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What Would Obasanjo Change If Suddenly He Could? By D. Akinsanya Juliuson
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.
D.AKINSANYA JULIUSON Diplomacy Practitioner and Specialist Investigator
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