The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) are United Nations treaties that Nigeria has ratified since July 29, 1993. On December 9, 2003 Nigeria went a step further and ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Under international law, we are legally bound as a nation to provide and guarantee to every citizen, these inalienable, indivisible, equal and interdependent rights. With over 500 billion dollars in revenue from oil, do we as a nation have any excuse for the state of our people today? Can we describe our actions so far as consistent gross violations of these treaties? Who should be held accountable? What should we do next?
The mission before us as nation states in Africa is of immense proportions and involves creating a MIND SHIFT amongst our people in order to birth a new desired economic and political order. In Nigeria, it is a daunting task, but a possible one and we can accomplish this through the coordinated actions of great revolutionary Nigerians in what we’ve now termed the GREEN REVOLUTION!
I addressed a group of SSS-3 students of Bonny National Grammar school on March 19, 2010 (on the platform of MIND SHIFT CONSORTIUM) and shared with them a picture of what they could, and will turn Nigeria into in a thoroughly engaging 90 minute session. I was overwhelmed by the sheer energy and conviction exhibited by these young Wole Soyinkas, Philip Emeagwalis, Mark Zuckerbergs and Sergey Brins in the making.
Despite the impossible situation in this school that had only 8 government-employed teachers (for a student population of more than 500 students, often depending on corpers and part-time teachers to make up the huge vacuum), I saw highly intelligent students with hope written all over their faces. I did not need any more convincing that the Corporate Titans and National Leaders of the New Nigeria were here, and all they require is a MIND SHIFT to help focus their energy accurately for their strategic roles and responsibilities in building this country from the ground up. They are very much aware of the challenges, and are ready to take them on. However, these brilliant young Nigerians require guidance and adult supervision, which every available mature revolutionary should be more than willing to provide to every single youngster.
What is a SHIFT? To SHIFT means to move somebody or something from an old position to a new and different position.
The old position in Nigeria – Indifference, tolerance of evil, complaints, ineffective talk and occasional action
The new position in Nigeria – Aggressive campaigns, mass action, revolt against incompetence, demand for accountability, zero tolerance for election rigging
I’m a firm believer (meaning that I advocate and execute corresponding action in line with my professed belief) in the fact that African nations have the inherent potential to develop, and ultimately come out of poverty of mind, soul and the environment. I may not be able to predict accurately how soon, but I’m certain development is inevitable. What I can guarantee is that after a critical-mass of revolutionaries has been attained, then the inflection point (change that even the worst international critics cannot gainsay) is within striking distance or ‘killing range’( as U.S. Secret Service agents love to call it!)
The root cause of underdevelopment and poverty isn’t really the lack of infrastructure and basic amenities. Maybe it isn’t our political leaders, corporate thieves or rebel groups. If sky-scrappers, educational facilities, water treatment plants and power stations suddenly appeared all over our continent today, would they be there 5 years from now? Or perhaps, if the proverbial geographical exchange takes place between Africa and the U.S. (i.e. all Africans go to America, and all Americans come over to Africa), what would happen in a few years? These are hard questions that need answers.
I believe the critical difference between prosperity and poverty is in the underlying thinking and attitudes of a people - a product of their culture and values. I’ve heard preachers say that it is an extremely harder task to change a man’s point of view, than to cast out devils from a possessed individual. I believe that assertion is accurate. Therefore, we have a task to break the hold of tradition over our people, and help them transit from apathy to having a sense of responsibility for their national outcomes.
One of the other missing links in our efforts to salvage our nation, in my judgment has been Coordinated Action!
Coordinated Action is a series of intense, fierce, aggressive, unrelenting but peaceful activities wrought by a movement of resilient people demanding for their inalienable rights. They are led by a decentralized but very tightly integrated leadership. Simple examples are the Gandhi and MLK movements of India and the U.S. respectively.
I do believe we are now maturing as a people, faster than ever before and are making the critical alliances that will have the reach and power to topple and destroy the enmeshed leviathan of big-stouting and pepper-souping political cults and power bases in our society (to borrow some expressions from Patrick Obahiagbon).
