Change as they say is the only constant thing in life and it begins with the first step. With regards to the various happenings within our immediate environs, it is pertinent to note that change is needed in virtually all facets of our existence whether personal or collective. If you pose the question, “What Is Change?” to Nigerians out there irrespective of their level of literacy, you will get similar answers which when summed up is that “Change makes today different from yesterday.”
Religiously speaking, we are in the era termed “The Last Days”, while logically, we are in the era of change; a period when even the laymen on the streets scream for something different; a period when the people are tired of constant purported stories, lies and innuendos; a period when the people demand to know the truth from their leaders. The people have just about had enough with all the “hogwash”. Isn’t it bad enough the ordeal most of us face during Voters’ Registration exercise, standing under the sun and rains during elections to vote for preferred candidate only to experience “the more you look, the less you see OR abracadabra” syndrome, that is, not only will your candidate nor the opposition fail to get reasonable chunks of votes from the massive turnouts, but low and behold, an unknown candidate, who never participated in election will emerge from the skies and be declared the winner by electoral personnel. Please can someone help by enlightening me on this issue?
I’m not a politician neither do I really like politics nor do I recall delving into political discussions before the Odili regime. I used to think the greatest kind of political showmanship could be found in advanced regions like the Americas, Europe and Australasia but my people, Naija politics is a whole different ball game. How I wish I knew more about Politics, perhaps I would have been able to write a book on “Naija Politics: The Game Plan”. I feel it would have been awesome because I’ve sat down countless times, trying to recall with my little knowledge of politics, the eras of IBB, Abacha, OBJ and now GEJ and end up asking myself, “Oh Lord, what the h**k (pardon my language) is wrong with us?” Understanding our political terrain is gruesome because if care isn’t taken, you and I can be in our homes and not know when we’ve (society- state or country) been sold out.
Change occurs but most of them are not what we hope for. We are in dire need of suitable change in order to progress further. In order for us to experience the kind of change we crave for, we need to search deep within ourselves, as individuals then collectively foremost as a family and subsequently as a community et al. As an individual, after going on soul-searching journeys, I realise there are bits and pieces of myself that definitely need tune-ups that will boost my self-esteem thereby enhancing interpersonal relationships.
For example, there are periods when we experience scarcity of goods like petroleum products and FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods). When these products become available, there is the tendency to be disorderly via pushing and shoving which can lead to visits to a hospital. On my part, I can force myself to wage a WAI (War Against Indiscipline) by waiting for my turn no matter the insults and cajoling that come my way. It may be easier said than done but as a popular Chinese goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”
It is no longer news that a lot of people all over the world have distorted perceptions about Nigeria probably due to one scandal or the other and as a result, our leaders speak of rebranding our image. How can we speak of rebranding when we, government and the masses, refuse to listen to reason? How can we change people’s perceptions when we refuse to “separate the chaff from the wheat”? The sine qua non is, if both parties can put themselves in each other’s position, then there’s probably Hope in making progressive change.
There are many aspects of our lives that need a touch of ‘this much sought after change’. Nigeria is primarily composed of Christians and Muslims; the Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and other religious and tribal sects and we need to respect and accept each other’s existence. By so doing we can take steps in the right direction.
If we can unite and present a common front despite our different religions, tribes and places of residence, then there is definitely hope for you and I; hope as in a Nigerian aspiring for government posts outside his catchment zone; hope as in a Nigerian high school graduate being chanced to enrol into any Nigerian university with reasonable JAMB and WAEC scores without having to worry about the disparity in “Quota” system or extremely high scores for particular courses of study; hope as in Nigerian government retirees being able to regularly receive pensions in person or paid into bank accounts as at when due as well as being able to participate in periodic audit updates AT Government Liaison Offices IN their States of Residence; hope as in Nigerians being able to rest well knowing their Leaders are carrying out their duties properly and not squandering tax payers money.
For the religious thinker, his hope for the better is in his Maker, God Almighty; for the modern thinker, he relies on prodding, shifting and rearranging to effect change. The bottom-line according to the inventor, Albert Einstein, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
The Lioness
The Queen of the Castle
Thursday 5 July 2012
Nigeria Oh Nigeria, Where are we heading to? 2
A lot has been written and uttered in the media about the DANA air crash in Lagos, Nigeria which occurred on Sunday June 3rd, 2012. Some may contain atoms of truth while most for now are considered rumours. What hurt us are the over 153 lives on board and ground it took to wake us up from our slumber.
In times like these, it is worth noting the virtual impossibility for most of us in remaining impartial when analysing issues associated with this type of incident. This is probably as a result of the difficulty involved in putting aside the issue of the dead as well as our prejudices for a minute in order to give everyone involved the benefit of doubt no matter how impossibly hard it appears.
