Nimi Wariboko has written an insightful, ambitious, intriguing and remarkable book about the resources within Kalabari-Ijo philosophy embedded in African Traditional Religion (ATR) that are capable of creating economic development for Nigeria and by extension Africa. The book is so engaging and thought-provoking that it has the ability to keep you engrossed and oblivious of everything around you. Indeed, this book does not fill gaps, rather it opens up gaps in our understanding of the subject matter, as the author clearly states (175). Yes, this compelling book did open up some gaps, actually many gaps I did not even know existed in my understanding of the subject matter, but by the time I finished reading it, some of those gaps were closed. The book deepened and broadened my understanding of traditional African history in more ways than one.
The key concepts and resources within Kalabari-Ijo philosophy that the author focuses on in this book are the notions of destiny (telos of a person or a group, fiyeteboye), time (saki) and human flourishing (ibi-eri, lolo). These three important concepts combined are driven by desire (tari) which revolves around the gap between destiny (telos of one's/group's life) and individual success. The author demonstrates that economic policy must be guided by the desire to close this unbridgeable gap. Wariboko's commitment to producing a study that is policy-relevant is central to the book. By so doing, he achieves both academic rigour and popular appeal. The most exciting part is how he takes traditional concepts which are intimately familiar to those of us from the same region but never given a second thought (because they are common sense/second nature), and turns them into these hugely significant economic concepts capable of charting a new course of economic development for Nigeria, and convincingly too. This combination of radical conceptual leaps and robust analysis runs through the entire book, illuminating the mind. Wariboko explains what is real, what can be acted upon, and how this action can produce the desired result: human flourishing.
The author's goal, stated throughout, is to draw upon the resources within ATR and indigenous philosophy – hitherto relegated to the background due to contact with Europeans (which has to do with the dominance of European ideas within economic philosophy and the effects of colonial encounters with Europeans on understandings of economy and economics) – to the fore for the sake of conceptual clarity. His notion of human flourishing draws attention to how particular people grapple with the deep politics of time and morality, and the bulk of his sample from the Kalabari past, rooted in ATR, underpins this endeavour. The explanation of Tamuno (conditional) and So (essential) as the components of life gives life more meaning and makes us responsible to a large extent for how our lives turn out in the long run, as opposed to leaving everything in the hands of God as we tend to do in contemporary Nigeria. It also gives the reader a better understanding of the assertive, aristocratic, confident and proud nature of the Kalabari people.
The author situates his analyses of economic development and Kalabari ethos within the broader context of the split, segmented character of time, which does not allow all things to happen at once. And lived economic realities and experiences are assessed through this essential prism. Conceptualising time as the gap separating destiny from itself and rendering economic development incomplete gives time a new meaning, making the split time very complex and yet intriguing. Wariboko makes a bold assertion that he will depart from the more conventional narrative of all authentic African social ethics by rejecting an essentially social-constructionist account of pre-colonial African social ethics being about communitarianism. He argues that individualism existed but not of the Western kind. We must not view African social ethics as monolithic. Africa is not a simple place, and its ethics are not simplistically one-sided (127).
The book is replete with fascinating section titles such as ‘Agony and Antagonism of Divided Consciousness’, ‘I Love my Mama’ and ‘Naija-Dialectics’ among others. The use of such familiar and relatable titles and analogies makes the book an interesting read and drives the message home. For example, using the love of a mother to explain communitarianism versus individualism is a very brilliant idea. This means that the individual pursuit of happiness is legitimate and valid, as long as it is done within the confines of the law or the common good. Wariboko gives the reader a balanced view of individualism in pre-colonial times within the broader concept of communitarianism, which he calls Agonistic Communitarianism. In other words, we had a traditional African society that allowed and recognised unity and not uniformity.
The author uses the metaphor of the railroad tracks as the methodology of the book, which is based on the comedic style of MC Edo Pikin, a popular Nigerian comedian. Wariboko clarifies how he transformed this comedic style into a philosophical discourse through its practical application in the five chapters of the book.
However, despite the strengths of this outstanding book, it is not without flaws. Sometimes it is weighed down by its conceptual reach and attendant jargon. For example, the explanations of the different dimensions of time and the split, the different contexts of lowercase so and uppercase So, and destiny as fiyeteboye, bibibari and after-bibibari, just to name a few, could be a bit overwhelming. But then, that is why the book is not to be rushed, and neither is it for the faint-hearted. Besides, the author painstakingly explains or unpacks every concept in detail. As for the unfamiliar and technical terms, that is to be expected from one who is transdisciplinary in his scholarship.
The book is a valuable contribution to African philosophy as it gives Nigerian readers ample reasons to look within their history and indigenous ideas for their economic salvation. We only need to dig and unearth the resources for our practical use in order to survive and even thrive in a globalised world. Indeed, it is possible to be truly African and truly global without losing our Africanness. The book is a unique contribution that will appeal equally to policymakers and a wide range of scholars in African Studies, Development Studies, Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Philosophy and Research Methodology, among others.
