Frank Zanu on Igbo and the word maintenance
A culture that has no word for keeping something in working order is going to struggle to keep anything in working order. That is the argument Frank Zanu is making, and he puts it to Eileen Ogbuaka and Lawrence Bimpe directly. His first question: what is the single Igbo word for maintenance, or for keeping something in working order? Ogbuaka says there is none. Nothing translates directly. Bimpe backs her up. She offers that a word does exist for taking care of something, but Zanu will not let that count. That is not maintenance, he says. Then what is the Igbo word for repair? Imezi. Fine. And the word for democracy? Nothing. You are attempting to run a system the language itself has no concept for. He does not stop at Igbo. He says he has been through Kenya and other African countries and has never found an exact equivalent for maintenance, meaning the habit of regularly keeping something in working order. His logic: before you can keep an object in good condition, you have to possess it first. The British left this country and left plenty behind. Before they went, they put up hospitals, fire stations, post offices, railways, roads. None of it can be kept running because the concept itself is absent, Zanu says. His next move is the environment. Africa's tropical climate, the way houses are built, the materials used, he argues all of that means this kind of upkeep is not required here. Then the contrast. Every country called industrialized has one shared feature: people keep what they already have in good condition. That is why there are buildings here around 250 or 300 years old, and elsewhere in Europe buildings 700 years old. Notre Dame Cathedral burned down in France. It had stood since the 13th century. What kept it standing that long? Constant care and maintenance. His conclusion is that maintenance is part of culture.
Transcript (en)
I say that from what I'm understanding in third world countries, anything that is not under maintenance is because, you know, we just, we don't care. No, you care. It's not in the concept. Travel the 54 countries in Africa. Ask each person in every country, what is wrong with your country? Leadership. Leadership. All of you say the same word. So let me ask you, since 1960, the country has been picking the wrong leader every four years. Not a single railway bill by the British is in Nigeria today. But the one they built in their country that same year, it's still running. Not a single railway bill in Ghana in 1960 is still there today. What do you know in that country that has been properly maintained by the people every day and it works perfectly? It's hard for people to maintain things when they're not gaining a lot. No, it's hard for people to maintain things when they have, they don't have the concept of maintenance in their culture. What is the one word in Igbo for maintenance? Maintenance? There is no direct English word for that. It doesn't translate directly to maintenance. That's correct. How about you? It doesn't translate to... That correct But it translates to like take care of No that is not maintenance What is the one word for repair in Igbo Imezi Exactly What is the one word for repair in Igbo You see, I'm driving you to somewhere. What is the one word for democracy in Igbo language? You don't. How about you? You don't. You're trying to practice something that is not in the concept of the language. There is no African country, and I've done it through Kenya, through, I've done it all, that has an equivalent of the word maintenance. Well, in order to maintain something, you have to have it first. Correct. No, if I leave it for you, you can maintain it. The British left a lot of things in this country when they left. They established the hospitals, they established the fire stations, the post offices, the railway lines, the roads they built before they left. You are not able to maintain it because you don't have that concept. Because your environment, the tropical environment of Africa, the way you build your houses, the material you use, you don't require maintenance. Every country that is called industrialized countries, today one of the things you know about them is maintenance of what they have that's why we have buildings here that are about 250 years or 300 years old in this country there are buildings in other countries of Europe that 700 years ago the Notre Dame that burned in France was a 13th century building do you know what kept it that long till today maintenance is a culture