As human beings and not just Nigerians, we don’t have to lose someone-loved one, friend or colleague-in any form of disaster before we can feel the trauma involved. Most of us might be able to recall things we learned from different settings-home, school, work and so on; things like the cause and effect of our thoughts, actions and words. An array of people (including I) have voiced our different feelings about the crash; words which in this early stage of the investigations ought to be restrained because anyone of us could have been involved-the deceased, pilot, maintenance and so on.
After having a chat with a friend and ex-colleague on Saturday, I couldn’t help ponder over our discussion. We know for a fact that death is inevitable even though we don’t know how we’d go. As I thought about the dead, I couldn’t help feel some form of animosity towards our government and not really with DANA and its allies. Back in the 1980s, Nigeria’s image was better: fairly strong currency, good supply of foodstuffs, petroleum products, better educational and health systems and so on. It makes one think whether we weren’t better off then than now. Anyway that’s for another day; back to the crux of the matter.
Being part of a religious community, we rely a lot on God to help manifest the somewhat impossible, while sometimes forgetting that one’s level of success depends on one’s ability to stop dwelling on the past and try adapting to change because it is inevitable. We can try and change people but we shouldn’t beat ourselves when this does not occur because NOBODY WILL CHANGE UNTIL THEY WANT TO. I’d like to reiterate that it isn’t because I didn’t lose someone in that crash nor know anyone of the deceased that makes me talk in this manner. It’s very disheartening about the dead because they and the families they left behind deserve more; they deserve answers to ‘hanging’ questions. We must be strong and careful not to allow our words control the outcome of things BECAUSE words-written or uttered-can make anew or do a whole lot of damage so we must tread cautiously and avoid insinuations etc.
Yes we have heard from people who’d previously boarded the ill-fated plane in the past that it had been problematic, we’ve also heard about North America’s refusal to allow the plane, we also know that the same plane was cleared for takeoff ; there are so many questions and What Ifs that come to think of it as rightfully pointed out, “What if after all this media hype it is ascertained that the cause of the crash did not have anything to do with DANA, its maintenance culture or personnel BUT probably with some object entering and damaging an engine while airborne, bad weather or aviation fuel etc” . Unfortunately the damage would have been done resulting in loss of business, jobs and therefore loss of revenue and income.
Human emotions cannot be ruled out but there’s the need to create a balance between religious and logical reasoning otherwise we’d continue beating about the bush and still end up with unanswered questions. Irrespective of the present situation, what has happened has happened; the dead need to be properly buried; their dependants catered for; displaced habitants of the crash site building re-housed etc. At the moment, we may have few agencies like the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) assisting with crisis management of this nature but the Nigerian government must give its citizens cause to trust them by being totally honest with us, trying their best possible to do a whole lot more like establishing or improving on whatsoever form of Emergency Response currently utilized which would also help in creating employment and probably touch on one or two other neglected areas of importance in the lives of her people.
I’d like to end by asking each one of you reading this post to please keep an open mind despite the anguish, renewal of air crash syndrome and to implore you to view this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
It is a video presentation by our very own renowned novelist, Chimamanda Adichie on ‘The Danger of a Single Story’, which is all you need is to show a people as only one thing over and over again and that is what they become. Please watch it if you haven’t. Our Mouths and Pens are powerful weapons of creation and destruction especially in times of anguish and pain like these.
MAY THE SOULS OF ALL THOSE ONBOARD AND ON GROUND WHO DIED, REST IN THE BOSOM OF GOD ALMIGHTY, AMEN.
In times like these, it is worth noting the virtual impossibility for most of us in remaining impartial when analysing issues associated with this type of incident. This is probably as a result of the difficulty involved in putting aside the issue of the dead as well as our prejudices for a minute in order to give everyone involved the benefit of doubt no matter how impossibly hard it appears.
As human beings and not just Nigerians, we don’t have to lose someone-loved one, friend or colleague-in any form of disaster before we can feel the trauma involved. Most of us might be able to recall things we learned from different settings-home, school, work and so on; things like the cause and effect of our thoughts, actions and words. An array of people (including I) have voiced our different feelings about the crash; words which in this early stage of the investigations ought to be restrained because anyone of us could have been involved-the deceased, pilot, maintenance and so on.
After having a chat with a friend and ex-colleague on Saturday, I couldn’t help ponder over our discussion. We know for a fact that death is inevitable even though we don’t know how we’d go. As I thought about the dead, I couldn’t help feel some form of animosity towards our government and not really with DANA and its allies. Back in the 1980s, Nigeria’s image was better: fairly strong currency, good supply of foodstuffs, petroleum products, better educational and health systems and so on. It makes one think whether we weren’t better off then than now. Anyway that’s for another day; back to the crux of the matter.
