By Jacob Maigari Esq, ACIArb
Visioneer, The Renewed Africa Renaissance Movement (RAREM)
In a certain experiment, eight monkeys were placed in a large room. At the centre stood a ladder leading to a bunch of ripe bananas hanging from the ceiling. Naturally, one of the monkeys, driven by curiosity and hunger, began to climb the ladder.
But before he could reach the bananas, a cold jet of icy water sprayed all the monkeys. The shock was unbearable. Soon, every attempt by any monkey to climb the ladder resulted in another freezing punishment for all.
It didn’t take long for them to learn that climbing the ladder brings pain. So whenever a monkey dared to climb, the others would beat him mercilessly to stop him. Eventually, not a single monkey attempted the climb again.
Then, the scientists replaced one of the original monkeys with a newcomer. Seeing the bananas and ladder, he instinctively tried to climb. To his surprise, the others pounced on him and beat him. He had no idea why—but he quickly learned the “rule”: no one climbs the ladder.
One by one, each of the original monkeys was replaced with a new one. Each new monkey received the same “lesson” from the group—without anyone explaining the reason.
Eventually, all eight monkeys in the room were new. None had ever been sprayed with water. None had seen the original punishment. Yet none dared to climb the ladder—and all would violently stop any new monkey who tried.
If you asked them why, the honest answer would have been:
“That’s just how things are done here.”
The Human Parallel
This parable is not about monkeys—it is about us.
It mirrors how societies, institutions, and even nations adopt and perpetuate beliefs, systems, and traditions without understanding their origins or purpose. What began as a reaction to an old problem becomes a habit, then a culture, then an unquestioned truth.
This is the foundation of classical conditioning—where behaviour is not driven by understanding, but by fear, repetition, and conformity. And over generations, such conditioning hardens into culture and tradition, often defended with passion but devoid of reason.
From Conditioning to Culture, from Culture to Blind Conformity
Many of the customs, attitudes, and even laws we cling to in Africa today are nothing more than inherited reactions—responses to contexts that no longer exist.
We follow systems imposed by colonial experiences without questioning whether they still serve us.
We embrace traditions that oppress rather than uplift, simply because our fathers did so.
We accept stereotypes and prejudices because “that’s how we were taught.”
We vote, worship, and think by imitation, not conviction.
Just like the monkeys, we beat down anyone who tries to climb a different ladder—any visionary who dares to question, challenge, or redefine what has “always been.”
Yet no one remembers the ice water.
The African Context: A Conditioned Continent
Africa’s greatest chains today are not made of iron—they are mental. We are held back not by lack of resources, but by inherited patterns of thought.
We imitate economic systems that don’t fit our realities.
We copy political models that divide rather than unite.
We practice religions stripped of their transforming essence, turning faith into empty ritual.
We resist innovation, fearing it may offend the ghosts of our past conditioning.
RAREM calls this “The Colonization of the African Mind.”
It is the same old room, the same invisible ladder, the same invisible fear—only now passed from generation to generation.
The Call for a New Consciousness
It’s time for a new kind of African—a thinking African, a questioning citizen, a responsible visionary who refuses to act without understanding.
True enlightenment begins when we pause to ask:
Why do we believe what we believe?
Why do we obey what we obey?
Who benefits when we remain conditioned?
The Renewed Africa Renaissance Movement (RAREM) calls on every citizen, leader, and youth to awaken the critical consciousness that liberates minds from inherited fear and blind conformity.
It’s time to climb the ladder again—not to repeat old mistakes, but to reclaim the bananas of destiny, innovation, and self-determination that hang above us.
Reflections for Civic Enlightenment
- Question Everything: Tradition becomes truth when left unexamined. Question it.
- Think Before You Conform: If you don’t know why you do something, stop and learn before you continue.
- Reject Mental Slavery: Freedom begins in the mind, not in the ballot box or palace.
- Challenge Fear: Don’t let the fear of “ice water” from the past stop you from reaching for a better future.
- Be the First Monkey to Climb Again: Every reform begins with one mind brave enough to defy inherited conditioning. RAREM’s Creed: “Africa will rise again when her people begin to think again.”
“Tradition without understanding is tyranny; belief without reason is bondage.”
Let us dare to climb. Let us rediscover understanding. Let us renew Africa.
✍️ Jacob Maigari Esq, ACIArb
Visioneer, The Renewed Africa Renaissance Movement (RAREM)
📞 08025160116 | 📧 rarem.info@gmail.com | Kano, Nigeria