HUSH! YOUR ELDERS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT

“What an old man sees sitting down, a young man cannot see standing up.”

This is a popular Nigerian proverb our parents, uncles and aunties use when about to give “sage” advices. The proverb depicts that years of experience of the elderly make them more far-sighted and visionary than the young. It would not matter the amount of propping up or positional advantage the younger fellow has, the elder one will still see better. In fact, the proverb is re-stated by some as:

“What the elder sees sitting, the young man can never see it, even from on top of the tree!”

Could this be a case of overstretching the truth or is this a really insightful saying?

Then comes a revision of the saying that goes thus;

“What an elderly man sees sitting that a young man cannot see atop a tree, will be seen aided by a drone.” Put more colloquially, “we go use drone run am!”

For context, a drone is an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate without human control or beyond line of sight. This youthful revision, though largely jocular, is a defensive response to a society whose system of hierarchy has repressed and hushed her youth for ages. The youths are asking a question; if the elders believe that positional advantage don’t matter, and that they will always be more insightful, then what about the young one who is aided also by technology? Surely an elder cannot argue that he sees better than a drone, or can he?

The proverb of course is not literal, but it still captures a mode of thinking that has created a huge hiatus between the older and the younger generation. Younger generations are often spoken about in disparaging tones, hushed to the toddlers’ corner rather than given a seat at the table. The elders –a generation quick to spread the gospel of misinformation via Whatsapp broadcast- believe they are always wiser and more sagacious than the young. They have experienced and solved more problems, they claim. They have “seen life”. They don’t only know history, they have experienced it, hence, can better navigate the future. But is this always the case? Can’t one’s experience of history mar one’s ability to clearly see the present and future? Are historians automatically good prophets?

A man’s conscience can be so seared by past experiences that he becomes morbidly biased in evaluating the present and future. An elder who has been oppressed all his life may continually live with the ideology of an oppressed man. The tale of an elephant that had been chained down for many years comes to mind. Even when the chain was removed, the elephant couldn’t break free. It had lost all sense of what it means to be free. The baby elephant on the other hand, which has never experienced bondage boldly expresses its freedom and is unafraid to venture. Worse still, an elder who was previously oppressed can himself turn out to be an oppressor, if not a worse one. These are narratives we see play out in our society today. We can thus see that not all experiences count for wisdom and it may be better to have no experience than to have this type of experiences.

The “elders are always right” narrative is a problematic one because elders are humans and no human is always right. Such narrative only creates a power gap that causes strain in relationships. We see this play out in child-parent relationships where parents believe they can single-handedly make the best decisions for their children. A Dutch Psychologist Geert Hofstede described what he called the “Power Distance Index (PDI)” which is concerned with attitudes towards hierarchy and interaction with authority. A high PDI environment creates a problematic workspace that is error-prone. An employee is so afraid to express disagreement with his boss. Korean Air was besieged with multiple plane crashes at the close of the 20th century because first and second officers (who had opinions that could avert the crashes) could not assert themselves well enough to their Captains due to high power distance rating. To say elders are always right is to widen hierarchical gaps and increase friction in communication that makes it difficult to get the job done. “Rebellions” of junior colleagues have averted many disastrous endings on several occasions.

It is even more difficult to hold the notion of an almighty elderly sage in the tech world we are in. The paradigms have changed. Technology has made access to information – vast history, present happenings around the world, future trends- so easy, giving the younger, tech-savvy generation a panoramic view of generational blind spots and multigenerational errors that they can correct and build upon. They can see things from a clearer horizon. Indeed, innovative solutions to age-long challenges in Nigeria and the world are being implemented by start-ups that are largely dominated by young minds. It is thus only fair, and in fact wise to cut the young more slack and for the elders to have more humble estimation of themselves- their sight inclusive. And No, the word “youth” is not necessarily synonymous to “inexperienced” and “precarious”.

This is not to discard or trivialise the experiences of the aged or to give room for age-bashing. There is the insight of the old; there is also the insight of the young, more so a tech-aided young. One should never be seen as ALWAYS superior to the other. The two should complement and not be in competition. We need the grey-headed to guide us. We also need the young minds to lead us through new paths with fresh energy and vigour. We need more room to RESPECTFULLY disagree with the elder and offer dissenting opinions. Then and only then can we make meaningful progress.

Do elders always see better and are they always wiser? Let me know what you think