The Long Route

by Edward Agbai

Taking the long route could also mean coming from a poor background where you must struggle for everything, including being loved. A polygamous family setting does breed unnecessary competition among wives and children to get the father's attention. It breeds hatred, strife, and confusion. The most advantageous ones are the ones loved by the father or better still, the mother that has the father's attention. Polygamy as being practised in my tribe, the Ijaw tribe of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, is one filled with tales of sorrow and betrayals (it does not mean positive stories do not come out of such marriage, but when the negatives outweigh the positives, there is the tendency for generalization). It does not seem fashionable today as many young Ijaw men prefer monogamy because taking care of one woman is a difficult task on its own, given the economic hardship and harsh realities of present-day Nigeria.
Taking the long route culminates in reaching the pinnacle of success at a much older age. I had to lay this foundation for my perspective on taking the long route; it does not have to be at old age before someone reaches the pinnacle of his/her career.
Taking the long route is a by-product of an inequality policy in my country. The inequality policy of quota system (a quota system gives preference to less educated areas of a country to have access to education at a lesser qualification and standard). It solves the initial problems of bridging the education number for the region in the short run. However, it has negatively affected our collective productivity because a region keeps producing low-quality manpower. A possible solution is to have a sunset clause to this quota system and implement a baseline education policy for every citizen. This way, resources are allocated equally, and regions grow according to their strengths and capacities when aligned with the human and natural resources domiciled within these regions.