The Transformational role of Story-telling in nation building .
Recently, I watched the documentary “The Last Year” on Netflix. The last year chronicles Obama’s last few months in office, and the work his foreign policy team had done — especially in the areas of fostering diplomatic breakthrough in politically hot topics like the Iranian nuclear deal plan, the Cuban/US deal, the Paris climate accord, Syrian ceasefire et al.
I thought the documentary was well curated, and at times, it really succeeded at passing on really powerful, compelling stories. FYI- If you pay close attention to him, Obama can often come across as a master at passing on emotive words that triggers one’s inner conscience.
There were particular scenes in the documentary that really struck a chord with me, and provoked an inner yearning that led to me writing this article.
Most notably, the quote that resonated with me the most, was Obama’s response to a question posed to him by a young man during a trip to Vietnam. At a Q & A session with young Vietnamese leaders, an unassuming young man asked a seemingly vague question — “..how can we be great like you?”
Obama’s response was [and i quote]:
“One of the things i have learnt about being a leader is, sometimes, we think that people are motivated only by money, or they are only motivated by power or these very concrete incentives. But people are also inspired by stories”.
Obama went on to support his argument with the story of the American “Declaration of Independence” publication authored by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and 2 other congressmen.
The document’s argument largely circled around the need to propose a motion at the US Senate- towards securing America’s independence from the British. The declaration of independence was officially passed by the American Senate on July 4, 1776.
Obama went on to describe how Americans held the story to be self-evident that all men are equal.
The history of America’s independence is a story told so well, that it is often used to bring the country together during times of racial divide. The story resonates so deeply, that it helps bring cross-racial solidarity towards the fight against soci-economic and racial divide at the time it is most needed.
Today, this story is often referenced as a source of strength, and is often employed to invoke a sense of unified purpose during challenging political and socio-equality discourse such as the ones seen with the #blacklivesmatter movement.
This got me thinking about how this idea of storytelling can potentially play an important role in strengthening the discourse of nation-building in developing African nations. Could it be that the African leaders that will architect the transformation of the continent would be the ones that can employ and equip themselves with compelling storytelling as the key capital used to capture the imagination, and win the support of the people at the same time?
But how do you employ storytelling in a continent where material resource & bribery seem a more convincing incentive for people? A place where preying corrupt politicians offer people short-term tokens in exchange for votes. This dreaded situation has often led African nations through an abyssal cycle of regressive governments. It’s a truly sad situation.
Once every few weeks, my partner and I entertain friends at our home in Melbourne. Most of the discourse navigates the happenings in our local and foreign politics. Most times, we find ourselves in this endless conversations about the issues that affect us as minorities in our country. But our key conversations discuss the issues on Africa, but we never seem to be able to point out what the possible solutions for the issues can be.
At times, during these gatherings, we often delve into positive topics that touch on the progress people of colour are making in and outside of our circles. We often replay TEDtalks podcasts-very often in an unorthodox format where we pause a “talk” mid-way through and attempt to analyse the topic discussed, very often drawing parallels with real-life experiences and the assertions made by a speaker.
Most Tedtalk speakers often use a familiar format where they structure their conversation by using statistical data, personal & professional experiences, research findings and humour to connect with the listeners.
What I find, is that very often, the speakers that tap into compelling storytelling narratives to support their topics, are often the topics that are the most popular amongst subscribers.
This trend points to the fact that employing great storytelling can truly Capture the imagination of people, and can be used to further shape the way people think about topics across various spectrums.
In fact, the more I research on the topic of storytelling and its influence in political spheres over time, the more I become more convinced that it can truly be a tool to not only capture people’s imaginations but to also sell a vision to people. Ultimately, slowly becoming the glue that strengthens the vision of a people & bringing them together towards a common goal on nation building.
In this next section will try to review examples of where storytelling has been pivot to transforming the fortunes of a people within recent historical timelines.
We will also see how leaders are tapping into the history of a nation and using these stories to inspire and transform nations.
Learnings from the UK Recession
In early 2009, I had gone to Business School in England, right in the middle of the GFC 2008 recession. I watched the ever-busy cranes around the fringe of Manchester city dwindle in numbers each day. The prosperity that the North West of England had enjoyed in recent years seemed to be slowing down, due to lack of market confidence and its resulting effect on public spending.
The UK Prime Minister at the time, Gordon Brown, was facing a difficult time politically with pressure from the opposition to change the fortunes of the nation. He also faced growing challenges within his own Labour Party as confidence dwindled on his approach to fiscal economic policies. The conservative (opposition) party’s leader - David Cameron went on to win the 2010 elections to become the new British PM.
