What would you do if you could quit?
I would start telling you all a bit more about me.
I am originally from Cameroon.
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It’s located in the ‘armpit’ of Africa. I was actually born in Nigeria where my mom was going to school, but when my family returned to Cameroon we lived there ever since. All my family is from Cameroon.
So someone recently asked me what I would do if I could quit my job. As in what will I do with all my time I guess.
That is a terrifying thought for me as I’m very dependent on my job as I’m sure many people are. I can’t imagine life without it.
However, i can give dreaming a try.
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I think I would spend more time on steemit first or at least buy more steem to help compensate for a lost job.
I would probably also travel back to my country and find ways to better my community. Where to start is the big question, what to do. The main thing I want to see change is the mindset honestly. Don’t want to bash my country but I think it’s obvious that we need to believe more in ourselves. I want to see corruption reduce at least. I want to see a society where people are held more accountable for their actions. I want to see women know that they are very invaluable to the fabrics of the society instead of believing the opposite. I want to see men give women more respect as is due. I want to travel home and make it through the airport without paying bribes. There’s so much work that needs to be done and it’s hard to imagine where to start. I ask myself what can I do as a citizen or ex citizen to improve my beloved Cameroon and it’s hard to come up with an answer.
I actually once thought of educating primarily school peoples about not contining with the bribery and horrible ways of those before them. Maybe if we can use social media somehow to call out counter productive ways and encourage the opposite , then that might be one way.
I can’t be the only one, I know a lot of people sit and talk about corruption and its ills. It’s been going on since I was younger yet it seems to have only increased. I thought my generation was going to be the one to kill corruption but I was wrong.
That’s what I want to see my country move towards or I wouldn’t be happy with the state of affairs. In fact I don’t want to stay in a country like that. I won’t be able to do anything like invest cause there’s bribes to be paid through out the process. I know that savvy investors can probably make the most of the situation in African countries like mine but I guess I’ll keep trying to bring out the best in us.
Another thing to add is i’ve Talked to people in my country before who take bribes and abuse the system and they claim to hate that they have to occasionally pay bribes themselves. In their minds they do what they have to do to survive, I understand it’s tough but we can do better and there’s no way a country can advance if there’s no morals and ethics. If there’s no respect for human decency and bribery and corruption eating at its potentials.
If I went home I would want to see people know that the future can be so much brighter if they change their mindset and become better people.
The problem you're describing is something that afflicts the majority of countries in the world. It really does not even demand an explanation. The lack of trust and trustworthiness outside the immediate circle of (extended) family and friends is the natural state of things towards which any society will gravitate unless there is something to maintain things at a higher (yet more fragile) level of trust.
What really demands an explanation is why high-trust societies exist at all. Northwestern Europe and the colonies of northwestern European countries such as New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Canada are among those countries where corruption is at a level to not be a major disruptive social force. Make no mistake, there is corruption in those countries, too, but it is much more subtle and less egregious than people living in most of the world have told me. What makes people in those countries not game the system more aggressively? How did that state of affairs manage to come about in the first place?
I suspect it has to do with a combination of the right circumstances arising at the right time. Cohesive groups larger than the family emerged each vying for power but eventually being forced to share power and agreeing on a set of rules to be followed. Perhaps the most encouraging examples outside of the West where this process can repeat itself are Taiwan and South Korea. Neither started out as a stable democracy where political parties or factions alternated between governing and being in opposition with smooth transitions with confidence in not being excluded from power forever after stepping down voluntarily.
Thanks for your contribution, but you surely have no idea about the level of corruption in African countries. It’s very bad, that’s why nothing gets done. If funds are provided to construct a road in most western countries, they might take some money and construct a less fancy road with cheaper materials. In African countries, they steal all the money.
I think Cameroon is still learning corruption compared to Nigeria,
It is in Nigeria you will hear that a snake swallowed 36 million naira. Politician now use burial grounds to store their stolen money. It is here that lwas enforcers are the first law breaker.
it is in Nigeria an IG of police refused to obligue call to the senate for briefing.
It is in Nigeria that some heartless individual enrich themselves at the detriments of internally displaced persons. Buying and supplying food items from ghost vendors.
A whole lot to be done in Africa.
Very funny @hillary. I’m truly hopeful and believe that better days are to come.
Yes, @leggy23....I am hopeful too that the genuine internal change we need wiill eventually come.
It's the African situation precisely that doesn't require any explanation at all. And yes, I know how bad it can be. A cousin of mine spent a year as an exchange student in Namibia. It was a lesson in how to live in a state of total lack of trust. The circle of trust in many African countries appears to include family members and friends exclusively. From that perspective, it is perfectly logical and, in fact, the right thing to do towards the only people who matter to steal as much as possible if some strangers have been foolish enough to entrust any money in one's custody. It is the African situation that is the natural order of things and makes perfect game theoretical sense. Everybody following "Always betray" in a tournament of Prisoners Dilemma is a Nash equilibrium, that is, a state where nobody has anything to gain by changing strategy. It is a truly hopeless state of affairs unless something radical comes along.
I believe that one game changer could be the blockchain or other cryptographically secure distributed ledger technologies designed to produce consensus in a fully trustless environment. If Africans are unable to build mutual trust(worthiness), then their next best alternative is to rely on distributed consensus algorithms designed to work even if every actor is assumed to be hostile.
Very nice comments on game theory, thank you!
Game theory applied to society is a very interesting subject matter. One must always remember its limitations, of course. There are many lessons to be learned.
Not sure what game theory is, but like you said blockchain technology might be the game changer for African countries in many ways.
I already will probably start using more crypto currency as a means to send money to family instead of western union and money gram. I pay less fees too.
Game theory is the study of games. Many situations can be modeled using game theory as representing one type of a game or another. Game theory is a branch of mathematics that can be applied in economics, for example.
Are there crypto brokers in Cameroon that would allow your family members to exchange crypto for fiat?
My brother uses some website on his phone to convert crypto to Ugandan shillings.
I agree people need to start calling the gov on this, but it's so difficult. Most governments in Africa are violent dictatorships, they will resort to anything they like to have their way..
So the Agorism we learn regarding this is to simply teach people to bypass their governments to get things done ;-)
If you read what Dan has to say on the subject, listen to his interviews, it's incredible how much this thinking has gone into the Steam blockchain and his other projects.
More than anything simply showing people the new communication tools that allow them to organize without impediments, and raise funds online with out banks, these are huge new tools that simply require everyone to understand and begin using.
It seems that you were talking about Venezuela with that friendly example @leggy23.From before this crisis happened the funds deviated in this way "with labor and cheap materials".... The friend Markku is right, most of the countries with bad abmanation this kind of thing happens.
I am ashamed to tell you that Africa has the longest serving presidents. Imagine having presidents ruling his country of less 2 million people for 38 years. It is very sad. Power transitioning is very difficult in Africa. I will be glad if you could cover longest-serving presidents in your bedtime facts.
That's a great idea. Monarchs should be excluded because their position is usually hereditary and life-long barring serious health issues combined with an eager heir to the throne lined up.
That is good. They should. I am surprised Monarchy still reigns over countries these days though.
I wasn't expressing any kind of a political opinion but saying that to make a list of heads of state who have held the office the longest it would make sense to exclude monarchs for the reason that very long presidencies are usually a symptom of something gone wrong in the political system whereas a monarch can be a completely apolitical figure without power like Elisabeth II of the United Kingdom.
oooh wow,
Searched for this everyday since I have known you.
I have always wanted to really really know who @leggy23 is.
Steemit sometimes makes us feel like a reply and post bot.
Thanks for sharing this. I knew you had connection with Nigeria somehow but I couldn't place my finger on where the connection is.
As for your post above,
I do admire your dream, sometimes we Africans struggle to face issues arising from bad governance and corrupt practices.
In the quest to be great in life we are challenged by situations that ought not to be. Our opportunities are caught short.
We may end up spending quality time trying to fight "fat-ass" corruption, this quality time that are supposed to be invested in our dreams.
I resigned from my job this week just to face my schooling and steemit.
prior to this time it wasn't easy joggling work, school and steemit.
Now I have more time yet my country situation won't allow me to be fully productive; since yesterday they haven't been power supply.
Literally for the past 13hours there hasn't been power supply where I reside...
These are some of the challenges we face.
I haven’t been to Nigeria since I was maybe 4-5 years old.
I’m hopeful that things will change, we are the ones that make our country the way it is. Those in charge are less than 1% of the population. I think as people we need to create the society that we want to live in and it might be small things we do but nothing is too small.
Deep words...
You are absolutely correct.
Thanks for the response @leggy23
Nice description. Thanks for sharing with us a part of your life @leggy23
Hello friend, what good and touching pots of your part. It is unfortunate that corruption is taking over more and more countries in the world. I am from Venezuela and also our country is beautiful and with very good people but unfortunately it is like Cameroon according to your summary, here there is a lot of bribery, men do not respect women, children do not have good education, much less adequate food. My advice to you, is that if you are going to help your community you do it without expecting anything in return and so do not get hurt in the process. Since struggling against the system is difficult and changing that mentality costs a lot but if you can. If you put your grain of sand you can be calm with yourself that you did something to improve and you can sleep with a clear conscience. A hug for you
Thanks for you comments, I know Venezuela is a very rich country yet it’s resources are terribly mismanaged.
We have to do better. When we complain about corruption I always say we do this to our selves most of the time because they do not take the bribes and give to some government officials, they all keep the money to themselves.
In that you have much reason. Venezuela has 30 million inhabitants and only a few enjoy its wealth. The worst of everything both here and in Cameroon is that people are already used to living in this way and making them change their minds is a bit difficult. The change must begin with ourselves and then with your family and friends and each one must put their grain of sand to build a country with values and respect for life. Since it is no longer respected neither the elderly nor anyone. :(
It is a great feeling to see a fellow Cameroonian who is already established on Steemit. Great story!
Nice to meet you @akomoajong, I’ve been trying to reach other Cameroonians here forever. I hope to see a lot more. Where are you located?
Sorry, for the unreliability. Please join us here:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/4Cg9NWeFK7l2KFpYVuNFb4
Thanks, I finally joined.
Great!
I got to your post because I'm trying to reach out and unite all Cameroonians on steemit. I'm in Buea.
Care to join us on Discord? https://discord.gg/CefEEgU
Or send a whatsapp message to the number in the first comment of my title "A call post to all Cameroonian Stemians" to be added in group, I wouldn't want to share my number so publicly.
Thank you for your reply.
Hello friend, your post is very beautiful, you need a lot of help, both humanitarian and for the country, mine also needs it, how wonderful that you have this initiative for something starts or others will come alone, in God's name everything will be on your side and You can contribute many things. Greetings, you are a very good person, blessings for you.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
I hope that soon you can visit them it would be wonderful.
I can feel the pain of yours while reading your words
Positive attitude and motivation should spread and people should think about
mankind not for the piece of land and personal things.It's Interesting post,
Dear friend, I understand that you feel with your arms tied, with so many things to do and how many people to help if you came back to your camerun, the opposite happens to me, but I have the same feeling. My country is going through a crisis so crude that we no longer have any hope for our future and that of our children, we all have plans to leave this country. Many of those who have left help their families who stay here. So I understand what you want and want.
You have a very positive approach and I like that! You also have great ideas to create change and to help the people of Cameroon! But don't quit your job just yet!
Congratulations - 100% Upvote #3!
https://steemit.com/contest/@otage/winner-reverse-acronym-contest-vi
No, not yet. Thanks otage, I’m hopeful for the future of Cameroon.
wow...great post. Thanks for pouring your heart out and sharing your aspirations with us.
I feel the exact same way. There needs to be more accountability in Africa and more transparency.
But it starts with the youth...they are the future. We need to set better examples for them to follow and inspire them to think out of the box and be creative in coming up with solutions to improve their nations. I applaud all those millionaires in Africa like Tonye Rex Idaminabo who encourage entrepreneurship in Africa.
It is unfortunate that the current generation of most African leaders are corrupt and blinded to the suffering of the people.
Africa has the youngest population in the world! can you believe that?
According to the United Nations Development Program,by 2055, the continent’s youth population (aged 15-24), is expected to be more than double the 2015 total of 226 million. Yet the continent remains stubbornly inhospitable – politically, economically, and socially – to young people.
The most important factor determining whether Africa prospers or suffers in the coming decades will be the ability of the governments to address the needs of their vibrant youth population.
Thanks for sharing your input, i did read similar statistics on @markkujantunen’s post some time ago.
I have to say I have lost faith in our government . I think we are approaching a new era. We need to take matters into our hands and create the lives we want. I am hopeful that platforms like steemit will help us create and reach goals that government couldn’t achieve. I think it’s important to not become too dependent on it either. I think it’s important to create self sustaining systems with the aid of steemit- such as small businesss.
We need to ask more what can I do for my country and my people instead of what can my country do for me.