Being part of a religious community, we rely a lot on God to help manifest the somewhat impossible, while sometimes forgetting that one’s level of success depends on one’s ability to stop dwelling on the past and try adapting to change because it is inevitable. We can try and change people but we shouldn’t beat ourselves when this does not occur because NOBODY WILL CHANGE UNTIL THEY WANT TO. I’d like to reiterate that it isn’t because I didn’t lose someone in that crash nor know anyone of the deceased that makes me talk in this manner. It’s very disheartening about the dead because they and the families they left behind deserve more; they deserve answers to ‘hanging’ questions. We must be strong and careful not to allow our words control the outcome of things BECAUSE words-written or uttered-can make anew or do a whole lot of damage so we must tread cautiously and avoid insinuations etc.
Yes we have heard from people who’d previously boarded the ill-fated plane in the past that it had been problematic, we’ve also heard about North America’s refusal to allow the plane, we also know that the same plane was cleared for takeoff ; there are so many questions and What Ifs that come to think of it as rightfully pointed out, “What if after all this media hype it is ascertained that the cause of the crash did not have anything to do with DANA, its maintenance culture or personnel BUT probably with some object entering and damaging an engine while airborne, bad weather or aviation fuel etc” . Unfortunately the damage would have been done resulting in loss of business, jobs and therefore loss of revenue and income.
Human emotions cannot be ruled out but there’s the need to create a balance between religious and logical reasoning otherwise we’d continue beating about the bush and still end up with unanswered questions. Irrespective of the present situation, what has happened has happened; the dead need to be properly buried; their dependants catered for; displaced habitants of the crash site building re-housed etc. At the moment, we may have few agencies like the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) assisting with crisis management of this nature but the Nigerian government must give its citizens cause to trust them by being totally honest with us, trying their best possible to do a whole lot more like establishing or improving on whatsoever form of Emergency Response currently utilized which would also help in creating employment and probably touch on one or two other neglected areas of importance in the lives of her people.
I’d like to end by asking each one of you reading this post to please keep an open mind despite the anguish, renewal of air crash syndrome and to implore you to view this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
It is a video presentation by our very own renowned novelist, Chimamanda Adichie on ‘The Danger of a Single Story’, which is all you need is to show a people as only one thing over and over again and that is what they become. Please watch it if you haven’t. Our Mouths and Pens are powerful weapons of creation and destruction especially in times of anguish and pain like these.
MAY THE SOULS OF ALL THOSE ONBOARD AND ON GROUND WHO DIED, REST IN THE BOSOM OF GOD ALMIGHTY, AMEN.
Nigeria Oh Nigeria, Where are we heading to?
Our world is filled with both Good and Evil and it is left to us to utilise our God given wisdom to decipher between right and wrong and hopefully follow the path of righteousness.
The era we are in is filled with so much chaos, so much evil which overshadows the little good that still exist. All things being equal, when we wake up at dawn, we get down on our knees and thank Our Maker for preserving our lives and continue with our daily chores.
Personally whenever I spend some time with a relative in a house with a patio overlooking a river, I feel a sense of tranquillity, peace and awe with nature. I take a look around and see the bananas, plantains, mangrove and other vegetative plants growing on the river bank. I look at the river when the tide’s high and see the fishes swimming or causing ripples beneath or the birds diving down for the kill and when the tide’s low, I can see the crabs and periwinkles all about the riverbed. All these get me thinking about how Awesome Our Creator is.
Sometimes I let my mind wonder and think hard about the various happenings around the globe and recall predictions from notable personalities (clerics and the likes of the infamous Nostradamus) and can’t help but come back to Earth and think of our dear country, Nigeria and its apparent decline in virtually all areas of our existence as a country be it the economy, social welfare, health, education and the list just goes on and on.
My people, please help me understand where are we heading to? One minute we are having problems like strikes and administrative issues in health, oil, and education where the rate of student admission is alarmingly high and as such we churn out half baked graduates due lack of required attention in relation to student-teacher interaction; next minute might be security issues with Boko Haram, MEND or some other aggrieved Nigerian sect.
This period we seem to have renewed our air disaster syndrome with not just one but two crashes in Lagos and the Nigerian cargo plane in Ghana. I couldn’t help think of the lives that had been lost; of people who had become fatherless, motherless, widows, widowers and orphans or simply put innocent blood that had been shed. You may not comprehend the trauma of losing a loved one until it happens to you because it happened to me though not via air crash. I still have sleepless nights trying to make sense of it all.
