NIGERIA OH NIGERIA, WHERE GOEST THOU?

We have been bestowed with God given talents that ought to be utilized not just for ourselves as individuals but for the good of all mankind. Personally, I love watching movies and reading romantic novels and gossip magazines a lot but not as much anymore because it took the demise of my beloved Father to bring me back to Ground Zero. I needed to assess my priorities, my perception of the world out there.

Whenever I feel compelled to write a post on “Affaires de Coeur” (Affairs of the Heart), I usually prefer being a Lone Ranger. It forces me to do serious soul searching or sober reflection. I also thank our lucky stars for Tim B.Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web (1994) which I utilize a lot because it has made the world, a global village, as well as made me better equipped with knowledge; for as the saying goes, “Knowledge Is Power.” A man might be poor and too weak to fight but with whatever amount of knowledge he has amassed over time, if properly utilized, he is richer and stronger spirit than any rich and influential man.

We all know that the only constant thing in life is CHANGE and as we clamour for it, we need to bear in mind that in an environment that has condoned societal ills for so long, it would take sheer will power on our parts to effect some form of change. You and I know the saying, “Charity begins At Home” and for improvements to occur in the various facets of our lives, we need to start from ground zero, that is, ourselves. We must do some sober reflecting and change our mind-sets, perceptions from no longer “Business as usual” to demanding from our elected officials, information on what is going on. We each have a right to make such demands.

As Africans, we are in an era were Religion, Science and must I add, common sense clash before headway is made in our quest for change, for improvement. In the book of Genesis 1(as well as Proverbs 25:2 and Psalm 111:2), we are told that God created everything we would ever need to survive in this world in Six days and concealed them for keen and daring creative minds like yours’ and mine to explore, invent or discover and as a result Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 depicts that there is nothing new under the sun. Nothing happens by accident of which Dr. David Oyedepo agrees with by stating, “Every event is invented.” We need not feign ignorance and use our talents properly in order to turn our stagnation into motivation. We accept that there is a Divine Being responsible for our universe and as such we acknowledge Him, God Almighty in the second stanza of our National Anthem,

Arise, O compatriots,

Nigeria's call obey
To serve our Fatherland
With love and strength and faith.
The labor of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain,
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.

O God of creation

Direct our noble cause
Guide our leaders right
Help our youth the truth to know
In love and honesty to grow
And living just and true
Great lofty height attain
To build a nation where peace
And justice shall reign.

My people, please for how much longer can we continue to let the image of Our Fatherland dwindle? How can we continue to sit and fold our arms and accept status quo? For how long must all these ills be allowed to continue my brethren? We must not allow past efforts of our fallen heroes go to waste. If you go back and read my initial post, I berated our government for not doing much to curb excesses but I had “to stop and smell the Roses.” I recalled a quote by Late U.S President, JFK- John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in his Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You Inaugural Address on January 20th 1961,

“…And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”

Of which our amiable Prince Tonye Princewill loves using,

“Ask not what your state can do for you but what you can do for her.”

 Despite all the societal filth, Nigeria is still ours’ and if we do not want her as well as try and protect her sovereignty, no matter how little or how much we have to contribute, someone else out there wants NIGERIA. My people, I sincerely don’t think you or I would want to live like strangers in foreign lands and be called derogatory names, or would you? Change is constant worldwide and we must use wisdom in order to achieve outstanding feats. We can achieve greatness if we take a look at the big picture. The time’s now, this moment my people. We must ply rocky and steep roads to the top but God willing, we will get there.

Finally, I leave you all with this poem,

A TRIBUTE TO NIGERIA @ 51

Time waits for no one;

As our dear country Nigeria clocks 51,
It is time we do some sober reflecting
As we start the second half of a century.
We cast blames at each other
But my people, it is time we are done with all the bickering.
Whether we call God Jehovah or Allah,
The fighting needs to stop;
Too much innocent blood is being shed,
The country appears to be in a state of CHAOS;
Today, it’s ASUU strike,
Tomorrow it may be another organizational problem,
Enough is enough.
Let’s stop complaining about the leadership;
We elect the leaders,
We are the leaders.
So let’s think back
And make necessary changes
Because time waits for no one.