I’ve been doing some intense study on the history and economic development of nations (emphasis on African nations) and the plethora of post colonial events and upheavals that have shaped and evolved the present day society before us today. Many of us are familiar with the peculiar African trends and it’s predominantly a tragic one, but I do believe it’s important for us to understand the waves of revolutions that have taken place so that we can accurately judge the impacts they’ve had on our society.
We’ve had Oil, diamond and natural resource conflicts in Angola, Nigeria, Sudan, DRC, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra-Leone and others. We’ve had eternal dictatorships in almost every African state. We’ve had hundreds of rebel groups fighting their respective (and sometimes neighboring) governments. We’ve witnessed Apartheid and extreme oppression by national leaders resulting in ethnic deprivations, hunger, forced migrations, extreme living conditions, mass executions and even genocide. (I remember Burundi/Rwanda. One foreign government kept describing the mass executions in Rwanda as “acts of genocide” and then one puzzled journalist asked thus – how many acts of genocide does it take for us to have one genocide?) We’ve also had resource rich regions experiencing un-imaginable levels of under-development and neglect. The list is endless.
However, I’m not certain all these past experiences and nightmares have had the right effect on a higher percentage of our vast populations. There is still that visible conservative and laid back attitude that pervades the continent. Many still embrace archaic, ineffective and wasteful traditions that have no place in the present age. We seem to hope for a better tomorrow by committing our future into the hands of a heavenly being who will one day hear our cries and send down help from glory. I believe in the spiritual (because it is even more real than the physical), but the law of the human medium cannot be violated. In explicit terms, everything that would happen in society and in this physical realm would have to be wrought through the hands and abilities of human beings. (Things may change after the messianic return takes place, but today is here and it beckons on us to take action!)
The truth is that the help we seek has long been around us, and has merely awaited our recognition. In simple terms, our day of deliverance is in our control and will come when a sufficient number of us tire-out, and decide to revolt against all forms of incompetence. People power is something no government in the entire universe can defeat. This is evident in the Orange revolution (Ukraine 2004/2005), the ROSE revolution (In Georgia - 2003) and the revolt against Slobodan Milosevic (In Serbia – 2000).
Critical lessons from these revolutions (such as in Ukraine) is that we can firmly resist and denounce the incumbent lethargy in our political and economic systems, and bring about change without bloodshed. Sustainable change however constitutes a different challenge that must be addressed concurrently. I was bewildered by the recent happenings in Ukraine. The same Victor Yanukovych that the Orange revolution prevented from rigging the presidency in 2005 has now become president in 2010. It seems a sustainable MIND SHIFT may not have taken place amongst the Ukrainian people, because I don’t understand how a widely reported ex-convict could gain the presidency in a free and fair election. I may not have the moral grounds to analyze the internal matters of Ukraine, but I believe there’s an important lesson for us in here.
Our GREEN REVOLUTION is here. We are the players on ground and coordination must begin in earnest. The mind shift and succession planning required to prevent us from allowing our new gains to be eroded in future must be built into our youngsters from now. We must take ownership of this process, and establish multiple platforms for Coordinated Action.
In the words of William Jefferson – I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for Your Nation (Nigeria)!
When a young child goes out and commits a crime, who is held accountable? Is it the child, or is the adult parent who ought to know better?
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Teach a child the way of the Lord, and when he grows, he will not depart from it.
Clearly, the scriptures above tell us who to hold responsible.
The mutallab boy almost single handedly brought disrepute to our nation, but thank God the plot was unsuccessful (and i know it was the prayers of the saints that stopped that from happening because the price would have been to enormous to pay, for us as a nation).
Now my question is should the Father be absolved of any blame just because he reported his son earlier? I think not. The son has forever brought the father's name to disrepute and i'm certain the father will only find peace when he comes to Christ.
I was seeking God's face about the condition of our Nation, and He spoke to me expressly that those who know better (which is His Church - consisting of you and I) would be held accountable for the current condition and end result of our nation. We would be held more accountable for the right things we didn't do, rather than the evil things we did.
Jer 25:8 Therefore the Lord almighty says this: "because you have not listened to my words, i will summon all the peoples of the north, and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of babylon....".
Wait a minute! did God just call that pagan unbeliever his servant??? Yes he did.
