WHAT WOULD OBASANJO CHANGE IF SUDDENLY HE COULD?
by D. Akinsanya Juliuson HonDBA, IOM
Many
of us don't like to dwell too long on the past. We are more interested
in where we are going than where we have been. We don’t need someone
to remind us of the mistakes we’ve made. Recent events, though, have
obliged many of us to revisit an old memory. We are starting to see a
story from a different perspective. We now understand something that
we never really 'got' before. In one way, this makes very little
difference. In another, it alters everything. We are entitled to
expect a better, brighter, easier road ahead than we have so far
allowed ourselves to envisage, but we must not at the same time forget
to appreciate how blessed we truly are as citizens of the country of
the future, Nigeria. Let’s take small, gentle steps. Let’s act as if
we are not really going anywhere; as if we are just wandering,
casually in an aimless sort of way. Let’s not reveal the full extent
of our interest in a particular matter concerning our democracy or the
true intensity of our desire to strengthen our nation’s connection.
The keener we are to make progress, the more we will encounter
opposition or obstruction. Let’s consider other diverting subjects,
like child trafficking and prostitution, prevention of crime against
children and elderly persons, character assassination etc, whilst all
the time edging closer towards our secret goal. That's the best way to
attain it.
But
how far away is the future? About as far away as the past. And how far
is that? Well, in one way, yesterday is distant and irrecoverable, yet
the memory of it is instantly accessible. We can't remember tomorrow
but that doesn't mean we can't instinctively instantly 'know'
something of what it contains. We Nigerians need, now, to think about
what we want to happen. What we would change if suddenly we could.
Then we need to recognise that if we really pray and genuinely work
hard, we can make it happen. 2007 is not, repeat not, going to be a
rerun of 1983 or 1999. We must get ready for life in a different
world.
The past, we can't change. The future,
trust me we surely can. History may be immutable, but our emotions,
are not. We can overcome them if we really try and we should. A brief
moment of objectivity is all we need in this great nation and by God
we can make the world go round, without having to go round with it.
Integrity is not something you
attain; it’s something you aspire to. No matter how good, honest or
sincere a person becomes, there is always room for improvement. A
lifetime is not long enough for us to learn all there is to learn
about how to be a better person. Some people, sensing this, decide not
to bother. Others fool themselves into thinking that they are as wise,
kind and right as it is possible to be. To note an inner fault and
feel keen to fix it is to have a reason to be proud of oneself ……..not
ashamed. However, if we didn’t think so much, life
would not mean so much. Sensitivity might be a mixed blessing but it
remains a very precious gift. But no matter how raw or vulnerable we
may feel in life, we are lucky to experience this emotion. Let’s fear
not but process it. Let’s learn from it. Let’s allow it to evolve and
allow ourselves to evolve with it. Patience is a most wonderful
virtue. The ability, to take immediate, decisive action is also a most
applaudable strength. The really tricky balancing act involves finding
the ability to wait, as long as we need to whilst doing as much as we
can, without losing our cool. It is not a balance that any of us can
strike successfully for long. But we can have fun and enjoy great
success in the process of trying. There is much to exasperate us now
in Nigeria. But there’s also much to fill us with deep delight. Let’s
trust in the Lord, hope for the best and all will be well.
In
life we must understand that, every single word that comes out of our
mouth has repercussions and results. Many of us are able to talk
anyone into absolutely anything. Our brain operates at full power and
we find it easy to get to the bottom of things and work out what's
happening behind the scenes. All it takes is some strategic planning
and we're able to take control of events and turn them to our own
advantage. Many of us, are not fond of arguments. We don't mind
winning them, but we don't like feeling as if we are in danger of
losing them. The trouble with arguments is that they oblige us to take
a position and hold fast to it in order to defend it. They require us
to be sure of ourselves and to ignore secret, inner doubts... even if
those doubts are healthy or relevant. Words are funny things. You can
use them by the bookful yet still be no closer to clear communication.
Yet with one raised eyebrow, you can sometimes speak volumes.
Feelings are funny things too. You can swim in an ocean of emotion and
still feel out of touch with your own heart. Yet in a state of calm,
unresponsive certainty, you can really hear your inner voice. Our
leaders need be restrained and self-contained. If something needs to
happen, it will happen. You merely need to lift a finger, not raise a
fist or take another’s life. Our leaders need to learn how to enter
debates with an open mind and this will yet give them more reason to
feel very open-hearted. What if someone were to blow a whistle? What
if loudspeakers, all over the world, were to blare out the same
message at the same time? Now, we are going to start living life for
real?' What would we (Nigerians) change, if, suddenly, we could? If we
felt our future was more fluid, where would we like it to run to?
