{UAH} Why it may take double effort to be productive in Uganda
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2:22 PM |
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Sometimes the seemingly small things that we overlook might matter much more than those on which we put so much effort.
Every socio-political setting is such that it has its own dynamics of social arrangement, networks, trust, fears and value. Without keenly understanding these, you may not be able to appreciate why people behave the way they do, and how to bring about any change you might desire.
For instance, I look at our circumstances in the academia and wonder at the social disparities between academics in Europe or America and ours here. I am not talking about the commonly cited factors such as access to funding, technologies, or literature. Rather, the sociological ones that have a bearing on our concentration and productivity.
In Europe, an academic can have the luxury of focusing only on his/her scholarly work and immediate family. Indeed, many will either have about two children or none. One may say that it is still our choice whether to have children or not. To some extent, yes. But it is not entirely so.
I know of a few unmarried and childless colleagues who have to endure social pressure of questions about when they plan to get married and have children. In many African settings, it is a social obligation to produce children; and this is a strong determinant of how society relates with you. Thus even those who do not have the means or wish to start a family are somehow compelled to.
Therefore, many academics in our setting will either have a family or perpetual social pressure to deal with. When you have a family, your worries are also of a special kind. There are no guarantees on good education, healthcare, or shelter. It is all on your shoulders, and requiring excessive personal supervision.
When a child falls sick, you not only worry about having money to meet the bills. You are also not sure if the drugs are effective or not. Because you hear that there is India and UK. Worse still, you worry not to land in the hands of a quack. So, you constantly have to call home to check if there is any improvement or reaction to the treatment. These doubts and suspicions consume a lot of our time.
Your phone is constantly buzzing, and you cannot afford to switch it off – or else someone you could save ends up dying. Chances will be high in our social setup that you are among the few lucky ones in your clan to make it to some level of considerable success.
In our wide web of relations, many of them run to you in case of difficulties and emergencies. Your success is theirs too. That is why when you land on a big position, they will celebrate that 'tugudde mu bintu' (we have fallen into things) – partly what facilitates nepotism and tribalism in our societies.
As you try to concentrate on writing a paper, a call comes in from the village: 'jajja wo ali wano embwa emulumye ate tetulina motoka emutwaala mu ddwaliro' (your grandmother has been bitten by a dog, and we don't have a car to take her to hospital). You can't count on a ready ambulance in the neighbourhood. It is you to make frantic calls and arrange.
Meanwhile, your cousin is calling too. She was abandoned by her boyfriend with a child. She has failed to raise school fees and is being chased from the rental house by the landlord. You might have an option to run away from such social pressures. But even if your heart could allow you to do so, the price might be too high.
You are expected to attend endless wedding and kwanjula meetings, and to visit relatives too. When they call, no matter what you are engaged with, they expect you to pick. And you do not want them to start accusing you of 'being proud'.
With pakalast, a call can wind and wind without really saying anything - just as it is okay in our social relations for one to visit you without appointment and talk for as long as they wish to stay.
If they know your office, they will pop in at any time they want, just to check on you. Meanwhile, it is impolite to tell a visitor that they found you busy with something. What can be more important than attending to your people? Not a job task. There is no way through a house; once in, they are your guests for a treat.
Then if you are on social media, comes the pressure of WhatsApp groups. The extended family on the maternal side has a group you are added to. The paternal extended family has a group too. Your own nucleus family also has a group. Your residential neighbourhood has as well added you to theirs. A colleague has also created a group for their forthcoming wedding and included you. And somehow, they all expect you to be active there. Or else, you acquire an unpleasant tag.
By what discipline can one concentrate in our circumstances? If you are building, you have to constantly follow up. Or else the building materials will disappear, or someone will disastrously go contrary to your desires.
The understanding that many people around you are potential cheats wastes a lot of valuable time. You have to sit at the garage as your car is being repaired; otherwise, they remove parts and replace them with older ones. The maid is also likely to drink the child's milk.
In the midst of all this, you have to work harder for retirement. Therefore, you will need to nurture a side hustle. For you know that, in our society, there is no fall-back position in old age and all its expensive disease challenges.
The author is a teacher of philosophy.
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