The World is in dire need of leaders, change-agents, problem solvers, conflict resolutors and peace makers. In different parts of the World, you have conflicts, wars and chaos raging. people dying, suicide bombers on the rise, Islamic fundamentalism, rebel forces and the likes.
Nigeria is a conglomeration of Nations, she is a cluster of formidable ethnic groups. she can therefore be rightly classified as a heterogeneous society. These different nations that have found themselves within the larger entity known as Nigeria have their individual unique characteristics and way of life which can be conveniently defined as "culture". The difference in culture makes Nigeria a beauty to behold whenever there is an opportunity to showcase this diversity, but, this diversity is not being maximized positively...instead what is prevalent is mutual suspicion of the other ethnic nationality. I could call this ETHNOCENTRISM! feeling of being superior to other erthnic nationalities because of one's own ethnic leaning. Historically it has been with us.
Nigeria, is a country that has the potential to lead the African continent based on it's population size, the mineral resources cum wealth, its strategic location within the continent (it is not land locked and it is situated in a pivotal area within Africa), but she has been unable to translate her potential into actuality. This Nigerian quagmire can be traced to both extraneous and internal causes but I will chose to focus on the internal because the yorubas will say alatise ni mo atise ara re meaning the solution to an individual's problem begins with the individual. I have classified the different categories that make up the core and periphery of Nigeria that can make her become great!
OUR FORE-FATHERS!
According to history, when the first set of White men came in contact with our forefathers it was not as if they overpowered them, they simply had a bargain which led to our forefathers giving away their fellow black-men as slaves to the white men in exchange for mirror, spirits and unbelievable irrelevant commodities! These black-men who were freemen in Africa later became slaves that worked on plantations which eventually built the economy of the white-men. Our forefathers can't be said to have the foresight of what could become of their race! They never saw that the greatest resource any society could ever have was the HUMAN and not the irrelevant things that were given to them by their white '"business" men! They traded the future and since then generations upon generations up until now are suffering for this grievous mistake made by them.
We must have lost great scientists such as Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and the likes to slave trade- instead of charting a new and unprecedented course for the black race, they were wasted away as slaves developing the white man's world!
OUR NATIONALISTS!
The whiteman, came back for the total subjugation of the African continent after he had subtlety taken a large chunk of the strong young men and used them as slaves to develop his own world. They came back for the so-called powerful blackmen who sold their brothers into slavery and this time made them slaves on their own soil! This re-appearance was named COLONIZATION! What we have as our present day political structure was a product of colonization. The 'lingua franca' was is bye-product of colonization. As time went on, Africans began to get educated in the western world, slave trade had been fiercely fought against as was witnessed during the American civil war under the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, the call of human rights increased, the world war exposed the mortality of the whitmen and so confidence grew amongst the few emerging African elites.
The Nationalists who we can refer to as Nigeria's founding fathers fought a common cause but had their primordial sentiments keep them back from laying a solid foundation for Nigeria! I will quote some statements made by 3 of Nigeria's revered fathers;
"it would appear that the god of Africa has created the Ibo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of ages...The martial prowess of the ibo nation at all stages of human history has enabled them not only to conquer others but also to adapt themselves to the role of preserver...The Igbo nation can not shirk it's responsibility" - Nnamdi Azikiwe.
"
it seems clear to me that Azikiwe's policy was to corrode the self-respect of the Yoruba as a group, to build up the Ibo as a master race" -Obafemi Awolowo.
"North looks upon the Southerners living in the North as invaders who do not mix with the Northern people" -Tafawa Balewa.
The different groups did not trust themselves and this was and is still prevalent within the Nigerian polity. This is a foundational problem which our Founding Fathers would have helped us solved had they looked at other ethnic groups as different and not inferior! The British effectively made use of the divide and rule strategy to keep us apart and consolidate their hold on us! This same tactics has been employed by our founding fathers to maintain their hold on the citizenry and remain relevant in the scheme of things politically.
CLERGYMEN
"Religion is the opium of the masses" - Karl Marx
When the chips are down for any human being, religion keeps him going simply because it gives him hope of a better future and invariably eternity. The people who feel that hopes is lost they turn to religion, and the custodians of their religion becomes demi-gods. Whatsoever the religious leaders tell them, they are willing to believe to the detriment of the usage of their minds and freewill. With the kind of influence that the clergymen have over a large chunk of the population, love and tolerance, values, morals and selfless service to humanity should have been the basic things that should be preached by them.