Please can anyone explain or help others and I understand why a plane that was known to be faulty, undergoing maintenance and still had problems be ALLOWED to take to the skies? At least you and I heard a lady (probably affiliated to DANA Airlines) and a legislator (who had previously flown in the ill-fated airplane to Uyo around May 22nd 2012) attest to this claim despite the denial from DANA Airlines management. So please tell me Why? Why?? Why??? Must so much blood be spilled before it dawns on us that the country is heading downhill?
Education is nothing to write home about otherwise our legislators should enact a law compelling everyone including themselves to train their families and wards in Nigeria. We strive to go to school and graduate and end up in the unemployment market and pray for someone to notice our CVs despite their scanty nature (especially for the fresh graduates). How do employers expect to get good employees with 5 and above years of experience when they rarely give jobseekers opportunities to prove themselves? Academics help but it isn’t everything; we should thing of the individual’s vocational skills as well. Take a look at Bill Gates and Face Book’s Mark and our very own Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The Health sector is another headache. Whenever there is a strike, services are skeletal and no doctors to treat people and as such the fatality are high. If one is lucky meetings are held, consensus reached BUT the crux of the matter is implementation which unfortunately Nigeria has a problem in carrying out.
There are so many other aspects of our lives that need help especially Divine Assistance, because we don’t want to listen to ourselves. As for corruption, May God help us because it is now deeply rooted in our psyche to the point that even though we have EFCC and other agencies, we Naijans know how to circumvent the law.
So my people where are we heading and is what we have today the legacy we’d keep for our children of tomorrow? We seriously need to rethink otherwise…
The era we are in is filled with so much chaos, so much evil which overshadows the little good that still exist. All things being equal, when we wake up at dawn, we get down on our knees and thank Our Maker for preserving our lives and continue with our daily chores.
Personally whenever I spend some time with a relative in a house with a patio overlooking a river, I feel a sense of tranquillity, peace and awe with nature. I take a look around and see the bananas, plantains, mangrove and other vegetative plants growing on the river bank. I look at the river when the tide’s high and see the fishes swimming or causing ripples beneath or the birds diving down for the kill and when the tide’s low, I can see the crabs and periwinkles all about the riverbed. All these get me thinking about how Awesome Our Creator is.
Sometimes I let my mind wonder and think hard about the various happenings around the globe and recall predictions from notable personalities (clerics and the likes of the infamous Nostradamus) and can’t help but come back to Earth and think of our dear country, Nigeria and its apparent decline in virtually all areas of our existence as a country be it the economy, social welfare, health, education and the list just goes on and on.
My people, please help me understand where are we heading to? One minute we are having problems like strikes and administrative issues in health, oil, and education where the rate of student admission is alarmingly high and as such we churn out half baked graduates due lack of required attention in relation to student-teacher interaction; next minute might be security issues with Boko Haram, MEND or some other aggrieved Nigerian sect.
This period we seem to have renewed our air disaster syndrome with not just one but two crashes in Lagos and the Nigerian cargo plane in Ghana. I couldn’t help think of the lives that had been lost; of people who had become fatherless, motherless, widows, widowers and orphans or simply put innocent blood that had been shed. You may not comprehend the trauma of losing a loved one until it happens to you because it happened to me though not via air crash. I still have sleepless nights trying to make sense of it all.
Please can anyone explain or help others and I understand why a plane that was known to be faulty, undergoing maintenance and still had problems be ALLOWED to take to the skies? At least you and I heard a lady (probably affiliated to DANA Airlines) and a legislator (who had previously flown in the ill-fated airplane to Uyo around May 22nd 2012) attest to this claim despite the denial from DANA Airlines management. So please tell me Why? Why?? Why??? Must so much blood be spilled before it dawns on us that the country is heading downhill?
Education is nothing to write home about otherwise our legislators should enact a law compelling everyone including themselves to train their families and wards in Nigeria. We strive to go to school and graduate and end up in the unemployment market and pray for someone to notice our CVs despite their scanty nature (especially for the fresh graduates). How do employers expect to get good employees with 5 and above years of experience when they rarely give jobseekers opportunities to prove themselves? Academics help but it isn’t everything; we should thing of the individual’s vocational skills as well. Take a look at Bill Gates and Face Book’s Mark and our very own Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The Health sector is another headache. Whenever there is a strike, services are skeletal and no doctors to treat people and as such the fatality are high. If one is lucky meetings are held, consensus reached BUT the crux of the matter is implementation which unfortunately Nigeria has a problem in carrying out.
There are so many other aspects of our lives that need help especially Divine Assistance, because we don’t want to listen to ourselves. As for corruption, May God help us because it is now deeply rooted in our psyche to the point that even though we have EFCC and other agencies, we Naijans know how to circumvent the law.
So my people where are we heading and is what we have today the legacy we’d keep for our children of tomorrow? We seriously need to rethink otherwise…
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