The Colour of My Skin: An Unchanging Uniform.

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Introduction
After a long wait in 2016, the NYSC posting letter finally came out. My heart skipped as I typed my password knowing fully well that this was it , I was either going to have a smooth ride or spend time and money waiting on redeployment. What was I afraid of? you must be wondering. I was relieved when I saw I got posted to Abuja, but I had to check for my sister and my heart skipped even more , I was afraid for her and was ready to trade places if it would be possible. Luckily she got Lagos and I was satisfied with the outcome, those late night prayers didn't go to waste. 
NYSC Camp
I arrived at the camp in Kubwa, Abuja at noon mentally and psychologically unprepared for what I was going to face like seating on the ground and singing whatever that was they made us chant. The uniformed men though! We had heard a lot about what goes on down here and I wasn't one to experiment with people. 
In two hours, we checked into the hostels and I was on a queue trying to get my kit. I can't believe I'd be wearing uniforms all over again like I did in secondary school, this was all so unnecessary all in the name of national service, my head was springing with thoughts. 
There were common chants in this camp like “dem go post you go Abaji”. I was sure I didn't want that for myself so I was willing to do whatever I could within my power to influence my posting.  There were rumors like the platoon officers have a special list or all those who engaged in activities and got popular would get some preferential treatment. I surprisingly became a social being and lost all sense of insecurity. I mean, I'm sometimes concerned about the way I talk and how effeminate some people think I sound, so standing on a stage addressing over a thousand plus people took some guts and I indeed got popular, although I don't think it aided my posting to Utako. 
Explanation
What happened in NYSC camp? I was a child all over again or I would say I had a paradigm shift. I all of a sudden felt alive again as I did in primary or secondary school. I didn't feel so insecure and felt like I could do anything. This is how children behave, they  just do what gets into their heads not caring about who's watching.  As I go over it in my head, I wonder if the uniforms had anything to do with it. I had been an A-lister all through my primary and secondary school days but that didn't convert to a 4.5 GPA in university. I have heard, I'm not alone in this. I was also very popular and was like the stage guy, offcourse I was still a child mostly and didn't care who was watching. I'm still thinking something changed and my mind keeps pointing to the uniforms. 
Could uniforms have any psychological effect on man? I think they do and infact are used deliberately in our society for the derived psychological effects. 
 What effects you may think, let me back up a bit. You know how I said my heart skipped, we dread the north, even more now that insurgency exist. I don't know much about racism in Nigeria but Tribalism and Religious rivalry are two leading causes of prejudice in Nigeria. In the south, you don't see a lot of Muslims,  we also have limited interactions with them, okay , just me then. I speak for myself. Anyway, middle belt is as close as I had ever been to the north and we all wore uniforms, offcourse from the way females dressed I could tell who were Muslims but the males? My point is; I got to interact with Muslims in ways I haven't before and offcourse northern Muslims, as you know, some would say there is a difference. I know now that education has taught us to tolerate each other. I can't say I wasn't judged or deprived certain privileges simply because I was Christian or a southerner  but I got to know and meet a few good northerners and I know these problems can be solved, including racism. 

Yes, it isn't even about tribalism or religious bigotry that I write to you, it's about racism. Something I haven't experienced but I can relate to because I have experienced tribalism and religious prejudice. 

Power in Uniforms
When I think of uniforms, I wonder why they were introduced. I think it was first just for mere identification. I mean, it's common sense, if you're going to war you'd want to know who's a “friendly” or “hostile”. But beyond identification, what else could uniforms do? I realise they help create a sense of equality and security. We automatically consider the next person to be in same level as we are once we wear same uniforms. But uniforms, same powerful tool has been used to create hierarchy and in a way fosters inequality. For instance, when the doctor wears a different colour from the nurses and the junior students wear shorts but seniors, trousers. The same way it creates this hierarchy is same way it inspires subbordinates to aspire. But one important psychological effect of uniforms is how they make us unite like in those days of inter-house sports. 
Now consider uniforms and the colour of your skin: white, red, black and so on. An unchanging uniform worn forever. 
In a room filled with white people, a friendly face is not the smiling face for the black man, it's the other black face in the room and vice versa. 




Society has somehow engineered a hierarchy among the races, placing one above the other , making a particular group feel like the surbodinates  who always have to aspire and hence are always working to impress because the colour of their skin automatically gives them a certain tag “minor”. Some have even gone as far as trying to pull off this permanent uniform only to feel good about themselves. 
But beyond what society has engineered which isn't societies fault because at the end of the day what happened in the past happened and it will always influence today and tomorrow. The underlying secret is this : no one caused racism because it was bound to happen. We are automatically inclined to accept our own and hate the other, being aware of this human nature is the only way we can live above it. In the smallest unit of society,the family, same rivalry exists which is nothing but human nature. In my opinion, racism is a social tragedy, a natural disaster that was bound to happen and it’s nobodies fault. We should be aware of our own tendencies and learn to live above the negativity. 
As regarding personal development and this post please note the following:
  1. As you advance in life you will have to deal with people from different religious or tribal backgrounds as well as race. Learn how to deal with people like a socially responsible individual by being aware of your own invalid tendencies to judge or reject at the expense of your own valued benefit. 
  2. You can use the psychological effect of uniforms to your benefit by applying it to your workforce. Being aware of its effect also forearms you if you have to wear one at work or school. 

Comments

  1. Gideon17 June 2018 at 23:37

    Each person sees things based on their own beliefs, preconceptions and interpretation. In relation to tribalism, racism and religious rivalry, I believe we perceive others by filtering them through our own perceptions.
    "We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." This is about the symbolic meaning of inanimate objects, since it is our personality and our memories, which determines our character and meaning. Insofar, "we see them as we are", since they can mirror our past, pains, hopes and our ideals. Thus they become more than just an object, but a symbol for a certain part of someone's feelings and life.
    As blacks, we feel the "whites" always project themselves to be superior to us (we see things as we are) but we've overlooked the fact that we've made ourselves inferior to them. Thus( we don't see things as they are)

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