Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Matters Arising..

I read about the recent uprising in the North which was a sign of their displeasure with the outcome of the presidential election. As much as I hate the fact that lives were lost, I couldn’t stop imagining (… my mind) what the reactions would have been if the result had swayed in the opposite direction.
The problems we currently face as a nation: kidnapping, militancy, religious crises, general violence (including during elections), indiscipline (or a general lack of order) have persisted through the years. They were created years ago when we abandoned values and chased after power instead, when we abandoned principles and scurried after material things.
Albert Einstein once said “the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them”. The solutions to those problems usually require a much deeper level of reasoning/thinking. Like we all know, the approach the government takes is the “fire brigade” type i.e. the band aid or quick fix to address real and long standing issues. Why do the problems keep recurring? Well, the government we’ve had in the past have not been honest neither have they been responsible.
My analysis of the recent violence in some parts of the northern region yesterday (as well as several of its type in the recent past) is that we have failed as a nation and we are still failing. When we become irresponsible adults and show younger generations to be irresponsible, the result is usually typical of what we see today. Each individual is not just that physical body walking the streets but rather a spirit man having the capacity to reason (mental/intelligence) albeit to different degrees; to feel (emotions); to imagine (creative) and sense right and wrong (conscience). All these aspects of the man are housed within the container/body. When we neglect these aspects of the man and focus just on the physical body by chasing after its cares at all cost, we do more harm to the man and in turn the society which that man belongs. When people are not brought up to understand their emotions and learn to have control over them, the result is usually unleashed on the society adversely like we currently see. When people are not trained to reason logically (whether through formal or informal means) and live through flawed mentalities based on certain dogmas (social, religious, etc), then the result is usually same like above. When the imagination and conscience is ill-developed, the extent of damage such minds would create is better imagined than described here. Such a person (or persons) does not exist alone or kept in isolation and as such has a reasonable impact on their society.
We need to go back to the fundamentals and stop trying to act matured to the world (for we are not). We should leave the launching of satellites and focus more on developing the minds of members of our society and ensure a saner society. North, South, East, West, these problems are obvious and persistent. We have a long way to go but we can only be sure to reach there (someday) if we take the first step in the right direction. We need to look inward as a nation, as a people and begin to solve our unique problems by acknowledging them and utilizing every available resource to help combat the problems.
I end this with an excerpt of a speech given by President Obama at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women’s Summit “….. unless we harness the potential  of every American (substitute Nigerian) and ensure their skills match up to the work of the future” ……(now my own words), we may as well keep praying for peace and security in Nigeria till kingdom come.
God bless Nigeria! God bless you!

1 comment:

  1. Very wonderful piece. pls keep it up.The problems we face today as a nation were cafefully orchestrated by our leaders years ago,some of which are still alive 2day, and they are enjoying d outcome bcos it makes us depend on them continually 4 our survival. That is why up till 2day, any attempt for us to organize a Sovereign National confab is foiled midway so that we dont get our bearing. Anyway, the age of complaining is gone, now is the time for action, and u have started on a good note.live d example, cos change is at d corner!

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