Mind Restructuring: Liberated Mind, Avoiding Sentiments Of Tribe Or Religion.

By Richard Odusanya

It was in the voice of our revered revolutionary clergy and one of the most celebrated personality in the whole of the universe, Martin Luther king Jr, in his famous speech, which was instrumental to my personal developed and the consciousness of being myself without pretense and sentiment. He posited thus: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.”MLK

Further to the above, I was also privileged to host the first memorial anniversary of Prof Chinua Achebe in the beautiful city of London some couple of years back, where the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, delivered the keynote address, after which Prof Stephen Itugbu of the university of London; standing in for the former senate president, Sen Ken Nnamani, came up and delivered the goodwill message. Subsequently, as the host, in my closing remarks and votes of thanks, I unveiled my uniqueness. Permit me to re echo the last paragraph of my speech, which goes thus: “…I am a miniature map of Nigeria; an Ijebu man born by a northern mother; born in the coal city of Enugu; married an Ibo lady of eastern extraction and have worked and lived in the northern part of Nigeria for upward of three decades. I am a proud Nigerian, I sleep, drink and think NIGERIA.” I was accorded a standing ovation from the audience and I was filled with honour and a great deal of fulfillment as a proud son of Nigeria.

It is on this note that I will be addressing our minds. No nation can be really great unless it is great in peace, in industry, Integrity, honesty and so forth. A good government may indeed redress the grievance of an injured people; but a strong people can alone build up a great nation. It is time for us to close ranks and do away with the borderline mischief. I am convinced that none of us was privileged enough to determine what tribe or religion to belong to on arrival from the great beyond.

It is a known fact that, the best way to predict a future is to invent it. The time has come for us to redefine our value system. How long can we, the giant of Africa continue to endure the heartless menace of an insignificant group of faceless individuals whose only mission is to destroy our people, our nation, our values and even our humanity. Let everyone rise up to this fight, this is no longer a political or religious fight. It is a fight against our very own existence and future.

It is a fight against Nigeria and all her peace loving populace. It is a fight against humanity and the world at large. Stand up to this fight! Let us all stand against terrorism for Nigeria and for the world. Enough of the carnage; enough of the madness; enough of kidnapping, banditry, insurgency.

Interestingly, it is so true, that it is not just about Nigeria, but most of the African continent… It is certainly a threat against humanity! Fear and silence in the heat of evil is only for cowards. Why do so many people in Nigeria pretend about the callousness and heartlessness of some of our leaders.

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The madness of Nigerian corrupt politicians and officials is gradually playing out to their shame. The die is cast! We act like all is well because some of us think we are economically comfortable. We are united in grief as a nation but divided in response to our woes! We don’t give a damn if a woman or a child is kidnapped in kaduna or someone is beheaded in Borno.

Nevertheless, you may feel that, you are safe where you are, so it is none of your business. We don’t shed tears and cry when innocent citizens are denied their freedom to live and butchered or murdered by shameless extremists called Boko Haram, who hide behind their own religious convictions and conception to lash out mayhem upon the weak and innocent peace loving populace of Nigeria. Have you ever wondered why some Nigerians have become refugees in their own nation. This thing is no longer about religion, we all should rise to the challenge.

The insurgence and bandits are heartless and wicked. They are not worthy of any reconciliation. We must know that they are the enemies of every sensible human being, not just Nigerians. We are fed up with the senseless violence and killings of the innocent people all over Nigeria. We must understand that a threat to humanity anywhere is a threat to humanity everywhere. We must stand up and take the bull by the horn.

The Nigerian armed forces, the pride of Africa, seemingly, has made some efforts in this battle against the clueless and baseless group called Boko Haram that up till now have not given the world any cogent reason why they are killing innocent people and destroying their livelihood. These extremists hiding under the cover of religion to win the hearts and support of the faithful of such religion so they can continue to perpetrate their evil motivated behavior. This carnage must stop.

The question that is on the lips of so many of our compatriots home and abroad, is can Nigeria be great again? The answer may be too simplistic to the skpetics but it will surprise you to know that we’re not the only country that has ever come to this level of rot for want of a better world. I can’t readily tell you the stories of countries such as France, England, and even the United States (you can read up on them); but the truth is that where there is a will, there will always be a way.

Africa is truly a great continent. We are blessed abundantly with both natural and human resources that are vast and untapped. We are blessed with very hard working people, who if given a little opportunity will excel in any endeavour but the opportunities are simply not available. We have the will and the capacity to do better and improve our lives, but the environment is not conducive enough.

Good governance accross the continent shall place and bring remarkable social and economic development to the people but leaders in emerging countries like Nigeria, are less knowledgeable and ill prepared to take up the mantle of leadership with neccessary charisma and selflessness towards serving the people.

Leadership skills required are lacking and priority given to self enrichment and interest of the wealthy few. For this nation to be great, our leadership must mostly be comprised of responsible and visionary citizens. If our leaders were already inept and irresponsible as ordinary citizens, it would be unrealistic to assume that they would function appropriately when they are in the chambers of power.

Henceforth, our humanity should supersede the religious bigotry and tribal sentiments that birthed nepotism. Until religion or tribe have the capacity to change the colour of our blood, they should not be allowed to define us. This is one of the core reasons for the campaign of Mind Restructuring.

Even if we successfully Restructure the entity called “Nigeria” without restructuring the minds of our compatriots home and abroad, the results will not be different from what we are witnessing today, even if you divide Nigeria into twelve separate regions.

TheLivesOfAllNigeriansMatter

Richard Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE