EDIDIONG'S PUBLIC DIARY

The average Nigerian thinks short-term. His roof is leaking, and he does not fix it because he is moving out in 3 months. So his roof leaks for the next 3 months. A man hears a grinding sound coming from his car. He does not want to spend the money to get it checked. Then his car dies. Crazy behaviour, right? Wrong. Humans will naturally always evolve to a system that makes rational economic sense and have the best possible outcome. The behaviour of Nigerians is completely rational and for the best benefit of the person. Why? We live in a society where there is no institutional way to solve problems. The courts don’t work, the police works in a strange and warped manner, and all other institution based things barely work. So everyone is on their own. In addition to that, things change very rapidly and without pre-warning. A change of government can have wide-reaching consequences to the individual (e.g. his uncle gets dismissed from the civil service). This combination — uncertainty about what the future brings and the fact that there is nowhere to complain about anything is what drives the behaviour of Nigerians. It’s completely rational and it’s what people should do in this situation. So don’t say “Nigerians should stop doing x”. We do it because it’s the best way for us.by Mark Essien