The Erudite1: RE-BRANDING NIGERIA, CHANGING OUR COUNTRY

The Erudite1: RE-BRANDING NIGERIA, CHANGING OUR COUNTRY: All my life from childhood has been anchored on dreams, vision and aspiration for a great, better and desirable life and futur...

RE-BRANDING NIGERIA, CHANGING OUR COUNTRY

All my life from childhood has been anchored on dreams, vision and aspiration for a great, better and desirable life and future. From my childhood I have a dream of seeking and acquiring knowledge and viable, mind changing information, to my adolescent dream of leading and living a virile active and productive existence and for the rest of the time I will spend on the face of the earth, all my vision is to live a life of service to God, humanity, to my beloved country Nigeria and fallow continent of Africa. I dreamt of becoming succor to the hurt and trouble people; help the helpless, becoming the ladder people climb to the place of the success and great achievement. I love to network and relate to people in order to bridge the gap between them and their dream.

When I sit to eat, on bed to sleep, walking on the road, discussion with friends and enemy, all my dreams become the bedrock of my thought life and the concept that guide my existence.

In making my dream work out and to see the reality of my thought life, life become very hostile for me and everything seems not to favour me and I thought I am on a wrong paths and I can never made it happen here on earth not knowing all these are just part of the raw materials for the finishing product God want to bring out of me and sell to the nations of the earth for betterment and enhancing of the life of the inhabitant.

I love Nigeria with passion and I am set to see the betterment of my beloved country. Nigeria once upon a time a giant of the black continent and economically the citizen are living very well and having all that takes to be the person of their dream but all of a sudden the tide changed and Nigeria as a nation struggles for survival, Nigeria brought together by the colonial administration, people of many colour and cultural different people as one entity.

The state of once upon a time great nation, land flow with milk and honey, land occupied by people of intellectual capacity need urgent attention to come back to his original state.

There is corruption, evil, crime, greediness in the society, unemployment, broken homes, child abuse, poverty, economic recession, debt, home without adequate provision for children and homes where leaders can not perform leadership functions have become very common, children are abandoned to the worst of behaviours and bad examples from parents and the community, children grow into adulthood with no ideal, no virtue, all they want is to make it by hook or crook, all these characterized the life of the nation that once great and free from all these abnormalism.

The hooligans in power over the year misgovern, misrule, abuse, exploit and perpetuate corruption and injustice in this nation. Violation of constitution and dictatorship is the order of the government.

What can we do to restore, reform and re brand this once upon a time great country? Here are my suggested solutions and I strongly believe if we try it and implement it as an individual, family, schools, organization and government it will give us a new Nigeria.

EMBRACING CHANGE

The best way to create lasting wealth, success and achievement is to fully engage the mind for new and better ways of doing things. The rate of change in the development of products and services in this part of the world is pathetically slow. It is proven to be true that in the average African village, if someone died 100 years ago and suddenly wake up now, the person would easily find his way around the village. And he would find it convenient to eat food because most of our villages are still almost exactly the same way they were about 100 years ago. The same streets, Un-tarred roads, footpaths and places where you have the farms. And imagine, we still eat the same food. In Nigeria there must be attitude revolution and readiness to embrace change where it is necessary in all facets of our lives. We need change in the way we choose and elect leaders into political office, we must not give room to imbecile, the worst of us and people who has no business in power to come into leadership position.

GOVERNMENT REFORMS

The reforms should be designed to deepen social, political, economic and spiritual discourse, let us eliminate violence and indiscipline, expand opportunities for participation for women and youths. We should encourage the emergency of new leaders, build bridges of understanding and cooperation, promote the values of tolerance, accommodation and dialogue and build a credible political structure for socio-economic advancement.

The substance of these measures in our reform agenda must continue we cannot afford to falter, be diverted, confused, discourage, intimidated or reverse. We must remain focused and resolute until we see our desire in Nigeria. This is where our future, the well-being of our children, the security of our nation and progress and stability of our communities lies.

My people there is no alternative to being consistent, supporting each other, exchanging and embarking on best practices, insisting on service delivery, fighting waste and corruption and maximizing opportunities for promoting growth, development and democracy. We must continue to promote equity, justice and fairness in all our affairs and interaction in this land.

If we are to make steady and sustainable progress, we must collectively resolve to fight political corruption and violence election manipulation, the imposition of candidate, the culture of empty politicking and the marginalization of women in the power and political process. We must fight those that continue to see our today and tomorrow with lenses of our dark past; people with little to contribute to easing out pains and building a holistic and sustainable foundation for posterity.

