OPINION: Nigerians are the most organized people on Earth

From Maryam Ogunremi

Yes, you read that right, I’m sure you ran to the body of that headline because you disagree with me on this. Walk with me on this journey and you will understand why Nigerians are the most organized beings on this planet.

Well, you can argue that they are not as organized as other animals like ants. I will say yes and no. We all know that ants work together for the common good. When you see one ant eating some delicacies, you will soon see many of them gathering in that spot, not only to eat, but to carry whatever it is to a place where the others are. This kind of altruism is worthy of emulation. Some Nigerians do this for the greater good of their family, clan and community. Now you understand why I said yes and no.

Now, Nigerians are organized, but their organization is very different from what you think, and is not so close to that of ants. Then you wonder how I arrived at my title.

A few days ago I started my radio program with words of encouragement for Nigerians, urging them to hold on because things will get better. As we know, the current war between the United States, Israel and Iran is putting a strain on all the economies of the world. Nigerians are suffering greatly from the rising price of petrol as the Dangote refinery continues to dance the “palongo” – a back and forth movement to the beat of a song – over the way it raises and lowers the price of petrol every market day. At some point, I stopped keeping track or reading anything related to the Dangote refinery price revision.

Returning to the radio program, after concluding my warning, I opened the Whatsapp platform and also asked those from TikTok to join the conversation by telling me how they are dealing with the current increase in food and transport prices, the effect of the increase in petrol prices. Many of them have reacted by complaining about the amount of “shege” – street slang for hardship – they have experienced lately.

Occasionally, someone has asked, “How do market women, traders and taxi drivers get to set their prices immediately after there is a change in the price at the petrol pump? They always have the same price for their goods and in different places the morning after the excursion. How is this possible?!”

This has led many to wonder how this is possible because we never hear of a meeting called by any of these associations or some sort of announcement made on radio or television. How do they arrive at that pricing system?

Well, this is our reality in Nigeria. It has always been an easy move for us to inflate our prices when there is a change in policy, or a probable war in some parts of the world that affects the world’s economies. Gas stations increase prices almost immediately, regardless of what product they have for sale when the increase begins. Some even hoard their old stocks, waiting for the price to skyrocket further than usual. The traders become gods and the buyers, who were said to be kings, are left at the mercy of the traders.

Go to the markets or gas stations at that time or now that the ongoing war between the United States, Israel and Iran has gone beyond the plans of the US President, Donald Trump, and you will see how helpless the buyers are. You will see how Nigerians have organized against their fellow Nigerians. Guess what? Buyers who are at the mercy of these sellers are also sellers to other buyers and you see them wearing the mantle of sellers in their shops, offices and they do the same to other Nigerians. So it becomes a cycle.

This well-coordinated movement by Nigerians to inflict hardship on each other is what has never ceased to amaze me. Now think about how great this organized movement would have been if it had had a silver lining. Imagine us organizing ourselves this well and matching the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in our areas to participate in the ongoing voter registration. We organized ourselves so well that we completed the entire process and got our Permanent Voter Card (PVC).

Or perhaps we channel our organized nature to get up early on election days and participate in the process. Cast your vote, wait for the count and make sure the upload takes place, where the network is good enough to do so, and return home to monitor other areas via our radio or TV.

Why can’t we put the same energy into changing the prices of goods, due to one conflict or another, to do something meaningful for ourselves and Nigeria as a whole? Why can’t we organize ourselves to choose the right leader for this country? Why can’t we organize ourselves to transform Nigeria into the country of our dreams, instead of pooling the money to finance the departure of our children from Nigeria?

Do you want the country to be better? Put the same energy you are putting into inflicting pain on others into making things work well in your community and it will spread to every part of the country. A GOOD TASK NOT ONLY DESERVES ANOTHER, BUT ALSO CREATES MULTIPLE GOOD SKILLS.

Maryam Ogunremi is a broadcaster reporting from Abeokuta

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