• 1. Asili ya uoto na uzazi

• 2. Josho la ardhi

• 3. Msaada katika mashamba

• 4. Pingamizi kazini na zohali safarini

• 5. Umeme kwa ajili ya viwanda na taa

Masika ni asili ya uoto na uzazi wa mimea. Ajabu yake ya kuotesha mbegu katika ardhi huleta wazo la ufufuo moyoni. Kwa wazo hili natangaza sifa ya masika. Nikizikwa kaburini leo, sitazamii kufufuka kesho wala mwaka ujao kama mmea, lakini nina tamaa kubwa ya maisha mapya, na kuwa roho yangu haitapotea.

Laiti pasingekuwa na masika ardhi ingekuwa jaa la kutisha na kuchukiza. Kwa sababu ya masika ardhi hujiosha uchafu mwaka kwa mwaka. Josho hili halisafishi takataka tu, lakini hupoza mwunguzo wa jua likarutubisha ardhi vile vile.

Mvua za masika ni msaada bora mashambani. Mashamba ni uti wa mgongo wa maisha yetu; na wakulima hutegemea wakati huu wa mwaka kwa kazi zao. Pasipo mvua bidii zao za kujaza maghala ya vyakula vya dunia zingepotea. Tena si bidii zao tu, hata uwezo wa mito na visima wa kutupatia maji ungeharibika vibaya sana. Kiu ingesonga koo zetu na njaa ingetuangusha chini maiti. Pangekuwa na hatari iliyoje!

Kwa kazi zisizohitaji mvua, masika ni pingamizi kubwa sana. Kila kitu hulowa mzizimo wa hewa ukafanya maisha ya nje magumu. Zohali hutokea katika safari. Chini huwako matope. Mito hufurika ikamong’onyoa udongo na reli ikachimbuliwa. Bahari hujaa msukosuko wa mawimbi. Watu hawachangamki, wanyama na ndege hujikunyata, na mimea huchuruzika maji. Mvua ikichagiza mafuriko hutokea. Hapo mazao na maisha mengi huharibika. Giza huzagaa kwa mawingu ya kijivu yata-ndayo hewani, na radi hunguruma kwa nguvu. Radi hizi hushangilia uzazi wa mimea. Huu ni uzazi mkubwa ustahilio shangwe kubwa. Mama zetu hawashangilii tuzaliwapo?

Yaonekana kama kwamba masika yamekusudiwa kuzuia watu, wanyama na ndege katika makao yao wakati maumbile ya uzazi yafanyapo kazi yake kwa siri makondeni. Mama akitazamia kuzaa hatoki nje. Haruhusu kila mtu kumwona. Hukabili uchungu peke yake kwa tamaa ya mtoto wake.

Masika yana misiba na faraja. Zaidi ya misiba iliyotajwa juu hutokea mateso ya mbu, homa na kuhara. Katika upande wa faida twapata mvua kwa ajili ya mazao yetu, maji ya kunywa na kuoga. Maanguko ya maji kama ya Mto wa Pangani katika Tanganyika ni hazina kubwa sana. Kwa maanguko haya yasaidiwayo na mvua twapata umeme unaofaa sana viwandani na kwa taa mijini. Afrika Mashariki ni nchi ya ukulima. Pasipo mvua kazi hii haifai.

• 1. Kazi ni faradhi katika maisha

• 2. Dharau ya kazi

• 3. Majivuno ya heshima ya uwongo

• 4. Watu bora hawatahayari kwa kazi

• 5. Watu walioelimika na ubora wa kazi

• 6. Huhakikisha maendeleo ya watu na mataifa

Dini zote zimehubiri mapenzi ya kazi. Agano la Kale husema, “Utakula chakula chako kwa jasho la uso wako.” Katika Islamu uvivu ni dhambi. Chakula kipatikanacho bila kazi sawa na chakula kipatikanacho kwa wizi.

