Mind Restructuring: Humanity, Citizenship And Patriotism
By Richard Odusanya.
Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty”- Mahatma Gandhi. It was further deepened with the words of our African hero, a visionary leader ta-ta Madiba’ Nelson Mandela, he crooned: “To deny people their rights is to challenge their very humanity.” It is funny how humans can wrap their version of reality. Humans see what they want to see. Who are we as human beings, if we ignore the suffering of others.
Three passions have consistently governed my life: the longing for LOVE, the search for knowledge and unbearable lightness and concerns about the suffering of the less privilege. A couple of time I confronted the high and mighty in defiance of social justice. I shall continue to be as unique as the Almighty God of creation permit me. Regardless of the postulations, decree 4 has no place in democracy, the mindset of militarism is an aberration in a democracy.
Events of the recent past few years, are clearly a sad reminder of the dark era in the history of our beloved nation Nigeria. A period of military adventurism that laid the foundation of all the unfortunate situations that pervades the entire system. Our fault lines have been widened and created mistrust amongst us, to the extent that so many of our compatriots across board thinks it is only separation that is the solution to the problems.
With due respect to the protagonist of separatism, I beg to defer on the subject of separation. I rather align with the school of thought from the point of nationalism, as posited by former President Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR, my father, the balogun owu. I completely agree with him, separation is just one of the many options on the table and a quick fix, that cannot be different from what we are experiencing presently. The fact is that:-
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Your Leaders Are Of Your Kind
Most people are wont to conflate the sequence of two events and their distinct time stamps.
An elected leader is mostly responsible for improving the lot of the people. Mostly, because he needs the rallying support of all and sundry to actualize his plans and visions. Albeit, the full buck stops at his table.
However, who determines his emergence? The people. Square and simple.
Wherefore, some are only reprising us of the effect – bad leadership – I have always apprised every willing ear of the cause – his emergence. We ought to start from inception.
Two time stamps,
one before the other:
- The emergence of a leader; the first in the sequence.
- His leadership quality; the second end of it.
Hence, when we say the people MAKE the leadership, we are talking about the first and most important cause; his emergence/selection/election.
Finally, your leaders are of your kind; they lived among you and were formed and forged by your societal morals and edicts as espoused in your cultural ethos. By a plausible stretch, a morally bankrupt society will only elect/support/give their espousal to equally morally bankrupt leaders.
“As you are, so are your leaders.” Paraphrasing the Prophet’s popular maxim.
A society gets the quality of leadership it deserves.
It’s a five finger exercise.
However, life is a circle of happiness, sadness, hard times, and good times. Whatever the situation that we are going through as a nation today, let us jointly agree that it is an opportunity to rethink “Mind Restructuring” we should have faith that good times are on the way. We need to remember, hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed. DRY BONES SHALL RISE AGAIN.
ARISE ‘O COMPATRIOTS
Richard Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI.
Mind Restructuring: Humanity, Citizenship And Patriotism
