On Friday 21 Oct, 2011 I was returning from a send off party in honor of my colleagues and I was accosted by a Police man who asked me to identify myself. A lot went through my mind in a millisecond. My thoughts raced from evasive anti-bribe tactics to mentally reconfirming the validity of my vehicle particulars to even items in the trunk of my car. Trust me, the Nigerian Police are smart and you have to always be mentally ahead of all likely answers and counter answers.
Well, to my surprise, after telling him my name in full, he asked for my drivers licence which I gave to him and he asked me for my state of origin. Now that was odd! My senses were on red alert and I wondered where this 'man in black' was going with these line of questions. I did tell him and guess what! He digressed into the question of my religion. Strange fellow I thought. This I told him and he pressed forward to find out what my place of worship was? Now, at this point, I was curious because this Police man needed something. I did tell him what my place of worship was and then he engaged me in a discussion.
Contrary to my "pre-police phobia" this particular officer had a vacuum that needed to be filled. He hungered for information which a privileged few could provide. I did provide him with the information he needed and he was truly happy as he bid me fare well. I dare say, he is the first Policeman that didn't try to rip me off.
Over the weekend, our little conversation and the relief on the face of the Policeman as he waved me off made me think about a lot of things.
It is a fact that Africa has many issues ripping at the heart of this ancient continent. It is true that Nigeria has its own share of stomach churning headaches. Many sleep in fear for insecurity, wake up to the threat of fuel subsidy removal and the dreadful aftermath of the post-subsidy era. I even read a blog post of an up coming 'revolutionare' this weekend. This fellow had all the conspiracy theories in his blog. All I could say was 'wow'!
I however refuse to approach challenges by the populist approach of complaints and accusations. I am a solution oriented person. The thing is, there is always a solution. For every challenge the solution is right in the middle of it. Why get into a heated argument of how things are not working when you refuse to excersise your franchise and change things. Well if you think you can do better, then get on a political platform and contest for an electoral position.
Why waste all that energy and whine when you can make a difference. If you are not ready to be the change that your constituency is looking for, then keep quiet. You have no right to complain if you are not ready to get up and change things.
I believe in change. I believe things change for the better or for worse. I believe the ability to make things change for the better is through a properly thought-out process and most often when you seek the 'sincere' opinions of others and acting on those opinions.
Many times we are not any better than the people in government that we criticize. We have first class graduates from Universities that are governed by school cert holders. If you think you know better, then go and contest at the grassroot level (L.G.A. Counselor), prove yourself worthy and rise through the ranks. Dr Dora Akunyili did it, so why can't you?
So next time, before you openly condem those in power, ask yourself two things:
1. Would I truly do the same thing they are doing or worse?
2. Can I make a difference? If yes, stop complaining, contest at the polls and make that difference.
We must challenge ourselves to make things work. The complaints are not working. If it was, things would have changed. So before your remove the speck in your neighbours eye, do me a favor and get rid of the log in your own eye so till we meet again, don't just complain, do something to change things for the better. Till we meet again, keep winning.
David Chiaka
Never believe that a first class degree would win you an elective position.
ReplyDeleteAlso i ask myself why people like Gani Fawehinmi(tried and tested)Chris Okotie,Tunde Bakare and the likes of them never won elections.why also did Dora Akunyili lose?
Do people really want leaders who know how to rule by the book?or is something more required?