His (David) brief was simple and urgent- Usher the nation out of austerity, and back into economic prosperity. David Cameron went on to make the bold decision to cut Britain’s growing deficit in a bid to control borrowing, repay national debt and secure the impressive credit rating of the country.
But it was a difficult decision that would hit most British families where it truly hurts financially and socially. The new ruling government’s proposal meant that the welfare and credit systems would be hit, many jobs will be cut, and the challenges ahead seemed enormous. These were deep austerity times.
The whole nation appeared worried about the drastic, aggressive proposal to cost-cutting. Then, one day, on national TV, i watched a seemingly convincing David Cameron work magic on the country, using the compelling tool known as story-telling.
Young David Cameron captivated and gained the attention of the nation’s ear by telling stories of Britain’s history of grit and resiliency. He quoted leaders such as Winston Churchill several times in his passionate, emotive speech. He orchestrated a narrative where he drew similarities and parallels on how past British leaders had helped navigate the country out of economic depressions and wars.
He stressed on the urgency for the country to make the hard decisions to secure the future of generations to come. He revealed how Britain’s impressive S & P’s triple A rating was at threat of being downgraded.
These were indeed difficult times for a country that has, for the last decade, enjoyed impressive growth in its middle class. Young David Cameron’s passionate speech was indeed persuasive, and strategically structured around storytelling to drive home support for the government’s plan.
Watching from my flat in Manchester, I really thought that he delivered a powerful pitch. I hadn’t seen anything like that before. I wasn’t alone though, the speech had struck a chord with many people across the country — from the blue-collar folks in North West England to upper-middle-class Britain in Reading and Edinburgh.
The coming days after David Cameron’s speech was interesting- even some opposition party members seemed to endorse Cameron’s strategy. David’s magic at selling a story of defiance and grit had worked on the people very well.
I found the bravery to adopt the hard approach outstanding. In contrast, a nation-wide realisation that legacy will outlive any wealth or convenience is nowhere to be found in most African countries.
Most Brits felt that despite the aspiration and need to secure a great, comfortable life, it was more important to make personal and communal sacrifices to secure the future of generations to come.
To do this, the British people had looked back into the past, through their leader’s eyes, and found therein, a renewed bravery needed to secure the financial future of their children and thereafter.
In March 2018, the UK deficit cuts targets outlined by David Cameron and George Osbourne were attained. Britain's economy was now well out of recession.
The Awolowo Memorial | The Lincoln Memorial : Sacred Places with Kryptonic Powers.
I was only a child when Obafemi Awolowo died in 1987. Growing up, I could not identify strongly with the man, at least not until I started asking questions about the lack of progress Nigeria had made.
At history class in Junior school, we only lightly touched on great people like Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe, but never enough for their legacy to leave a lasting impression on us.
In honesty, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s story is not told enough. One would expect that his impressive list of accomplishments & bravery would inspire the modern Nigerian politician to be a better leader.
But the foundational classes of our political history were never properly delved into properly in classrooms across the nation. It’s little wonder our politicians tend to have no focus or sense of purpose. They are unable to relate at an emotive level.
Instead, our history class sadly focused mainly on western voyagers such as Mungo Park & David Livingstone. These were colonial explorers that exploited our country. They claimed to discover and name places where Nigerians had inhabited for years.
But Awolowo was one of Africa’s most influential nationalists, political writer and a pre-eminent Nigerian statesman; whose vision and tireless work defined a modernist Yoruba political project in an emergent Nigerian post-colonial nation state - after the decolonization process in the 1940s.
But why was the details of his and other great leaders’ stories omitted from our classrooms?
Like leaders like JFK, Awolowo was also trying to create the idea of a Nigerian dream, our young leaders just seem to be so uninformed on the history of his work, that they are unable to tap into, and continue on delivering his wider vision.
This is an understated problem.
Awolowo’s achievements and leadership prowess is one that is genuinely worthy of academic-crush and ideally should be the discourse amongst progressive African history students over chess games within the halls of prestigious colleges like OAU Ile-Ife or Yale. In fact, i have learnt of very few global statesmen that have attained his level of accomplishments within the capacity of limited resources and little or no support system presented to him.
At a time where African leaders need drive and clarity on their purpose, tapping into the success people like Awolow have made, can inspire our current and future leaders to begin to gain a sense of purpose and nation-building possibility.