Kwa maendeleo ya ustaarabu tumeanza kudharau ubora wa kazi. Ustaarabu wetu wa sasa umetupa nafasi kubwa, lakini umetufundisha kuchukia kazi. Mke mvivu huchukia jiko akamwachia mpishi kazi nzuri ya kupika. Mama mzembe huona mtoto wake kama mashaka akamwacha katika ulinzi wa yaya. Mwanafunzi goigoi hujilegeza kama mboga hata hutaka mtumishi wa kumchukulia vitabu vyake skuli. Hivi ndivyo ilivyo hali yetu juu ya kazi.

Wale waliopata utajiri au heshima hujivuna. Wafikiri kwamba namna yoyote ya kazi ya mikono si kadiri yao. Wengine katika hawa hufanyiwa kazi zao na watumishi. Huajiri watumishi wengi kwa sababu ya kuonyesha utajiri tu. Nimeona mabibi wanakwenda kutembea, wakitaka watumishi wa kuwachukulia mifuko na miavuli yao. Topasi ana heshima kubwa mno kuliko mtu mvivu ajikaliaye kitini bure. Mkulima astahili sifa kubwa mno kuliko tajiri mzembe. Nani atasema sasa kwamba hapana ubora katika kazi? Hapana aibu ya kujipatia pesa ya halali kwa kufanya kazi.

Utaratibu wetu wa elimu umehusika na chuki yetu ya kazi. Twajifunza kufanya kazi ya akili tukasahau kutumia viungo vyetu. Twatamani kazi ya akili tukajaribu kuepuka kazi ya mikono. Kazi ya akili tutakayo ina mashindano yasumbuayo sana afya yetu. Mwana wa mhunzi akielimika hustahabu kuwa karani wa kuajiriwa, kuliko kumiliki kiwanda cha uhunzi. Mwana wa mkulima akielimika hutaka sana kuwa karani katika shamba la katani, kuliko kuanzisha shamba lake mwenyewe. Mwana wa mfanyabiashara akielimika hupenda sana kuwa karani wa hazina, kuliko kuendesha duka lake mwenyewe. Heshima hii ya uongo huleta shida ya kazi kwa watu walioelimika.

Kazi ya kutumia mwili ni kitu bora. Hutuliza chakula tumboni ikaleta usingizi mzuri. Hutia nguvu mwilini ikaendesha akili. Huimarisha afya. Kazi ni msingi wa furaha yote. Mtu hawezi kuendelea pasipo kazi.

• 1. Uzuri wa mwaka hufikia upeo

• 2. Miti hupukutika majani

• 3. Maua na manukato yake

• 4. Hatari ya maua

• 5. Matunda na mboga; Tusaidie maumbile

Uzuri wa mwaka hufikia upeo wake wa ajabu wakati huu kwa sababu dunia huwa katika pambo ambalo hapana stadi awezaye kulifanya ila maumbile peke yake. Ardhi iliyoyabisika kwa jua; iliyomomonyoka kwa mvua; na iliyogeuka vumbi kwa kukanyagwa kwa nyayo, kwato na magurudumu; huziba majeraha yake mabaya kwa zulia kubwa la kijani.

Miti iliyopukutika majani kufanya mbolea chini huonyesha matawi yake matupu mbinguni. Utadhani imekufa na imekauka lakini sivyo. Imepumzishwa kuchukua mzigo wa majani mabovu ipate kuchukua tena majani mapya. Wakati huu wa kupumzika matawi yake matupu huomba Mungu kama watu wafanyavyo kwa mikono yao.

Maua mbalimbali huchanua. Kuchanua huku hufanya ardhi ionekane kana kwamba imo katika kicheko kikubwa cha furaha. Hapa maua mekundu au meupe, pale manjano au zari, huku samawati au hudhurungi, huko fua au kijivu. Kila mmea huonyesha fahari yake, na sura ya kuvuta macho huenea pande zote. Hewa hujaa manukato ya asumini, waridi, kilua na mkadi. Uvundo wa jasho hufukuzwa.