God called him His servant because He was going to use him to execute judgement (not because the pagan king was a righteous man).
I've learnt that the Lord raises national leaders for two purposes:
1. To deliver people and bring about prosperity. (e.g. Joshua and Moses)
2. To execute judgement! (e.g. Nebuchadnezzar)
It's that simple. I believe any, and every leader has been appointed by God, and is there for a purpose. I'm saying expressly that Obasanjo and Yar'adua were 'anointed' by God to lead this country. The question you and i ought to ask is for what purpose? I don't claim to know just yet, but that's an assignment for everybody.
We have sinned greatly as a nation. We have stolen, killed, maimed, cheated and done the worst things imaginable to our brothers. We have institutionalized sin. These things cannot just be swept under the carpet. They have to be dealt with. By who? I believe by the 'adults' who know better. We must realize that the world doesn't know any better, so it's in their nature to steal, kill, maim, destroy, vandalize and hate just like their father. If they weren't doing that, it would be strange and unnatural.
But the problem is not with the food. The problem is with the tasteless SALT. The problem is not with the darkness - the problem is with the dim LIGHT.
The 'adults' are unequivocally you and I - The Church. We are the ones who know what is right, but have refused to do it. Instead, we have become commentators, and have adopted worldly principles instead of taking the lead and showing the world how to live. we have joined the rat race that leads no where.
"The world shall see your works, and give glory to your Father in heaven!"
The people can NOT see our prayer, fasting, church building, endless services, night vigils, tongues,..............the list is endless.
Why? Because they cannot see spiritual things. They are blind. They can only see physical things that they can relate with.
They can see our social development, they can see our giving to the poor, they can see our selflessness, they can see our exemplary leadership, they can see our resistance to corruption, they can see our CSR and Advocacy, They can see our Mushin makeover, they can see our educational institutions, they can see our honesty and integrity, they can see our desire to help them get a better life, they can see our dedication to our jobs, they can see our excellence on the job, they can see our attention to detail, they can see our respectful and intelligent children, they can see our outstanding academic performances, they can see our Harvard and MIT degrees, they can see our multi-billion dollar businesses built upon strong values, they can see our advanced innovative, creative and conceptual abilities, they can see our professional and clean dressing, they can smell our perfume, they can see our shining suits, they can see the beautiful cars we use for ministry and give away freely (not for oppressing them)..............the list is also endless.
2010 is a year to demonstrate the effects of being Xtians. We are the Church, and we will be held accountable for our Nation.
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Teach a child the way of the Lord, and when he grows, he will not depart from it.
Clearly, the scriptures above tell us who to hold responsible.
The mutallab boy almost single handedly brought disrepute to our nation, but thank God the plot was unsuccessful (and i know it was the prayers of the saints that stopped that from happening because the price would have been to enormous to pay, for us as a nation).
Now my question is should the Father be absolved of any blame just because he reported his son earlier? I think not. The son has forever brought the father's name to disrepute and i'm certain the father will only find peace when he comes to Christ.
I was seeking God's face about the condition of our Nation, and He spoke to me expressly that those who know better (which is His Church - consisting of you and I) would be held accountable for the current condition and end result of our nation. We would be held more accountable for the right things we didn't do, rather than the evil things we did.
Jer 25:8 Therefore the Lord almighty says this: "because you have not listened to my words, i will summon all the peoples of the north, and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of babylon....".
Wait a minute! did God just call that pagan unbeliever his servant??? Yes he did.
God called him His servant because He was going to use him to execute judgement (not because the pagan king was a righteous man).
I've learnt that the Lord raises national leaders for two purposes:
1. To deliver people and bring about prosperity. (e.g. Joshua and Moses)
2. To execute judgement! (e.g. Nebuchadnezzar)
It's that simple. I believe any, and every leader has been appointed by God, and is there for a purpose. I'm saying expressly that Obasanjo and Yar'adua were 'anointed' by God to lead this country. The question you and i ought to ask is for what purpose? I don't claim to know just yet, but that's an assignment for everybody.
