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Speaking  at a conference, to mark Nigeria’s independence from foreign colonisation, Prof. Pat Utomi  asked, “Who is a citizen?” I would have thought that was obvious until he brought in Greek philosophy which identified idiots, tribesmen and citizens. I would later find this article online.

Unless you understand your role in society, you can never make any meaningful contribution. According to the Greeks there are three types of people on earth, the idiots, the tribesmen and the citizens. Studies show only 10% of Nigerians are citizens. The remaining 90% are either tribesmen or idiots.

When the Greeks used the word ‘idiot’, they did not use it as a curse word. Idiots are people who just don’t care. If they write exams they will cheat, if they are in government they will steal, an idiot does not care at all, if he eats banana he throws the peels anywhere instead of putting it in trash, according to the Greeks, some societies have more idiots than tribesmen and citizens.

The next set of people are tribesmen, these are people that look at everything from the point of view of the tribe. These are people that believe in you only if you are part of the tribe. It can be terrible to have a tribesman as a leader, he will alienate the rest. When the Greeks talk about tribes, it’s not just about ethnicity, they also consider religion as a tribe, a great percentage of Nigerians are tribesmen, because they view everything from the point of view of the tribe, they trust only tribesmen.

The last group are citizens. These are people that like to do things the right way. They will respect traffic light even if no one is watching them, they drive within speed limit, they respect the laws, they won’t cheat in exams, in government they won’t steal, they are compassionate and give to others to promote their well being.

Citizens often promote projects that benefit everyone. The Greeks called this group the citizens. Some countries have more citizens than tribesmen and idiots, some countries have so many idiots. A tribesman can become a citizen through orientation and an idiot can become a citizen by training and constant enforcement of the law.

But things fall apart if you elect an idiot or tribesman to lead you if he has not been reformed.

Where do you belong? Are you an idiot, a tribesman or a citizen. It calls for deep reflection.

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