MEDITATION

You, mother, are not responsible to set the whole world right; you are responsible only to make one pure, sacred, and divine household - LYMAN ABBOT

Friday 14 November 2014

                                             MISTAKES AFFECTING THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA
 
   Hello wonderful reader(s),  i am happy you came on to check this, remember i wrote that my previous topic 'Contribution of Professionalism' would be my foundation and introduction to 'Mistakes Affecting the Growth and Development of Our Nation, Nigeria'   These mistakes may sound simple and easily addressable, but it isn't, which is why individuals, the society and our administrators must make sure they combine to correct all wrongs and to stop repeating these mistakes, some of which have haunted and negatively affected us for close to five decades.   Socrates stated 'an unexamined life is not worth living'
Thus, I make reference to Atedo N. A. Peterside's humble submission tagged 'beware of nine mistakes that haunt Nigeria' which he addressed to National Conference Delegates at this year's National Conference,  Atedo in his published article on page 17 of Sunday Punch newspaper dated 27th, April, 2014  wrote in response to Mr President in his inaugural address at the national conference delegates on page 25 of his speech, said 'We cannot continue to proffer yesterday's solutions for today's problems'  

''This observation is bold, honest and forthright. i believe it is correct, but then it is also clearly an indictment of our leaders...
I say my humble submission is that our political leaders have perserved with yesterday's solution largely because our elite have not properly diagnosed and corrected some of the most important mistakes...''    I present my humble perspective to the problems affecting the growth and development of our nation, Nigeria, as a patriotic citizen.

1 - POLITICIANS SHOULD CURB THE EXCESSES OF THEIR SUPPORTERS
     I believe politicians are well-educated and this should surface in their day-to-day activities.   Organization, directing and management of acts of supporters which all promotes good governance will go a long way in positively influencing the mentality of individuals of the society and opposition parties, thereby calling for true democracy irrespective of whom you are whether a political post holder, an aspirant or an individual with fans as all men practice politics in their different endeavor. Paulo Coelho said 'culture makes people understand each other better, and if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers, but first they have to understand that their neighbor is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions'    Atedo's say = With the benefit of hindsight, the big mistake of 1965 was the failure of political leaders to curb the excesses of their supporters in the western region, even when the latter were getting progressively more violent.   Many Nigerian politicians still do not know the correct time to curb the excesses of their supporters.

2- SOME INDIVIDUALS STILL BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE TODAY MUST BE GREATER VIOLENCE
    Violence worsens a case, fighting for something you believe is just and right doesn't have to be violent, there are so many ways of fighting but with weapons is out of the context.   I find this embarrassing and uncalled for in the 21st  century, fighting to get your opinions understood should not be with hurting and harming of individuals and laws of our society, If you feel that things should be looked at from your own perspective rather than the current way of looking at it, then you can fight for your course digitally(internet).  Consistency of quality information through the media or internet will attract people who view things the way you do and share your opinion, making them support you which will make your concerns public and soon treated.   Mahatma Gandhi said 'i object to violence because when it appears to do good , the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent' and 'an eye for an eye will only make the whole world go blind'
   Atedo's say = The January 1966 military coup, which was plotted and executed by some young military officers, was violent in the extreme.   It was almost as if they thought they could douse violence by confronting it with an even more violent outcome.   That led us into a cycle of escalating violence via a violent counter-coup in July 1966...

3- MANIPULATING/EXPLOITING OF POLITICAL POST HOLDERS BY ETHNIC JINGOISTS AND ELDERS.
    A Political Post holder might have a positive mindset towards fulfilling his promises to the society/electorate but because of manipulation/exploitation by elders the government being operated by political post holders then gets distracted, causing the government to commence floating thereby making such post holders immature and incapable.   What i am trying to say is that elders and ethnic jingoists should reduce and stop the exploitation of political post holders.   Also to the Political Post holder, as it was in the bible(St. Mark 12: 14-17) ''...And when they were come they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? Shall we give or shall we not give? But He said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they answered him, Caesar's, Then Jesus answered them Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's...''

   Atedo's say = Elders and other jingoists sought to score advantages over their peers by exploiting the naivete of the young and/or immature military leaders  who emerged in 1966.   The familiar refrain today is that, if your ''son'' occupies a high office then he must manipulate things to your advantage and give you more than your fair share of what you desire, to the detriment of others.

4- RELIGION AND ETHNIC PROBLEMS IN POLITICS.
    As it was published in my first article that Religion is a way of worship to the Almighty God.   Yes, it truly is, but then, are we practicing it?   Islamic Religion and Christian Religion all say love your God and Love your Neighbors as you have loved yourself.   Are we showing the love that our creator has instructed us to?  let's think about the question and remember that your mind is your true Identity and Religion.   To develop our country, Religion in Politics should not serve as a barrier to the growth and development of Nigeria but as a stepping stone to achieving our earthly paradise.   Dalai Lama said 'This is my simple religion. there is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness'
    Also, in our country where we all echo One Nigeria One Nation, this shouldn't be with just words but to also act in line with our words, this mistake doesn't happen only in politics but in most Organizations, too.   We need to make a change, lets change the way we treat ourselves.  For Religion and Ethnic barriers in politics, lets be more than willing to see every problem as an opportunity to grow alongside morals and love, remember an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.   Gary Locke said 'ethnic diversity adds richness to a society'

   Atedo's say = We then also brought religion into politics and are still trying to bring it into everything concerning the public sector.   The irony here is that, if we are truly religious, then why are our public and private sector leaders more corrupt than their contemporaries in countries where religion is almost viewed and/or treated with disdain?   No, by their very actions, thieves and murderers of the innocent have confirmed that they are neither Moslems nor Christians. They are simply criminals who should be made to pay for their sins. Neither the bible nor the Koran preach that we should condone criminality.