To highlight, in Awolowo lifetime, he:
Led the Action Group to move the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the UK parliament, and obtained internal self-governance for the Western Region in 1957.
Introduced free primary education for all and free health care for children in the Western Nigerian Region.
Established the first television station in Africa in 1959. (The transformation effect that AV media had at ushering and connecting Africans with the modern age, and creating a new generation of open-minded folks cannot be emphasised).
But an opportunity to tap into and borrow from Awolowo’s compelling stories in the history playbooks seems to be lost in today’s Nigeria’s political landscape. In general, the value of reverence and adoration of our heroes past seem to be non- existential. This has been a big mis-step and oversight that has costed our continent dearly today.
Storytelling is what connects us to our humanity. It is what links us to our past, and provides a glimpse into our future. To lead people with empathy and purpose, it is important that African leaders look to studying our history. But if our history has not been captured correctly nor documented in genuinely emotive narratives, how do our people connect with our past?
America’s Institutionally curated statesmen & what we can learn.
In contrast, newly-appointed American Congressmen in DC would flock to symbolic, historic monuments such as the Lincoln memorial. The intention and significance of the visit to these sacred spaces can be near-spiritual at times. The visitation helps to somehow reaffirm, reassure and encourage them to take on the tasks ahead as a new congressman whole heartedly. An awakening of the endless obligation that lay ahead as they proceed with serving the American people at a selfless capacity.
But it is easier for Americans to identify with, and be inspired by past stories of survival, war, peace and accomplishments. Probably because most Americans people grow up within an education system that has been deliberately curated with a well-rounded history curriculum- intended to tell the stories of the nation’s past in compelling details that stay with each student forever. Effectively, the value and significance placed on history has been rooted in every politician from childhood.
The value Africans have put in preserving history is deficiently under-represented.
According to Boyd, Storytelling should be seen as a tool with measurable utility rather than an object for aesthetic admiration.
Storytelling: Lessons from the Al Gore Campaign & Beyond
In the analysis of VP Al Gore’s storytelling fluency, Steve Denning’s mention how Al Gore’s inability to tell the right stories at the election debates failed to connect with voters, and was instrumental to Al Gore’s loss of the presidential race.
However, in 2006, VP Al Gore travelled the world; captivating and converting climate change skeptics and critics alike on the importance of climate change, and the urgent need to cut back emissions and adopt more greener environments.
Al Gore’s ability to deliver compelling stories — backed with traceable historic and emerging scientific data was instrumental to his success at reinforcing and changing the minds of folks across the globe on the reality of global warming.
The thing is leadership is not just about getting people to change, it about getting people to want to change, and to inspire people to become evangelical change advocates and architects.
Preserving African History & Deliberately creating story-worthy events
But to be able to tell great stories that resonate with people, there has to be a preceding history to borrow from. To that end, we need historians — custodians of our culture, our achievements, even the greatest defeats in our history’s past can be used to inform and inspire our leaders to tell transformative stories to our people.
We need a culture of preserving and documenting our history.
We need to realise that Africa has a history of progress that was once the envy of the now western world. We were once leaders in the areas of trade, complex logistical systems, ancient civilisation. Even in the times of great difficulty, we once conquered. In fact our past challenges were way more difficult than the issues we are presented with today. Yet, somehow, in the past, we conquered these issues.
A quick glimpse into the greatness that was Africa
Many don’t know that the people of Benin built a formidable, impenetrable military strength, one that the west claimed to have never seen before. The benin people also built arguably the longest wall in the world – long before the original wall of China was built.
The African Moors occupied Spain with genius tactic. Africans invading Europe? Our Egyptians were masters of astrophysicists and mathematics. Till today, Egyptian historians from the west are still trying to decipher many of the encrypted data the Egyptians created.
We were once heroes and pioneers in the sciences, arts and finance, and we can do it again. If only we are able to learn of the true extent of the impact we have once had in the past, only them can we be inspired to take on the future as a collective.
We desperately need to grow a culture of history preservation, and telling the stories to ourselves. Only them can we start to understand how we were once great people. This can quell any ideology that we are a “basket case” as commonly attributed amongst ourselves.
For the sake of future generations, we all have an obligation to be custodians of our history, so that our successors can tap into it our history, and continue on the transformation journey that we have embarked on.
References
Declaration of Independence : A Transcription
David Cameron Readies Uk for Debt Pain..
Britain’s debt must be cut for future generations
Chief Obafemi Awolowo : The Political Moses of Nigeria, and the best president Nigeria never had.