A few days ago, I thought deeply about the incredibly enormous quanta of energy that have been expended and combusted by a diverse range of innovative and passionate Nigerians who have desperately attempted to steer the wheel of our national destiny in the direction of solid economic and social prosperity in the face of great systemic opposition. Despite these sacrifices of immense proportions, I’ve been increasingly restless and gravely concerned about the apparent slow paced change and unimpressive progress we have achieved. After searching the Great Book and feeding on the works of great men such as Peter Wagner, Oz Hillman, Yinka Ojo and a few others, my eyes of understanding were opened. My final diagnosis is that a higher percentage of we agents of transformation, development catalysts and change orchestrators are still operating at the lower levels of national influence in almost all of the 7 strategic dimensions of society.
I am an ardent optimist, a dimensionalist leader (i picked this from Tudor Bismark) and a visioner, so I’m not the type that fluctuates from one end of the conviction spectrum to the other just because of mounting environmental pressures. Rather, I stick to my beliefs in and out of season. I totally believe Africa will rise and Nigeria will ultimately take her place among world powers, but the victories that we seek won’t be wrought from a seat of convenience or indifference. It certainly would not be served on a platter of Gold. Power must, and will be wrestled from the enemy.
We have a great assignment and that assignment is to systematically reclaim the 7 “mountains” (Deut 7:1 and Rev 17:9-10). These 7 mountains or 7 nations are the 7 key dimensions and sub-divisions of society that are systematically ruled and administered by authorities in different levels. This is NOT a man made concept. These are original blueprints that were laid down by God himself. We lost control over these areas primarily because of our ignorance over the ages and our inability to practice the principles of Jesus. (The person of Jesus brings salvation, but the principles of Jesus are the blueprints for operating His kingdom).
These areas are:
1. Governance and Public Administration
2. Business and Commerce
3. Media
4. Arts and Entertainment
5. Education
6. Family
7. Faith (Religion).
The 7 nations that were expelled in Deut 7:1 were the counterfeits of each of these 7 dimensions of society.
The sons of the Kingdom have historically occupied the lower levels (small business owners, officers in companies and civil servants in government). A few have managed to attain the medium levels (Managers in companies and Directors in Government), but to a very large extent, we have been locked out of the upper levels.
Our mandate now is to infiltrate the highest levels of influence (CEOs of Corporations, Senators, Governors and even the Presidency). We must utilize supernatural blueprints and build Systems of Excellence and Dynamic Structures that will knock out the current repressive systems and ideologies that the enemy has propagated.
It is only from the peak that we can orchestrate the kind of far reaching and sustainable transformation that will crush all contending forces and opposition.
In essence, there is need for speed and we all have a mandate to take charge and dominate the territories that have been assigned to us. At this point, visions must be enlarged and some of us may have to raise our expectations by exponential proportions. We must never forget that a President is more powerful than 10 senators combined and a CEO is more powerful than 10 managers, therefore our goal must be to take over the highest possible levels in these 7 dimensions.
Here are a few critical foundational insights that can guide us as we battle the repressive systems of our day.
In 1900, less than 10% of Africans considered themselves followers of Christ, but by the year 2000, that number had risen to almost 50%. In 2000, Africa had over 13000 missionaries serving in cross cultural settings around the globe. Despite these impressive numbers, the state of development across the continent today is still a heart breaker, especially when we benchmark ourselves against the rest of the world.
WHY HAVE WE FOUND OURSELVES IN THIS STATE?
The reasons are not far-fetched! The first question we must ask is “what percentage of those of us who claim to be followers of Christ are really Christians?” Paternalism still runs deep and wide. Many including those who ought to know better still hold on to the “Big Brother” culture which says that in every community, family or company, there must be one special benefactor that every other person depends on for sustenance. We always manage to shift responsibility to a few persons and benefactors. Interestingly, this ideology somehow found its way into the church. Many are only Christians when they are in the presence of a particular Man of Faith. Our faith is ‘group faith’. That’s why whenever we are out of church, we become just like anybody else. What we may have failed to realize is that charity and philanthropy will not regulate society, and can never do the work of justice and equity. The greatest heritage we can leave for an incoming generation is to create an atmosphere of fairness, justice and equity. Our ultimate goal must be to build a society where people are only limited by the size of their dreams and desires, and nothing more. We don’t need more charities. What we need are excellent systems that give equal opportunity to all.
An even more despicable evil is our understanding and practice of leadership. We find it hard to equate excellence with leadership and a large number of us do not take a national perspective on Nigeria. Our allegiance is first to our tribe and local interest groups. Some even say Nigeria is too diverse to be united – I consider this such an uninformed viewpoint! America today is exceedingly more diverse than Nigeria, yet they have managed to construct a national identity. This explains why zoning is being discussed at the very highest levels. Zoning is the very anti-thesis of excellence. Today, we find zoning in government, the oil industry, corporations and even the educational system. Zoning is the magical weapon of the enemy to ensure that the very best never rise to the top. It ensures people get the prize not because of their track record and ability, but because of their place of birth and other mundane, inconsequential and irrational reasons.
National Transformation will not happen unless we strike the tipping point of representation at the highest levels of influence and leadership in our nation. Historically, the system has consistently managed to expel intelligent leaders with great ideas and respectable core values. Ben Bruce, Okonjo-Iweala and many others were promptly eased out of office by entrenched interests who felt threatened by organizational transformations that these great minds had set in motion.
THIS TREND MUST BE ECLIPSED!
Having one or two great Governors and a few Senators who have integrity isn’t sufficient anymore. These are not the days of having five or six righteous people in government. If we mean business, then we must invade the very peaks of the mountain. We must secure the very highest leadership positions in business and governance in significant numbers. Only then can we restore ORDER and see the transformation that we most certainly deserve.