We have sinned greatly as a nation. We have stolen, killed, maimed, cheated and done the worst things imaginable to our brothers. We have institutionalized sin. These things cannot just be swept under the carpet. They have to be dealt with. By who? I believe by the 'adults' who know better. We must realize that the world doesn't know any better, so it's in their nature to steal, kill, maim, destroy, vandalize and hate just like their father. If they weren't doing that, it would be strange and unnatural.
But the problem is not with the food. The problem is with the tasteless SALT. The problem is not with the darkness - the problem is with the dim LIGHT.
The 'adults' are unequivocally you and I - The Church. We are the ones who know what is right, but have refused to do it. Instead, we have become commentators, and have adopted worldly principles instead of taking the lead and showing the world how to live. we have joined the rat race that leads no where.
"The world shall see your works, and give glory to your Father in heaven!"
The people can NOT see our prayer, fasting, church building, endless services, night vigils, tongues,..............the list is endless.
Why? Because they cannot see spiritual things. They are blind. They can only see physical things that they can relate with.
They can see our social development, they can see our giving to the poor, they can see our selflessness, they can see our exemplary leadership, they can see our resistance to corruption, they can see our CSR and Advocacy, They can see our Mushin makeover, they can see our educational institutions, they can see our honesty and integrity, they can see our desire to help them get a better life, they can see our dedication to our jobs, they can see our excellence on the job, they can see our attention to detail, they can see our respectful and intelligent children, they can see our outstanding academic performances, they can see our Harvard and MIT degrees, they can see our multi-billion dollar businesses built upon strong values, they can see our advanced innovative, creative and conceptual abilities, they can see our professional and clean dressing, they can smell our perfume, they can see our shining suits, they can see the beautiful cars we use for ministry and give away freely (not for oppressing them)..............the list is also endless.
2010 is a year to demonstrate the effects of being Xtians. We are the Church, and we will be held accountable for our Nation.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Information + EMOTION => desired action!
Now that’s an awkward title for an article, and I believe most would agree with me, but symbols could be quite powerful and I’d like to “think outside the box” (or is without a box now!?) and do differently. So that’s my title!
STORY 1: There are over 5 million unemployed youths and graduates in Nigeria today, and we believe government, individuals and organizations have a compelling moral obligation to tackle this escalating economic predicament that threatens the persistence of the Nigerian state. We have many graduates that do not have jobs, and are wasting away by the millions. At the last count, over 5 million graduates were found to be unemployed. If nothing is done about this, then we are at risk of failing as a nation and branding ourselves as a classic reference for a failed state where nothing worked, most were downtrodden and remained perpetually at the rear of the social ladder with no hope of redemption.
END of STORY 1
You would agree with me that this is quite an interesting story (partly true and maybe worrying too), that warrants light-speed attention and planning and ought to jump-start all parties into instant action! If you would rightly observe, this story is quite familiar and does not seem to have the edge required to challenge the intended audience, by force-shifting their transmission from the deplorable “Parking” state to “Drive”, or better still “Turbo Drive +” (for those of us that drive Mercedes, and I’m not talking about v-boot here).
Many would probably sigh, think for a few minutes, discuss with a few friends, unanimously condemn the situation together and then utter the expected statement – God is working, things will get better by God’s grace – AMEN, and that’s it! We move on to the ‘real’ issues of life.
……but we’ve been using this same christianese phrase for donkey years, though I think it’s hypocritical and has yielded little or practically no result – infact, things have gotten worse, but we still keep saying the same thing. Maybe God should be held responsible, or what do you think? Or could it be that the responsibility is really ours, and that we’ve just found a convenient way to shift it to someone up there who we all know hardly speaks audibly, at least in physical terms). Now I’m starting to get emotional, and I’m digressing too.
Let’s get back to the main point! STORY 1 doesn’t linger, doesn’t stick in the memory of the intended audience, and definitely produces little action.
STORY 2: Chukwuemeka is a bright young student who read Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate at Ahmadu Bello University. He graduated with honors, completed his mandatory NYSC Youth Service program in Abuja, and subsequently returned to University of Jos because he was not retained where he served, and could not secure a job after several unsuccessful attempts at tests and interviews. He could not afford the fees for a Master’s degree and since he had no one to look to for help (His father is late and his mother sells vegetables in the village), he resorted to selling telephone recharge cards. The odds of him getting a good job are fast declining, given the fact that most employers have age limits and would always prefer to employ “fresh” minds.
