One of the numerous reasons why African nations in general and Nigeria in particular are still under developed could be located within the ambit of less emphasis being given to the culture of dignity of labour.
It is with the dignity of labour that makes all types of jobs to be respected, presupposing that no occupation is superior.
It is to be noted that one of the major contributions of the Protestant faith to the world is the culture of dignity of labor. At the time Martin Luther, John Calvin and other leaders of the protestant reformation started their works of reformation in Europe, Europe was as backward and as underdeveloped as most countries in Africa today.
Some of the countries we now respect in Europe, like Germany and England, were so backward and underdeveloped that Germans were known as lazy drunks who despised any form of hard work. In England, things were so bad that the streets of London had homeless people everywhere dying of poverty, prostitution, alcoholism without any hope of things ever getting better.
“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” -John Carmack
When the protestant preachers began delivering their extremely fiery messages in the churches and in the streets of Europe, one of their main focus was called the dignity of labor. Which entailed the following facts;
Everybody must get a job.
All jobs must be respected, because they are being done unto God.
By working we become co-workers with God.
Work is a form of service to God.
No occupation is considered superior since everyone is doing his best where he is.
You need to work even if it is a menial or dirty job, because every job is participating in the process of creation.
Everybody must work even if you are not working for money. You must work to actualize yourself.
“He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Ancient Proverb
What this very commendable efforts of preachers did to Europe is that:
It took people off the street.
People were taught that they were created by God and they themselves must become creators like God.
There came a respect and dignity for work.
People began to understand that wealth and success is not a matter of luck.
Superstition regarding work and wealth was broken. Everybody now knew that wealth comes only from hard work, not from some superstitious beliefs.
The society was taught to respect all workers.
Each worker no matter the level, knows he is participating in the process of creation with God hence the dignity.
Every worker knows that by working, he is releasing the nature of God in him. He is becoming creative just like God is creative.
In the process, factories, industries began to spring up all over the place.
It led to industrial revolution with 75 percent of inventions and discoveries being credited to Protestants who were taught in the culture of dignity of labor.
I believe that for Nigeria and other third world countries to truly become developed, we must change the culture and attitude of our people towards work. I see that the culture that is prevalent right now in Nigeria and indeed Africa is the culture of Get Rich Quick.
“The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Work is the key to success, and hard work can help you accomplish anything.” ― Vince Lombardi
What the culture of get rich quick does to our people is:
Young men only wish to do prestigious work.
Our young people look for quick answers and solutions.
People want to get something for nothing.
They look down at people who are engaged in manual labor.
Fraudulent money schemes are prevalent in the society
Armed robbery, theft becomes the order of the day.
People don’t believe that hard work is worth it.
People begin to think that there is no natural process to success, hence the fraudulent novel rich (swindlers, drug pushers, 419 scammers etc.) begin to become respected in the society
People forget that they have to create their wealth in their nation. They rather think they must be given.
The escapist mentality becomes prevalent, giving birth to the syndrome of economic refugees.
What the new government of Nigeria and other African governments must do, is to start a massive reorientation campaign in the culture of the dignity of labor. We must bring back dignity to hard work. Our people must once again realize that it is only hard work and excellence that leads to wealth creation.
Wealth gotten from dishonest means will reduce and a diligent worker will enjoy increase
It must once again become a common knowledge to our people that it is only the wealth that we create that we can share. From our primary schools to secondary schools, to tertiary institutions, there must be a mass campaign to educate our people in the value of labor.
Every major outward change must first begin in the mind. So for us to expect development in our nations, we must first bring development to the minds and understandings of our people. The change we quest for outwardly must first be attained inwardly.
One destructive mindset that must be altered in our society is the thought that work is a curse. Some people advocate that if you are truly blessed you don’t need to work hard. Because as they say the “race is not to the swift,” I even heard statements like “a day of favor is better than a thousand years of labor.” To make things worse, this type of teachings are actually coming from our pulpits. We call ourselves Protestants, but we have totally departed from the teachings of the early Protestants. Martin Luther, John Wesley and John Calvin would turn in their graves, if they hear the kind of teachings we are now feeding the people of God with.
While they, the early Protestants focused on forming the nature of God in people, the Protestants of today are focused on gratifying the needs of the people. As a result of their teachings, the early Protestants created a new society that we now refer to as developed and advanced countries. It is the descendants of these early European protestants that later scattered throughout the surface of the earth. Everywhere they went, they took the same message and culture of dignity of labor with them.
As a result, these Protestants that moved to Australia, brought about a quick and accelerated growth and development. When they went to America with the same work ethic and culture of dignity of labor. America quickly became a developed and advanced nation.
The descendants of these early Protestants took this same culture to South Africa, New Zealand, and everywhere they went, they were able to replicate the same work ethic that resulted in growth and development.
Even today in modern Europe, it is a known fact that the most developed countries are the countries with the Protestant tradition while the dominantly Catholic nations like Spain, Italy, and Portugal are less developed.
What I am trying to say is, we must change the minds of our people towards positively relating to work, labor, etc. Our government, media houses, schools, must focus on creating a new culture in our society. A culture of work. A culture of labor. A culture of diligence. A culture of hard work. A culture of perseverance. A culture of persistence. A culture of DIGNITY OF LABOR.
Adelaja is a Pastor and lives in Kieve, Ukraine. [myad]