These are not idle questions. The next general election in Nigeria has
real power behind it. It heralds the possibility of a true
transformation very soon.
There's an old joke about someone who dreams, during the night, that
they are eating candy floss. They wake in the morning to discover
that, while sleeping, they have taken large bites out of their pillow.
The heavens now, is causing many of our politicians to wake up FROM
something - TO something. What they once assumed to be true is clearly
not true. Not only must they better accept this, they must accept the
consequences of actions taken whilst they were under that
misapprehension. Bad news? Not at all!
They say that
the definition of insanity is to, ‘keep doing the same thing over and
over, in the hope that you will get a different result’. The
definition of ingenuity, though, is to attempt a different result by
doing much the same thing with a smart little twist. Let’s note the
superficial similarity between these two processes. To be truly
creative, we have to be just a little crazy. If we wander too far,
into the realms of silliness, we will make no progress. We must allow
our today to bring the chance to strike a perfect balance. Some
people think that money is the most precious resource. Other slightly
wiser folk see time as more important. The fact remains, though, that
you can have all the money and all the time in the world, but if you
haven’t got any wisdom in your mind or kindness in your heart, it will
mean nothing to you or to any intelligent being. We are not here on
earth to achieve things. Nor are we here to be efficient. We are here
to experience, to share and to celebrate happiness.
Don’t treat
the place like a hotel. That’s what our parents tell us when we are
teenagers, many God fearing Nigerians have been saying this for a
while and making us believe that the best thing for this generation is
to appreciate and protect what we are blessed with…..our natural
resources. I have been campaigning about the creation of the Agency
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Elderly Persons;
Independent Press Complaints Commission; Efficient and effective Human
Rights Commission; Independent Police Complaints Commission etc. We
have been campaigning about putting behind bars, those jobless serial
blackmailers, enemies of peace and political rogues. Yet society as a
whole has a very adolescent attitude. In Africa, especially Nigeria,
people are still busy helping themselves to the country’s resources
and assuming that if they make a mess, that nature or my generation or
even the next generation will clear it up. It’s understandable in a
way. None of us is here forever. That, is really a reason to treat the
life we have been loaned with great respect. Like I said before, If
now, we (this generation) take responsibility for something that
others are taking for granted, we’ll achieve something very valuable.
This is the
right time to show the world that we are serious and we can achieve
just about anything we want. Let’s show the world that we’re tired,
frustrated, depressed or that we don’t believe in ourselves, and the
world will probably agree. We have forever been playing around with
our economy and having too good a time, but thank God, we are now in a
position, to start behaving like mature Nigerians. In life when
we 'Smile, the world smiles with us. But let’s cry and we cry alone.'
This is true in so far as it goes - but it creates the unfortunate
impression that only positive expressions and emotions are likely to
engender empathy and emulation. The fact is that a frown is every bit
as contagious as the smile. If we make someone feel uncomfortable,
like we are doing to those poor children and elderly persons in
Nigeria, there is a strong chance that, that person in return will
pass along the bad vibe. We need to choose what we want to spread in
our world now. When we proceed with too much haste, we make mistakes
that we later regret at our leisure. So goes the conventional wisdom.
Actually, there are times when we have to act in a hurry. There's no
other option. On an impulse, in the heat of the moment, we can make
truly brilliant choices that we never regret. There's nothing wrong
with having quick reactions, however, if we are calm and focused at
the same time as we are speedy, we will very effectively reach the
right target.
Nowadays,
there are many superstores, purporting to offer goods and services of
great value, just like our politicians in Africa, especially, my
beloved country Nigeria. There are though, no “solution shops”. No
places where, no matter what our problem we can find an answer to it
if we simply inquire within. Then again, nowhere in this world are
there pressure factories, buildings where sources of tension and
stress are made and distributed. Yet the latter clearly exists
somewhere, somehow. In a funny way, the former do too. It’s a
question, now of looking harder for what we need and looking away from
some irritating and irrelevant distraction. We need to watch out now
in this country of ours…..the wish granting fairy is on the loose and
getting trigger –happy with her wand. If she overhears a request of
any kind, she is likely to grant it; especially if it comes from
Nigerians themselves. Why should this be a problem? Well, let’s just
think of the wishes we all make without really thinking. When we are
in bad moods - when stressed out – when we are under pressure – when
we are temporarily overcome by some unwise desire, we might express a
wish for some wildly inappropriate thing. We must appreciate the fact
that, we human beings especially Nigerians have more power than we
know. We must learn to use that power carefully, most especially, when
electing our next governors, senators and representatives…..the next
President? Well! That depends on how badly we so much believe in our
dream of a better, brighter, productive, enviable and influential
Nigeria.
