There is a growing trend of people intentionally releasing false news to the public and later withdrawing, deleting it or keeping quiet when it is proven to be false. This is rampant on social media. Those who are most guilty of this are those who work for politicians directly or indirectly and those who want to draw traffic to their walls. They do it simply because they have read Nigerians well and seen that many (if not most) Nigerians don’t interrogate issues. Even after a false piece of news has been proven to be false, most people who read only headlines won’t see the true story. That is also why the use of sensational headlines is popular even among the mainstream media. Most Nigerians don’t bother to read beyond the headline.
Every parent wants a brilliant child with wonderful grades. But beyond the academic brilliance, there is one thing I pray for in my children: that they have a questioning mind. It is lacking in many people, especially in Nigeria. Mischievous and dubious politicians, religious leaders, thought leaders, and fraudsters are aware of this and use it to their advantage.
In this era of social media and the Internet, all a mischief-maker needs to do to get many people excited is to sit down somewhere and concoct a story and post it online, and maybe add a photoshopped picture. With the rise in the popularity of artificial intelligence, this has become easier. Even if the story looks fabulous, many will believe it and share it. If the story is made to sound plausible, that makes it easier to believe and share. The bottom line is that even with access to the Internet, many people do not bother to cross-check or question the information they receive.
It is this lack of a questioning mind that made a former minister in Nigeria believe the rumour spread in 2001 that a popular sanitary pad had been spiked with HIV to infect women. She came on national TV to threaten to deal with the company if it was found to be true. HIV was known by then to be incapable of surviving outside the body for more than five minutes. How could one add the HIV to a dry and inanimate material and then package it and transport it to distributors, who would sell to retailers who would in turn sell to individuals, and the HIV would still survive? How many days could this process have taken? Even before a buyer moves from a shop to her home to use it, would it not be more than five minutes? Yet a minister who went to the university (and probably studied natural sciences) heard such a wicked rumour meant to destroy someone’s brand, believed it and came on air to threaten the company. And she was not promptly sacked after such an embarrassment.
The reason the human race has been moving from one level of civilisation to another is that humanity continues to ask questions and seek answers to those questions. You may not be another Edison or Einstein, but you can at least utilise that which God has deposited freely in you. You don’t even need to create any new thing; all you have to do is think of a new way to do an old thing. It may simply be a new way to package an old product or a new size or shape for an old product. That can make a world of difference to your status and bank account.
Those who move ahead in life do not believe that there is only one way to kill a rat. Even when they do not know of any other means to tackle a problem, they do not conclude that there is no other way. They do not lock their mind and throw the key into a river. They may take a position on an issue but they keep their mind open in case their position is wrong. And if the need arises to change their mind on an issue, they don’t feel ashamed to do so.
They don’t feel satisfied with whatever achievement they have recorded. If they can’t think of new ideas, they ensure that they surround themselves with those who can. And they don’t condemn ideas, no matter how seemingly silly and impracticable they may appear. Einstein said that there is no hope for an idea that does not seem stupid at first. Wave-making ideas sometimes come from unusual sources.
The reason ordinary people don’t question age-old wisdom is that they do not want to stand alone; they do not want to lose the endorsement of loved ones; neither do they want to be blamed for questioning the accepted way and failing in the process. Such things don’t bother great achievers. Great achievers don’t feel their individuality if they move with the crowd.
The reason some people stand out from the pack and are celebrated by those who are even more intelligent than they are is because they have their own minds and try persistently to do what they believe in. If they fail in the venture, they are not deterred by snide remarks or the mockery of the crowd. Their conviction is what motivates them, not the endorsement of the crowd.
The bad thing about moving with the crowd is that you don’t see far ahead; you can’t even pull out along the way for fear of being vilified or trampled upon; you don’t even know the direction you are going; you believe that those in front of you know the way and you follow them sheepishly into trouble most times. But the good thing about standing apart from the crowd is that you can see clearly ahead and can decide to take left or right or turn back and start all over again later. You can rest on your way and continue when you have had enough rest.
It is better to move with a companion than a crowd. A companion will reason with you and strengthen you when you are weak, but a crowd can only lead you into confusion or danger because it acts on impulse always and changes its mind easily. That is why one can be called a saint in the morning and the devil incarnate in the afternoon by the same people. The person in question has not changed within a few hours, but the crowd’s opinion has turned full circle because a strong voice has swayed it.
All inventions and discoveries occurred because some people decided not to move with the crowd. Even when the crowd jeered at them, they were unperturbed.
Many marketing breakthroughs have come through the actions of those who chose to move away from the norm. Once they succeed, the crowd surges in their direction in adulation. Copycats join the fray promptly. But sensible imitators add a little dimension to the latest marketing breakthrough and make it their own.
In Nigeria, until the 1980s, water was sold in transparent polythene bags tied manually for those who could not afford to buy water in bottles. Then somebody decided to use a machine to seal the water. It was named pure water, not because the water was pure, but because it looked more hygienic. The water in the sachet could not be resealed once the seal was broken, unlike the case of the manually packaged water which could be untied and re-tied.
Then a milk brand appeared in sachets in 1993 and changed the market. Then other companies began to package most of their products in sachets.
There is no crime in questioning whatever exists. It helps one to have an open mind on an issue and think of ways to improve upon what exists. That is a trait of high flyers.
Credit: Azuka Onwuka