This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
On a trip to Lagos, Nigeria, I witnessed a peculiar scene at the Murtala Mohammed airport. A middle-aged man was ushered to the front of the immigration queue and attended to within seconds. This happened to another man and a middle-aged woman a few minutes later. I was frustrated, but I convinced myself that they might have been feeling unwell.
However, when we landed at London's Heathrow Airport, I was shocked to see the same individuals standing behind me in another queue. This experience repeated itself in various areas across the continent, where people who disregard traffic rules at home suddenly follow them abroad.
As I reflected on this phenomenon, I realized that it's not just about individual behavior, but also about the underlying culture of a society. In a recent series, we highlighted the distinction between one-talent and five-talent nations. While strong leadership is essential, it's not enough to drive growth.
Take, for instance, the cases of Nigeria under Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha. Both leaders were known for their strong hands, but their administrations were marked by a lack of structure and order. This led to a steady decline in the nation's development.
According to Hans Rosling in his book Factfulness, all nations were at the same level in 1800, with a life expectancy of roughly 30 years. However, as nations developed, one common thread that separated the successful from the less successful was the presence of structure and order.
Sweden, for example, saw the evolution of indoor cold water taps and latrine buckets, which represented a significant improvement over water from rivers and open sewers. As structure and order became cultural, societies were able to grow and transition from one-talent to five-talent nations.
Today, nations that have made this transition have had leaders who drove a clear agenda with emphasis on order. Once a strong culture of order and structure is established, the transition begins. Perhaps we can start by promoting road civility as a reflection of national civilization.
Wale Akinyemi is the chief transformation officer, PowerTalks