Wakati huu huu ndege hutustarehesha kwa sauti zao nzuri. Nyuki hushughulika katika maua kukusanya asali yote wawezayo na kuvuma kwao hutumbuiza sana. Na wadudu wengine huwa katika karamu kubwa. Lakini maua yote si mema. Mengine yana sumu nayo ni hatari kwa viumbe. Imesemekana kweli kuwa kinachopendeza pengine hutapisha.

Matunda mengi hupatikana katika msimu. Matunda yana ladha isiyoghushiwa inayofaa sana kwa afya. Mboga kadhalika hupatikana kwa wingi. Neema hii hutukuza msimu juu ya nyakati nyingine. Walakini, ingawaje matunda ni chakula chema lazima yaliwe kwa hadhari. Nzi hutua juu yake naye huacha viini vya maradhi. Kwa sababu matunda mengi huliwa bila kupikwa viini hivi hudhuru watu.

Hatuwezi kupamba dunia kama msimu ufanyavyo wakati wake, lakini ni hasara iliyoje kutazama pambo hilo lote likipambuka bila kutenda neno lo lote! Jambo hili lasikitisha sana. Ingefaa kufanya bustani ndogo kila tuwezapo. Hii itatukumbusha uzuri wa msimu. “Asaidiaye kuotesha jani humsaidia Mungu.” Tukisaidia kazi yake ya maumbile tutapata baraka.

This chapter explains how the artificial creation of the Nigerian state – spurred principally by colonialism – drove colonial and eventually Indigenous officials to promote a system of regionalism to accommodate the creation of a federal system of government. In doing so, the concept of ethnicity was arbitrarily and crudely introduced to the complex and diverse patchwork of peoples inhabiting what would become Nigeria. Regionalism fostered self-interested political groups, whereby the individual interests of Nigeria’s three principal regions (North, West, and East), each dominated by one of three major ethnic groups (Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo), competed amongst one another for power, leading to extraregional conflicts. Complicating this system was the presence of many hundreds of other, much smaller, minority ethnic groups. The promotion of regionalism would ultimately give rise to ethnonationalism, in which Nigeria’s three largest ethnic groups were given precedence over minority groups, leading to intra-regional conflict. The concepts of regionalism and ethnicity would become inseparably intertwined and would significantly hamper decolonization and efforts at building a consolidated and equitable state.

This chapter explores the religious influences on Nigeria, the spread and development of these religions, and their incorporation or imposition in various precolonial and colonial institutions. The topics explored throughout the chapter will lay the foundation for modern-day Nigeria’s religious make-up and sectarian conflict. There are two primary phenomena detailed in the chapter. The first is the efforts of colonial forces to implement a system of indirect rule, an essential component of which was the incorporation of pre-existing religious institutions into the colonial fold. The second was the desire of colonial and missionary forces to spread Christianity and Western culture to the various peoples of Nigeria. Both processes would promote Islam and Christianity at the expense of African traditional religions. However, Indigenous practices would vigorously resist, often infusing their beliefs into colonial institutions and various sects of Christianity.

This chapter discusses Western education in the landscape of colonial and even postcolonial Nigeria. Building upon ideas established in previous chapters, this chapter focuses on the uneven and complex adaptation of Western education and the emergence of a new middle class of low-level government and mercantile administrators. It will also touch upon traditional forms of education, explaining how colonial officials stunted or even undermined them. Of particular importance, this chapter explores the use of education as a tool of the political elite to construct systems of power and guide the development of societies. For colonial Nigeria, Britain sought to construct a system easily exploited for its natural resources, extracted by a vast underclass of cheap labor. This system would be managed by the small middle class of native elites under the authority of white British officials. This chapter will contextualize the aforementioned educational processes to explain the strategies colonial officials used to achieve their central objectives.

As represented by the title, this chapter unpacks how the British colonial administration left indelible legacies on the Nigerian state and how those legacies killed the sociopolitical fabric of the region before the institution of colonial rule. Through the concept of regionalism, which the chapter understands as “the systemic division of governmental control where a central or federal government holds clearly defined authority and power,” the colonial administration hamstrung Nigeria’s political and economic growth by creating ethnic mistrust and conflict, the marginalization of minorities and agitation among ethnicities after the development of ethnic nationalism. Self-serving interests of colonialists aimed to partition the country along arbitrary lines, disregarding the complex web of pre-existing linguistic and ethnic communities for ease of administration. The effects of these colonialist policies fueled the ethnopolitical and social conflict (and other marginalization of minority groups only possible after the creation of a state) within Nigeria, thus stymieing the development of Nigeria’s internal and independent sociopolitical structures.

This chapter will address the various peoples, polities, individuals, movements, and the social-political and economic conditions of Nigeria before the colonial era (1900). It will also go over the processes that spurred ongoing transformations in the complex patchwork of political, cultural, and religious entities that dominated what is known today as Nigeria. This chapter names five principal events as the primary catalysts for these transformations. They are the abolition of the slave trade and the switch to legitimate trade; the Sokoto Jihad; the decline and eventual collapse of the Old Oyo Empire; freed captives returning from Sierra Leone along with the arrival of missionaries; and the advent of colonial rule. These events would result in an environment of instability which gave way to new powers prompted by shifting demands from an increasingly industrialized and interconnected world. The chapter explores the social and economic shifts that resulted from these political changes and how these social and economic processes impacted the political changes in question. Finally, the chapter gives specific examples of lifestyle changes experienced by millions during this period, such as changes in clothing, religious practices, and diet.

This chapter gives a comprehensive overview of Nigeria’s colonial period. First, it defines the three distinct eras of Nigeria’s history (the colonial period is the second era). Next, it details the malicious circumstances behind the acquisition and formation of Nigeria at the hands of British authorities, the motivation of said authorities, and the reactions from Nigeria’s Indigenous groups. After colonization, the chapter describes how colonial forces governed their new territory, utilizing oppressive tactics in conjunction with local power structures via indirect rule to maintain control. Nigeria’s subjugation enabled colonial authorities to implement consequential political, economic, educational, and medical reforms. These changes incorporated Nigeria into a centralized and globalized sociopolitical system at the expense of traditional institutions. This chapter also details the gradual changes and dismantling of Nigeria’s colonial system, beginning in earnest during and immediately following World War II. Specifically, it will detail the ideological shifts that fostered various nationalist movements that demanded independence. These calls for greater autonomy would culminate in the ratification of the 1960 constitution, which gave Nigeria its independence, thus ending its colonial period.

This chapter explores the medical systems developed in precolonial and colonial Nigeria, the social, economic, and political processes which impacted the development of said medical institutions/practices, and how these systems, in turn, impacted the social, economic, and political landscape of colonial Nigeria. This chapter will use several significant pandemics, such as the 1918 influenza pandemic, to explain how Nigeria’s medical and nonmedical systems interacted during immense medical stress. The medical practices and policies explored were highly regionalized, and each Indigenous population had its specialized form of healthcare. When Nigeria was brought under the colonial fold, certain regions received more or less assistance in developing medical facilities. These developments were primarily driven by economic interests underpinned by a racist political and social system, often leading to disastrous consequences.

This chapter explores the significant impact of Nigerians in participating in World War II on the intensification of nationalist efforts and the call for decolonization in Nigeria. It starts by debunking accounts that downplay the role of British colonies in the war and demonstrates that even without the participation of the United States of America, the war would have still been a global affair. It highlights how Nigerians, especially traditional rulers, helped boost the morale of Nigerians to participate in the war and even pledged economic support in terms of kernel production. This was because the British colonies created a sense of solidarity with the British Empire. The chapter is motivated by the following question: what events could have happened throughout the war to have warranted this giant shift in attitudes toward colonialism in the country? This question is answered by tracing the history of Nigeria’s participation in World War II, the effects of the outbreak of war on British colonies, and events that generated the resolve for total self-rule in the aftermath of the war. Taking advantage of the great economic losses and human lives by Britain in World War II, the British’s imperial power and control over its territories became threatened.