Global civil society has emerged as the newest set of interpreters, powerful not by the criteria of control of state, population, taxation or anything structural as such but as managers of symbolisms. We see this here in Ene Obi, Country Director of ActionAid International – Nigeria on a visit to Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Northeast state of Borno.
Part of the visit is a courtesy call of some sort on a Development activist and a symbolic figure in the area, Mallam Abdulkadir Isah (to her right).
Who knows, they might have been discussing a women education commitment entangling community leaders, women groups, AAI, Borno State Government and some far flung actors.
What is the message? It simply means a world still with borders but a completely entangled world involving a mélange of practices, perspectives, agenda, textualities, culture, locations, movements, claims and what have you! In such a world, everything and everyone else is entangled in an unbelievably complex mix, sometimes to the chagrin of traditional order of nation states, civilisations, races, religion and cultures.