5- CONSIDERATION OF DELEGATES AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE
   If a national conference, on the current basis of Nigeria & with its content beyond Political Leaders is to take place.   All representatives of human discipline must be considered delegates.   Last week, i published an article; 'contribution of professionalism' i believe with my explanation and my reader's knowledge about profession will you agree with me that need be for all professional body representative be considered delegates for anything national because it means that public view is considered.
  
    Atedo's Say = When confronted with a stalemate or a disagreement between any two substantial groups or groupings on a thorny issue, we refused in the past to borrow tried and tested corporate governance principles and other conflict resolution mechanisms including diplomacy. That was how we slid all the way into a full blown civil  war in 1967. I dare say that if a national conference, on the scale of what we have today and with a composition that similarly went beyond political leaders, had been convened in the first quarter of 1967, the Nigerian Civil War might have been averted.

6- DESTRUCTION OF PROFESSIONALISM IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.
    Professionalism is the mark or quality of a profession.  To be professional is to follow the special convention, form of politeness associated/attached with a certain profession.  Bribery and corruption is the order of the day and it has destroyed professionalism in both the private and public sectors.  Until Professionalism is restored to the organizations, will there be growth and development in the country.   The main cause of bribery & corruption is when the employee is unsatisfied with the job, and causes are job security, good remuneration, provision of adequate facilities, and employee-employer relationship.   Also, religious and society recommendations should be tendered by employees.

   Atedo's Say = In the mid-1970s, the military then destroyed professionalism in the civil service through the combination of the mass purges which they carried out and the consequent enthronement of tenure insecurity which has since afflicted most public officers.  Accordingly, our civil service has never regained its ability to act as a restraining influence on the excesses of Political Office holders.

7- FAILURE OF POLITICAL POST HOLDERS TO FULFILL PROMISES MADE TO THE ELECTORATE DURING CAMPAIGNS.
    Some of our elected-aspirants have failed in ensuring that their promises are fulfilled when they resume office.   As it is that the best way to promote good governance is leading by example, and our leaders have not led by examples, therefore it has immeasurable effect on the mentality of the electorate causing a deceitful and unfaithful relationship amongst us.  I believe that 'more than any other factor, it is the people we have to deal with that determine the quality of our work lives' also 'your task as a leader is to help others to succeed, not to strive only for your own success'  Source- David H. Maister(True Professionalism)
   Atedo's say--- Our leaders also behaved in a manner that created the impression that our word has stopped being our bond and that is why there is no sanctity of contracts.

8- DYSFUNCTIONAL LEGAL SYSTEM PROMOTES CORRUPTION.
    I believe that most corrupt activities within the society and in different organizations have been backed up by our dysfunctional legal system.   Our legal system should be strong enough to punish powerful individuals who oppress/cheat the masses as true and sound governance means 'equality before the law'.   Justice should be delivered speedily to the oppressed.   A dysfunctional legal system promotes and encourages corruption in a nation which doesn't promote good governance thereby declining such nation the opportunity to grow and develop.   Elena Kagan said 'I've led a school whose faculty and students examine and discuss and debate every aspect of our legal system. And what i've learned most is that no one has a monopoly on truth or wisdom. I've learned that we make progress by listening to each other, across every apparent political or ideological divide'
    Atedo's say = ...having enthroned injustice everywhere, our lawyers and judges then conspired to bequeath us with a dysfunctional legal system which makes it virtually impossible for anyone to obtain justice speedily from our courts.   People who claim to be minorities at the federal or state level often visit the same oppression that they complain of on smaller ethnic minorities as soon as they(who are a minority within the state), become the majority in a senatorial zone or LGA.   Little wonder that this inability to seek and obtain legal redress speedily has encouraged many among us to perpetrate further injustices against the weak.

9- PERVERSE JUDGEMENT WHICH ENCOURAGES IMMORALITY IN THE SOCIETY.
    Aristotle said 'at his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst', any government that passes incentives on bad behaviors in the society has ceased to promote good governance in our society. Immorality is evil and should be corrected in every where it has had access to.  Martin Luther king Jnr said 'human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals' also 'law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress' and 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere'
    Atedo's say = We must show the nation that we can do things differently. A national conference is essentially a contest of ideas. We should seek to come up with and/or endorse the best ideas that come to us even from non-delegates.   If we can establish genuine consensus here around the best ideas, we will propel this country forward with unbelievable force.

CONCLUSION = I Pray the Almighty God helps us as individuals, societies and administrators to apply whatever we find useful from this article, Amen.

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