Ladies and gentlemen, there were 2 million examples of Chuwuemeka in Nigeria in 2000, but today, we have at least 5 million. Chukwuemeka is your cousin, your neighbor, your recharge card vendor, and maybe your brother. Tunde had a similar experience as Chukwuemeka, but has since resorted to Fraud and armed robbery. I do not pray for this, but at this rate, there’s a good chance your son could grow up to become just like Chukwuemeka, or worse still Tunde. What we do right now will determine what happens next.
END of STORY 2
Wow! So this is what is really happening, and there’s a good chance my son can become like this??? The answer to that is………..well……………, YES!!!!
Those are the kinds of questions that would race through the minds of those in your audience, and I could almost guarantee that you’ve just successfully launched your “Network Marketing business”. People will talk even more, and many will certainly ACT. Remember what we really want is for people to
JUST DO IT!
Stories are real, personal and they stir up emotions, hence everyone can relate to them. Statistics and theories are real too, but they are impersonal and unemotional. At best, they make us exclaim WOW…...but that’s where it ends.
How we love to quote the stats and present data, but they seem to never work when they stand just by themselves.
Next time you want to communicate and get results, tell good stories and support them with the stats.
STORY 1: There are over 5 million unemployed youths and graduates in Nigeria today, and we believe government, individuals and organizations have a compelling moral obligation to tackle this escalating economic predicament that threatens the persistence of the Nigerian state. We have many graduates that do not have jobs, and are wasting away by the millions. At the last count, over 5 million graduates were found to be unemployed. If nothing is done about this, then we are at risk of failing as a nation and branding ourselves as a classic reference for a failed state where nothing worked, most were downtrodden and remained perpetually at the rear of the social ladder with no hope of redemption.
END of STORY 1
You would agree with me that this is quite an interesting story (partly true and maybe worrying too), that warrants light-speed attention and planning and ought to jump-start all parties into instant action! If you would rightly observe, this story is quite familiar and does not seem to have the edge required to challenge the intended audience, by force-shifting their transmission from the deplorable “Parking” state to “Drive”, or better still “Turbo Drive +” (for those of us that drive Mercedes, and I’m not talking about v-boot here).
Many would probably sigh, think for a few minutes, discuss with a few friends, unanimously condemn the situation together and then utter the expected statement – God is working, things will get better by God’s grace – AMEN, and that’s it! We move on to the ‘real’ issues of life.
……but we’ve been using this same christianese phrase for donkey years, though I think it’s hypocritical and has yielded little or practically no result – infact, things have gotten worse, but we still keep saying the same thing. Maybe God should be held responsible, or what do you think? Or could it be that the responsibility is really ours, and that we’ve just found a convenient way to shift it to someone up there who we all know hardly speaks audibly, at least in physical terms). Now I’m starting to get emotional, and I’m digressing too.
Let’s get back to the main point! STORY 1 doesn’t linger, doesn’t stick in the memory of the intended audience, and definitely produces little action.
STORY 2: Chukwuemeka is a bright young student who read Mechanical Engineering as an undergraduate at Ahmadu Bello University. He graduated with honors, completed his mandatory NYSC Youth Service program in Abuja, and subsequently returned to University of Jos because he was not retained where he served, and could not secure a job after several unsuccessful attempts at tests and interviews. He could not afford the fees for a Master’s degree and since he had no one to look to for help (His father is late and his mother sells vegetables in the village), he resorted to selling telephone recharge cards. The odds of him getting a good job are fast declining, given the fact that most employers have age limits and would always prefer to employ “fresh” minds.
Ladies and gentlemen, there were 2 million examples of Chuwuemeka in Nigeria in 2000, but today, we have at least 5 million. Chukwuemeka is your cousin, your neighbor, your recharge card vendor, and maybe your brother. Tunde had a similar experience as Chukwuemeka, but has since resorted to Fraud and armed robbery. I do not pray for this, but at this rate, there’s a good chance your son could grow up to become just like Chukwuemeka, or worse still Tunde. What we do right now will determine what happens next.
END of STORY 2
Wow! So this is what is really happening, and there’s a good chance my son can become like this??? The answer to that is………..well……………, YES!!!!