Development and greatness do not just happen for a nation. They must be made to happen and they must be sustained.

INVESTMENT IN CHARITY

Intellectual underdevelopment as the main problem of underdeveloped nation. Charity was the trade secret of America till date. USA was responsible for about 60 percent of the United Nations funding; America had been in the forefront of all trans-continental charity. Today, the wealth of the America nation according to the Forbes magazine put at $11 trillion while nation next to her on the ladder was put only at $4.1 trillion.

Until the charity in Africans comes alive, the continent may remain at the background economically for generation to come. We must sacrifice our present pleasure to secure our desire future; we must invest our treasures to possess posterity.

Nigeria’s educational system was at the verge of collapse. The future of a nation’s coming generation would be endangered once its educational system went bankrupt.

Today our university system is threatening a total collapse if we ever needed a revolution in education, it is now. We should start establishing school, nursery, kindergarten, colleges, Polytechnics, University to spearhead a revolution in education by re-igniting the spirit of intellectual exploration and research. Government, corporate body and individual that invest into education as a venture and business must make sure it is affordable for all and sundry.

Quality education is the true foundation of every great nation. It was unfortunate that most African nations, especially Nigeria were setting off their future through lack of commitment to quality education delivery.

Nigeria government should note this that 80% of our critical business information and intellectual property is sitting in personal hardwork and people’s minds. Therefore enabling environment that will promote and enhance mental capacity needs to be provided and made available by individual, our various institution and government of the day.

REMAKING THE NATION

It is high time for people everywhere across the length and breadth of our nations and continent of Africa to join hands in the work of re-making our nation. The only way it’s been done in America 221 years ago till now, South Africa, Bahamas, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, everyone both big and small, king and subject, government and citizen, block by block, strength upon strength, rising and falling, errors and accuracy.

We all have every opportunity in history to make change happen. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were, it cannot happen without you and I. The civil right movement in America in the 50s and 60s was engineered by someone and the rest embraced it as the only means of survival but at the end it pays.

Out of the rubbles of the degenerated, subjugated people and nation, a new armies of revolution rose up to stop what was posing impediment for their growth, progress as an individual and as a nation.

We did not have any other nation or continent like the one we are in now, if you choose to live in America, Europe, Asia or Australia the colour of our skin cannot change therefore something massive must be done to the human content in our nation and in the continent of Africa.

Every single person has an obligation to this nation, every family has a role to play, Christian body, small and large corporation must rise to the challenges of the moment ‘remaking the nation’ if there is no genuine reason to rise up now to the challenges at hand let have this thought that one day you will be no more, your children and your children’s children will come, experience and grow in the same mess we complained of today.

Conscious efforts must be taken in order to salvage the present situation before it turns to unredeemable. Every thing goes from good to bad except a conscious effort is taken to preserve. Our children must be taught from home and in the school that the only way to survival in life is to take complete responsibility on how we live. Every citizen must live responsibly and shun corruption which all of us know as the bane of development in our nation, vices and ill attitude or act that can bring our nation down to a pitiable condition.

When I as an individual play my role, you do yours, families and schools perform their duties as a builder of society. Christian body (churches) should revisit their primary assignment of become salt and light of the world. Light bring illumination to a darkness prevailing environment and salt serves as a preservative agent.

Darkness is everywhere, corruption, armed robbery, stealing, cheating, examination malpractices, etc, are epitome of darkness we must infested the world with our goodness, love and care so that people can see the good work of God in us.

We can preserve, the wayward children, touts, drug addicts by rehabilitating them, give hope and succor to them, let them realize there is no tragedy than wasting away with crimes, vices and social ills. Zero tolerance for corruption, laziness and any other ill you can pick from the society today because this is part of what is needed to rebuild our nation and make it great again.

For our nation to develop and go beyond the present shambles, the attitudinal dimension of everyone must change. It is horrible that our leaders can not display high level of dedication to work, integrity, diligence and honesty we want, therefore we all have a duty of looking for proven men, men of integrity, men who respect the opinion of the citizenry and our vote must be for such men.

In every election we must take a bold step to decide the future of our community and the nation at large. It is the power of the vote and conducive and enabling environment make a vote count, so in every election at all levels, we must ensure we cast our votes, stay with our votes and make sure our vote count. This may not yield much fruitful result until we collective through our elected representative determine how power will transfer peacefully; if that is not done we will still be revolving round an inglorious position. The reason why we kill and destroy life and property is basically we have not determined as a people and a nation how to transfer power peacefully at every four-four year.   

