Saturday, April 17, 2010
Babangida Again?
Babangida coming again is just a testimony to that fact and also that the system of enthroning leaders in Nigeria is sick! It is also a confirmation to the fact that these power drunk leaders believed strongly that their coming to power does not depend on the electorate, but depends on acceptability within "themselves". Remember Babangida never left, he only "stepped aside".
With what is obtainable in the present leadership system in Nigeria, my take is that it will take a "tyrant" from among "them" that may be an instrument of change. We can only HOPE and PRAY to God to turn the hearts of one or some of "them" against "themselves" and help fulfill the plan of God for our dear country.
Babangida may be that person! I don't know, but he may just be that person, as I said we can only pray.
But I will also use this medium to say that we all are also part of the Nigerian System... we may not be among the "power brokers" But are our VALUES different from "theirs"? Are our values positively strong enough to overcome "theirs" to bring out the change we need in Nigeria? If there are "people swop" of Nigerians in different works of life, with these "power cabals" will there really be a CHANGE in the polity of our dear NATION? As much as we detest and condemn "them", are we any better? These questions, I'll leave all of us with. If indeed there WILL be a sharp positive difference in VALUE between us and "them" then lets begin enforce it constructively.
Nigeria still belong to "US" as much as it belongs to "THEM". Lets do the "GOOD" that is required of us as individuals and someday, sometime, somehow, GOOD will OVERCOME evil in this country just like LIGHT always OVERCOME darkness.
God Bless Nigeria!
Sunday, December 06, 2009
NIGERIA: The change we need!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
AN INFORMATION LITERATE NIGERIA WILL BE A BETTER NIGERIA
To promote economic independence and raise standard of living, there is a lifelong need to be constantly informed and up to date with current information. Since man cannot live forever, it is essential to persistently invest in the younger generation to value information as a perpetual growth strategy in order to ensure that the youths of today, will indeed be good leaders tomorrow.
Looking into Nigeria today, our educational system has been deprived of what it is supposed to breed – excellence! Someone once defined Education as knowing something about everything, and I quite agree with him. The end result of education should be excellence, which to me, is knowing everything about something. Education and excellence goes hand in hand. We have not seen excellence in our polity and economy so far because we have not put priority on education.
This is the time to look beyond the present leadership system because, in my own opinion, it has very little to offer for the future of Nigeria. This is the time for all Nigerians to come together and begin to concentrate on building leaders and that task is the responsibility of every patriotic Nigerians who still have their nation’s development at heart.
The saying goes that readers are leaders, the main reason I believe we lack leaders is because we lack readers – information literate people. People who value information and know what to with it. If we develop a habit of reading, we will become more confident and self assured in abilities to comprehend and understand all types of information. This goes a long way in influencing our polity and decision making prowess. Reading has many benefits that continue to enhance our lives and subsequently the life of our nation.
One of the other main benefits of reading, that I have experienced, is that it exercises our mind. When we continue to read, we have the ability to expand our minds tremendously. We review the pages of knowledge left by those who came before us and who had made good living and contributed to the society at large. We then begin to add to the knowledge as the cycle of humanity continues. The truth is that, if you are a reader, you'll know better. Everyone acts according to his knowledge on a particular issue per time. When you know better, you act better and when you act better, you see better results! When the mind is trained and channeled through insightful reading and quest for right information, it begins to pay attention more thoroughly. When we develop a practice of reading, we are building solid foundation on which to build the future.
Our society today does not have a reading culture. We’ve got to start cultivating reading habit in ourselves, our children and youths of today to raise an army of real leaders tomorrow. We need to encourage fellow citizens to be information literate, not just reading any junk, but reading to gather information that helps become better behaved citizen and eventually create a better nation. There is need for a paradigm shift from ignorance stricken society to an information literate people with right 'heartitude' to living.
The perils of bad leadership that we see today will hurt and hunt us the more if you and I will not decide to make a change to being more knowledge and information conscious. Poverty is a plague that is eating deep into the country today, and the solution is in our individual selves searching for the right knowledge to help us live better. When you acquire relevant information and you apply them knowledgeably, solution is borne. You won’t have to depend on Government too much when you constantly have access to information that makes you shift levels on a consistent basis. Information literate citizens are able to detect, spot and expose fraud, disinformation and lies.
How long shall we continue to rely on our rotten leadership to make a better Nigeria? What is in it for us? If after over 49 years, all we have experienced is as bad as it is now, wouldn’t we rather think of a change. I heard someone say recently that the citizens of Nigeria deserve the leadership they get, and I kind of agree with that person based the premise that we the citizens have the choice to change the kind of leadership we get. Zig Ziglar said “to do something the way you have always done it and expect a different result is the definition of insanity.” If Nigeria must change from what it is today, we must begin to do something differently!
We can create another system that will push this old system away with time. One way I think this can be achieved is by being information literate, by encouraging the young and old to be readers. Being information literate is the ability to know where to gather relevant information that will bring result producing solutions to our problems and that of others around us.