Those are the kinds of questions that would race through the minds of those in your audience, and I could almost guarantee that you’ve just successfully launched your “Network Marketing business”. People will talk even more, and many will certainly ACT. Remember what we really want is for people to
JUST DO IT!
Stories are real, personal and they stir up emotions, hence everyone can relate to them. Statistics and theories are real too, but they are impersonal and unemotional. At best, they make us exclaim WOW…...but that’s where it ends.
How we love to quote the stats and present data, but they seem to never work when they stand just by themselves.
Next time you want to communicate and get results, tell good stories and support them with the stats.
.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
SIMPLE INTERVENTIONS
When I was younger, I often dreamed that God would “just bless me” with immense wealth, such as would enable me ‘make a huge positive difference’ in my society. It didn’t require detailed investigation and intelligence to recognize that there were enormous human needs all around me, but I often felt helpless and constrained thinking that I didn’t have enough to make an impact.
That feeling of being drowned and overwhelmed with the myriad of visible challenges of friends and neighbors often meant I did significantly less than I was actually capable of doing at that time (regrets!).
In terms of the sheer quantity of help needed by people in my sphere of influence today, there hasn’t been much of an improvement (in fact, it has increased exponentially!).
Many more people need clothes, food, portable water, shoes, school fees, laptops, internet access, admission, parental care, health facilities, cars, employment, rehabilitation, encouragement, financial support, accommodation, recommendations……and that list is virtually endless.
I do believe that the most pressing need of men is spiritual reform, but how can we communicate genuine concern for the souls of men, if we ignore their most pressing needs? (looking at it from their own perspective). Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs indicates the desire to live and persist as the most fundamental, and that is in fact, practically authentic.
MLK said above all, I see ministry as a dual process. On the one hand, I must attempt to change the soul of the individual so that their societies may be changed. On the other, I must attempt to change the society so that the individual soul would have a change. Therefore, I must be concerned about unemployment, slums and economic security. (from The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jnr)
“Make a difference’ or ‘make an impact’ are buzz words today that readily challenge us to act and do something positive for another (or the society), but I wonder how much of an impact these words have had on us. I would rather recommend a return to the traditional “help that person beside you” phrase. It’s simple and straightforward. There’s no grandiose grammatical construct to hide behind, in such simple but yet powerful phrase.
Today, I’m glad I’ve learned from past mistakes, and readily recognize that I’m ALWAYS in a position to help someone, and pull another one up. There are enormous needs around us, and they present themselves on a daily (perhaps hourly) basis, but many of us still frequently pass on these opportunities. It’s quite easy for us to forget that the privileges we have is by no means a product of our abilities, but by the supreme placement and GRACE of GOD, who expects us to extend the same without reservation to all starting with those around us.
I no longer waste precious moments thinking of hitting a jackpot of a billion dollars In order to help someone. The little I’ve got is sufficient to help that person right beside me. If 1% of Nigerian families could adopt just one child from the orphanage, I doubt we would have any need for orphanages (they would have become museums in a matter of seconds!)
A few tips on how to help someone:
Make a habit of giving pedestrians a free ride in your car (it’s not always dangerous to do that!).
Pay schools fees of kids around you, that you know ought to be in school, but can’t afford it.
Send your house-maids to school.
Give way to traffic on the left.
Stop at Zebra Crossings
Don’t throw garbage out of your window.
Never use abusive or curse words on anybody, but encourage and bless instead.
Buy a couple of shirts for someone.
Buy good books and text books for people (Very important!)
Make a habit of giving your good but old clothes to people you know have just a few clothes.
Make a habit of keeping only stuff you really need, and give away everything else!!!
Visit the orphanage and homes of the physically challenged at least twice a year.
Sponsor Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education for one or more persons.
Buy laptops and computers for students and other people around you.
Earmark a fixed percentage of your income as donations to charities and other foundations.
Support ministries that you believe are genuine.
Pay your tithe.
and many more ways of making a difference (Sorry! i meant "helping someone"!)
You see – it doesn’t take meticulous planning or the brain of a rocket scientist to make simple interventions!