SIMPLE ART OF LIVING TOGETHER

It was in Oslo, Norway when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was receiving his Nobel Prize for peace 1964, he said and I quote “modern man has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies. Yet in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, there is a poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. We learn to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”

One of the banes of successful living in our world today is the inability of human race to see and embrace each other as brother and sisters. It was the same Martin Luther King Jr., who said to the Americans, ‘except we begin to live together as brothers and sisters we shall all perish together like beast.’ I think across the globe today, across the race and nationality, a new bond of love need to be developed so as not to put our beautiful world of pleasure, technology and advancement into chaos and disaster.

Segregation in America prior and during the time of Martin Luther King Jr., and apartheid in South Africa is inability of people of all colours and race to learn and embrace the simple art of living together as brothers.

The only difference between the former slaves and the slave masters was inability of the slave owners to see the slaves as human being like them and the slaves never had any good intention for the master than to wish him dead.

Even the slaves refused to let go of the influence of the past so they blame their present predicament on the havoc the slave master had done on them. I think someone needs to talk to the former slave that for us to progress in life the first thing to be done is to squeeze the slave out of ourselves.

It was Mohandas Gandhi who said “there was no dishonour in a slave, there was dishonour in a slave in being a slave holder.”

Those who kill Martin Luther King Jr., JF Kennedy, Malcolm X, Dele Giwa, MKO Abiola, Abraham Lincoln, Benezier  Bhuttos, etc, if they can just have a rethink that it is a life of a man like them they about to terminate, I think they would have desist from such act. If the terrorists that risk their lives by bombing world trade center in November 11 2001 can just sit and think over the act again that lives of people that can still be asset to your world is about to be terminated I think they not commit this great offence. But they did and throw the entire world into sadness, sorrow, tears and blood and the impact we still feel today.

We need a new bond of love in our world today, let all of us create an atmosphere of love and passion for each other so as to salvage the world from outer chaos and disaster.

The men who killed JF Kennedy did that because he stood out to uphold one of the pillars that can make the world stand and not collapse. JF Kennedy said to the millions of America on a national broadcast and I quote “And it ought to be possible for American citizen of any colour to register and to vote in a free election without fear of reprisal. But such is not the case. We say to the world and each other that we the land of the free. Does that mean it is a land of the free except for the Negroes? We are confronted primarily with a moral issues, as old as the scriptures and as the American constitution.”

He pointed out that segregation was wrong – should a man like that die?

Without love, unity, togetherness and accommodation of each other, you and I can not go far in life. Hitler killed 600,000 of European Jews, how on earth can a sane leader descend so low and wipe out the people he ought to protect? Our leaders in Africa killed and put behind bars anyone who criticizes their government. Our leader needs a re-orientation.

The land has swallowed up those who should have become the saviour of our world. Men and women across the length and breadth of the globe, we need each other than we can ever imagine. Think of a transit bus with passenger and no driver or think of the same transit bus with driver and no passenger. Think of a congregation without pastor, or pastor without a congregation, think of students who are ready to learn but there is no teacher to teach or teach who is ready to teach but no students in the class. Can any progress be recorded in an environment like this?

For how long will it take for prejudice to blind the vision of men? For how long will it take us seeing ourselves as brothers and sisters? We need to uphold the dignity of man and the destiny of humanity. At times history and fate meet at a single place to shape a turning point in man’s unending search for freedom, happiness, expression and serenity.

I have the feeling that this is the time. Let us start respecting each other and stop being in a collision course. The political leaders in Nigeria I have to plead with you; I want you to stop asking your people to burn down their own neighbours’ home, property and destroy lives.

Where is the bond of our brotherhood when the people of the same country started killing each other because of money, position, religion and cultural disposition?

Every election in Nigeria creates threats to life and property; I believe this nation need re-orientation, and re-thinking because we run down our future strength as long we continue to wreck down ourselves. You are my brother, you are my sister, together we are destined to live, work, and walk together so as to live a fulfill life on earth.

NIGERIA DILEMMA

Nigeria, a land of prosperity
Plundered and impoverished
Nigeria, a land of values
Desecrated and bastardized
Nigeria, a land of resilient people
Plunged into despair and hopelessness

Nigeria, constantly in dilemma
Constantly in search of an elusive hope
Nigeria, living in perpetual contradictions
Ugliness in the midst of beauty
Poverty in the midst of wealth
Death in the midst of life
Wars, Famine, Poverty adorn its landscape
Nigeria cries for help

Who will answer the call for help?

Who will help this wobbling giant?

Who will salvage her land from total destruction?

Who will stand to say enough is enough?

Who can understand by the hand of the clock?

That the time to rescue and save Nigeria is now