Let us start a revolution today with ourselves, for our children, our neighbor and eventually for our nation. Let’s support, encourage, and sponsor an information literacy crusade. Let’s lunch a reading campaign in the home, school and everywhere. Our future depends on it! God Bless Nigeria!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Power of Encouragement
Everyone needs help. You need help, I need help, our leaders need help, and Nigeria needs help! We as an individual can decide from today to be the HELP that someone needs. The truth about life is that to get help, you need to be a help. The help you need, the encouragement you need to walk through life successfully is locked in the practice of you being a help to someone. Everyone, young and old, successful and less-than-successful, famous and unknown who receives encouragement is changed by it. Mark Twain once said, "One compliment can keep me going for a whole month". Zig Ziglar also once said this that "You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life."
I once read about the principal of a school, who one day called in three teachers and said, "You three are the finest in the system, so we're giving you ninety high-IQ students to see what you can do with them." Those students, at the end of the evaluating year, achieved thirty percent more than the other students in the school. Seeing the results, the principal called in the three teachers and said, "I have a confession to make. You didn't have ninety of the most promising students; they were run-of-the-mill (meaning nothing special about them). We picked them at random and gave them to you." The teachers naturally concluded that their exceptionally teaching skills must have been responsible for the students' great progress. "I have another confession, said the principal.’You're not the brightest teachers; your names were the first three drawn out of the hat.'
I found this story interesting how the power of encouraging words made ordinary teachers and ordinary students produce excellent performances. The popular philosopher said, 'Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already was what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.' Why did those students and teachers performed at that level? Because they were encouraged to believe they could!
Words of encouragement are powerful and life changing. Let us as individuals make it a habit of encouraging, of helping someone. Let us help someone realize their full potential. When we do this, the impact will be will be profound in our society. Look around you, imagine a community where boys, girls, man and woman live to their full potential; everyone will be better for it! Imagine a Nigeria where everyone is encouraged to do or produce or manifest some great works or attitude.
We all need each other, and we don't have go too far out of our way to find someone to help. The opportunity abounds. At work, in school, in public buses, in the market place, in seminars, we meet people, we talk to people. Let’s make it a purposeful activity to encourage someone, to help someone achieve his or her dream. That is the essence of life, in following this path is fulfillment in life.
Today, go out and encourage somebody!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
LEAD FROM WHERE YOU ARE
It is therefore the collective responsibility of all Nigerians at different levels to take responsibility for Nigeria, after all Leadership is about responsibility. We as Nigerians must in our individual capacity have a resolve to change our nation from this path to gloominess. I heard someone say, if this generation does not rise up to address the decadence in our country, then Nigeria is doomed! It should be the responsibility of every living adult Nigerian today to ensure we do something positive to change the course of things in Nigeria. We all have to take on the problem of leadership. We all have to exhibit and manifest leadership in some way to move our nation forward. We have to make leadership our responsibility. My call in this note is to lead from where you are.
Responsibility is the heart of leadership. We all should begin to take responsibility for Nigeria we want to see tomorrow. Leading from where you are is a call to be responsible, a call to re-build our waste places and institutions in our own little ways. Where do we start from?
One key attribute of leaders is being assertive. Leaders must be assertive. Being assertive means standing up for right or making known legitimate needs, concerns and differences. Many times in this country, we the people have been quiet, and we look another way when others make unethical choices or behave in inappropriate ways. In so much as it doesn’t affect us directly; we feel it’s none of our business. Nigerians and Nigeria’s resources are our business! We are part of the ecosystem. Every individual decisions and actions affects us all one way or the other.
To lead from where you are, you must stand up for what you believe is for the common good of all. Not in violent or derogatory ways but with love. We have all benefitted negatively from our not been assertive. We have kept quiet for too long. We all should be on the look out to uphold Godly standards as appropriate in policies, responsibilities and relationships in our community. We must develop courage to tell people in our circle of influence and at our different levels the truth in a loving way whether they want to hear it or not. Truth is powerful in its nature, its potent enough to bring about change, positive change! All we need to do, and consistently do is SAY IT!
God has given everyman a gift for the betterment of their individual life and that of the community they find themselves. That is the truth! It is our responsibility to give expression to this truth. Say the truth, act out the truth and live the truth! The truth will itself bring about change. By saying the truth, I mean giving expression to your God given potential, assert it, and make it known! When you act out the truth, you act out your potential; when you live the truth, you live your potential and when you live your potential, you are leading from where you are and manifesting God’s idea. God’s idea for your life is the potential he put in you for your good and that of your circle of influence.
It’s time to stand up for our dear nation. Live right and do right! It’s time we take responsibility to make Nigeria a better place for us all! It’s time we speak out! It’s time to correct in love! It’s time we form pressure groups with common goal to tell those in authority to do the right thing and respond to the needs and concerns of Nigerians in a peaceful and loving way! It’s time live our full potential!
Fixing Nigeria is our collective responsibility. It’s not for a collective few. It’s for all of us to be assertive where we need to. Lead from where you are today. It’s for the good of all Nigerians. Have you heard about the Let There Be Light Crusade? See what it’s all about at www.lettherebelightng.org
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Shake It Off And Step Up
A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow.
"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to "SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!
This was an inspiring story to me and i believe it will be to you too. Let the lesson of the story shape your 'heartitude', seeing every adversity asn an opportunity to move hiher in life...
You will Succeed!