising person could take. In Germany, things work; all that’s left for whoever has a mind is add two to two, and do well for himself. Many of the foreigners that arrived recently will go into different professions, others will set up businesses as Alasheq has done with his newspaper that’s targeted at Arabs. Opportunity.

Just before I put this piece together, I was in a place with Nigerian youths in their hundreds. I didn’t see any other thing except their vibrancy, the dare-the-devil manner they carried themselves, the swagger, that unique confidence Nigerians are known for and for which some fixatedly hate our gut. I saw in them a younger generation that was full of ideas, and if given opportunity, would make Nigeria proud. I feel proud whenever I see these young people, convinced that we have a brighter tomorrow. But do we prepare that tomorrow, in order for them to take it? Do we open rooms for them to be the best they can be?

Here, I refer to what should be in its right place; what should be made available by our system that young people can utilise and then take their chances. I refer to a situation where the young engineer who dreams of fabricating Made in Nigeria cars does not abandon his dream because steel is not available where it should be. I have in mind a situation in which the young Nigerian who wants to be a publisher, like Alasheq, doesn’t abandon his dream because newsprint isn’t what he can afford. I mean, a situation where the young person who wants to start a small business is not forced to turn around and go after paid job, because the opportunity to raise the initial capital is non-existent. I’m convinced opening doors of opportunity in diverse sectors is one thing Nigeria’s leadership can concentrate on at this time in order to turn our condition around. It may check how the German Chancellor is able to substantially satisfy her people, and is so confident that she also throws the door open to millions of foreigners. I’m sure if our leadership does this, the positive outcomes will soon be seen just as Germany is already seeing, in a few people such as Alasheq, the positive outcomes of the opportunity it provides.