No country ever prospered without a disciplined and
sophisticated population. Time was when Nigeria used to pride herself as the
giant of Africa, with the riches of its culture and the discipline and fitness
of its people. Alas, so much of these attributes seem to have deserted us, it
is no wonder that many people yearn for the good old days.
The process of rejuvenation must begin with the youth.
Parents and teachers for whom the care of children should be a fundamental
responsibility must regain their role in helping children to develop their
talent in a discipline manner so that fewer or no people are on our streets
urinating carelessly, spitting about freely or dropping empty bottle or sachet
of pure water on our street.
Culture defines a people and at the inception before the
unfortunate incident of 1914 and 1960, culture has given this country a proud
history.
Many aspect of our culture are synonymous with good manners
and etiquette – the way the youth relate to elderly, cleanliness, eating habit
etc. Yet culture divides particularly in this modern age of frequent human
movement across boundaries and continents.
The consequence is that our cultures have encountered other
cultures and in the process we have come to recognize that certain aspect of
our culture would do well to be modernized. One does not walk the street of
Singapore or Tokyo and expect to urinate in public without raising many
eyebrows or without being arrested.
In Nigeria, the culture of impunity, uncared attitude that
have come our way since the days of Military has reduced our country to a mere
jungle and the nonsense continues every day as if it is the normal way of life.
Kudos to Buhari/Idiagbon regime who put every effort on ground to restore
Nigerians to who we are at the beginning and who we should be in terms of
corruption and discipline. But when successive government came on board, they
scuttle everything good things this regime did and reduce our collective lives
to a mere specimen of bad images you can talk of in human existence.
Culture is what define us as a people, dirtiness is the order
of the day now, just march through the Nigerian streets, nobody cares, our
people urinate on the road without caution, spit every where even while
driving, drop sachet of water and litter where with it. The politicians and
religious bodies’ hand bills and poster have totally disfigured our highways
and major roads and streets. Something conscious needs to be done quickly just
as in the days of Buhari/Idiagbon when order and sanity was brought to our
land, time when discipline was our watch word, time when we don’t need a
preacher or too much of instruction to
do the right, a time when the leadership was the example of the people’s
expectation. That time society was civil but unfortunately today discipline,
orderliness, neatness and integrity was the watch word of our country. Can we
still have it now? Yes we can if we can all get our senses right and cultivate that which
is right as our culture.
Get a man right, everything will be right. “The
most important discovery of our time is the realization that we can alter our
lives by altering our attitudes.”
One fascinating story that I read about a busy executive who
came home with briefcase full of work. His 6 years old was demanding time, but
due to deadlines, the father reluctantly told the boy he had several hours of
work that took priority. The lad asked this recurring question “Can’t you play
now, Dad? The young Salesman had a brilliant idea. Before him was a newspaper containing
a map of the world. He tore the paper in piece and gave it to his son to put back together telling him
that when the puzzle was finished there would be enough time to play together.
The salesman bargained for some uninterrupted time. However in a matter of
minutes the youngster called his dad to look at the map. Astonished the father
asked how he had managed to do it so quickly. The youngster explained that on
the other side of the map was a picture of a man and that once he got the man
right, the world was right.
The secret of getting you right is to get your attitude
right. Until the attitudinal dimension of our people changed there is no hope
for our nation. Our attitude to life, work, business, governance and what have
changed we will still be perambulating in an inglorious position and no
progress will be recorded. Get our
people right, get our children right, get our wives right, get our husband
right, get our pastor’s and imams’ right, get our leaders right everything
about our national life, be it family, government, school, churches and mosques
will be right.
Manner is the way or how something is done or how it happens.
In other words, it is a way of acting or behaving.
Etiquette is the rules governing socially acceptable behavior.
Looking at these definitions you will all agree with me that homosexuality that
is being debated in the National Assembly today is alien to our culture, our
manner and etiquette. When value is still value nobody would ever entertain it.
At the beginning examination malpractices, day light robbery, pen robbery,
Police killing innocent citizens because of N20
was alien to our culture and mannerisms. So many anomalism that I can’t mention
here, because of space and time that have permeated the entire society. The paradox
now is that, the right becomes wrong and the wrong becomes right.
What went wrong? Where
exactly do we miss it?
When a nation lost its identity, when a nation celebrate what
is wrong, evils, men who suppose to be thrown into a prison that nobody should
know about, when political office holders are men and women who looted the
country treasury, men who runs down our good cultural heritage, men who sell
themselves cheap because of money, invariably we set a wrong standard and send
a wrong signals to the public that, this is the new order. We thought our
children cannot see and hear all these abnormalities, they can see and hear.
The signal today is that hardwork, honesty, integrity and discipline do not
pay, what pays is the dishonesty, indiscipline, corruption and what have you.
Until this nation go back to the very good beginning and
emulate the good culture that shun, hate and punish evils, impunity, and
corruption. Culture that promote social justices, culture that make my children
feel good about themselves, culture that will give my children a sense of
belonging in the affairs of their nation. Unless we all wake up to our
responsibility and be responsive we may never get out of this chaotic disorder
and if care is not taken it will be worst that this in the days to come.
Dotun A. George
President, Youth
Development Commission