Politicians would rig elections and still go to church to give thanksgiving, and the clergymen know how corrupt these men are, but they would not say the truth to their faces! There was a governor who said if the rigging of a governor's forum election was successful it was because God allowed it! He said this while giving thanksgiving in church after it was adjudged that 16 was more than 19 in a democratic election! Wealth, extravagance, nudity are found all over churches and this has continued. These men have the capacity to make people listen to them as they help them find God! People believe their pastors even more than Jesus Christ! But our clergymen have not taken that responsibility of making sure that they saturate the minds of people with the genuine word and chastisement of God. According to statistics, Christians and Muslims make up over 90% of the total population of Nigeria, if people adhered strictly to the teachings and morals of these religions, Nigeria will never be this bad!
FATHERS!
The word father has its origin from the greek word
Aba which means
source. The question would then be ...source of what? He is the source of the vision of his family starting with his wife then his children. He shows them what their future is like and leads them on the part leading to the envisioned future that he has. Fathers are second and final fathers to their wives! Fathers are the first role-models children will have know, Fathers are the first mentors children will ever have.
Real Fathers make men out of their boys! They teach their boys values such as hardwork, integrity, honesty, perseverance, selfless service to humanity and moral which preserves sanity in the human race. Our Fathers have not performed their duties to the maximum. Every human is a product of the family, whether good or bad, they are a product of a family unit which has as it's leader a man/father. If our fathers will perform their duties with utmost sense of responsibility, the society will be lbetter of for it.
MOTHERS!
The Mother is the first lover a child will ever know, and in most cases the enduring lover! The responsibility bestowed on the mother goes beyond the carriage of pregnancy, breastfeeding and weaning of the child. Her responsibility balances what the father does. She shows the child the way of dignity, by the way she elegantly carries herself and humbly loves and respect her husband. She shows the male child how a man ought to treat a woman with love and respect, she demonstrates to her female child that real beauty is covered up and not left to the full glare of the public.
The mother and the father has a joint duty which can not be passed on to the teacher, because they are the original teachers of the child. They produce what the society needs to keep it's existence. The family has failed woefully in producing the needed beautiful and value-laden people that will make the society a better place.
SCHOOLS/TEACHERS!
The teacher is a part of the relay team which collects the baton from the parents of wards kept in their care. The teacher teaches subjects which will help the child function in the society which is larger than his/her family. Most Teachers of our present day are morally bankrupt! They supply students with "expo" during examinations to help them pass! They leave students to dress half nude, leave the duty of helping a student discover where he would naturally fit based on his/her talents. Teachers even do unimaginable things with students that they ought to guide right! They are quick to sing and dance to vulgar songs in the name of also being in touch with the generation of their students. Teachers have refused to mentor students, they have refused to seem themselves as an important ingredient in nation building!
YOUTHS!
Youths have always been said to be leaders of tomorrow! but in reality, these youths never become leaders because they never got prepared for leadership! It has been said on different fronts that readers are leaders, the youths do not like to read, they do not have strong knowledge of the past, they do understand the intricacies of their society therefore they can not give solution to the problem at hand. Karl Marx wrote the second most influential book in history when he was barely 26! But what we have these days is a generation of youths who are wealth seeking, affluence and pleasure oriented in nature. The youths are not prepared to wrestle power from the old men whom they(youths) have said are recycling themselves! It is high time youths take their destinies into their hands and move Nigeria to the next level! Ethnicity, religion should not be the prism by which youths will view the affairs of this nation
MEDIA!
The media has a major duty which is embedded in one of the theories in Journalism. It is called
agenda setting. The agenda the media set for the public and society is a function of what moral standards that the media has! The media chooses to make the society take issues seriously or otherwise. The various media outfits in Nigeria are owned by politicians, who use them to their selfish ends. I could tell who owns which media outfit by virtue of the way it reports it's news.The media in some cases are not investigative enough, some are lazy. If the media will take up the challenge of creating a well informed polity, then there is hope, they should beyond their pockets, the prognosis of this Nigerian state is very gloomy if the media doesn't rise above partisanship, ethnic sentiments and negative tendencies which has left them dishonored in such a noble profession!
ME!
My blame is ....why did it take this long to write this? I got this inspiration three years ago, but I procrastinated until now.
Yomi Akinsola