That feeling of being drowned and overwhelmed with the myriad of visible challenges of friends and neighbors often meant I did significantly less than I was actually capable of doing at that time (regrets!).
In terms of the sheer quantity of help needed by people in my sphere of influence today, there hasn’t been much of an improvement (in fact, it has increased exponentially!).
Many more people need clothes, food, portable water, shoes, school fees, laptops, internet access, admission, parental care, health facilities, cars, employment, rehabilitation, encouragement, financial support, accommodation, recommendations……and that list is virtually endless.
I do believe that the most pressing need of men is spiritual reform, but how can we communicate genuine concern for the souls of men, if we ignore their most pressing needs? (looking at it from their own perspective). Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs indicates the desire to live and persist as the most fundamental, and that is in fact, practically authentic.
MLK said above all, I see ministry as a dual process. On the one hand, I must attempt to change the soul of the individual so that their societies may be changed. On the other, I must attempt to change the society so that the individual soul would have a change. Therefore, I must be concerned about unemployment, slums and economic security. (from The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jnr)
“Make a difference’ or ‘make an impact’ are buzz words today that readily challenge us to act and do something positive for another (or the society), but I wonder how much of an impact these words have had on us. I would rather recommend a return to the traditional “help that person beside you” phrase. It’s simple and straightforward. There’s no grandiose grammatical construct to hide behind, in such simple but yet powerful phrase.
Today, I’m glad I’ve learned from past mistakes, and readily recognize that I’m ALWAYS in a position to help someone, and pull another one up. There are enormous needs around us, and they present themselves on a daily (perhaps hourly) basis, but many of us still frequently pass on these opportunities. It’s quite easy for us to forget that the privileges we have is by no means a product of our abilities, but by the supreme placement and GRACE of GOD, who expects us to extend the same without reservation to all starting with those around us.
I no longer waste precious moments thinking of hitting a jackpot of a billion dollars In order to help someone. The little I’ve got is sufficient to help that person right beside me. If 1% of Nigerian families could adopt just one child from the orphanage, I doubt we would have any need for orphanages (they would have become museums in a matter of seconds!)
A few tips on how to help someone:
Make a habit of giving pedestrians a free ride in your car (it’s not always dangerous to do that!).
Pay schools fees of kids around you, that you know ought to be in school, but can’t afford it.
Send your house-maids to school.
Give way to traffic on the left.
Stop at Zebra Crossings
Don’t throw garbage out of your window.
Never use abusive or curse words on anybody, but encourage and bless instead.
Buy a couple of shirts for someone.
Buy good books and text books for people (Very important!)
Make a habit of giving your good but old clothes to people you know have just a few clothes.
Make a habit of keeping only stuff you really need, and give away everything else!!!
Visit the orphanage and homes of the physically challenged at least twice a year.
Sponsor Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education for one or more persons.
Buy laptops and computers for students and other people around you.
Earmark a fixed percentage of your income as donations to charities and other foundations.
Support ministries that you believe are genuine.
Pay your tithe.
and many more ways of making a difference (Sorry! i meant "helping someone"!)
You see – it doesn’t take meticulous planning or the brain of a rocket scientist to make simple interventions!
Friday, June 26, 2009
THE ASSIGNMENT (Part I)
…because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. – John 18:37
...the food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work He started. – John 4:34 (References from THE MESSAGE BIBLE)
We were hewn out of God by God Himself, and therefore, possess His creative power to execute His specific and personalized assignments for us. In contemporary terms, we all have a purpose. PURPOSE is a buzzword today, and there are numerous Christian and Business publications addressing this critical issue from multiple perspectives. The use of this word has increasingly become pervasive, such that we now reference it as some sort of automated mechanism that once acquired and deployed, makes success inevitable. Make no mistake about the fact that not understanding the purpose of a thing eventually results in undermining it, but I would like us to explore deeper beyond the realm of ‘purpose’.
Ammunition and sophisticated combat equipment (such as warheads and F-18s) could be kept in some military base, and their purpose and applications could be well understood (such as for protecting civilians, combating crime, training military personnel, or even entertainment in the form of air shows). Because their purpose is well understood, there may be no case of misuse. A radically different scenario is one in which these items are strategically deployed to combat and defeat enemy forces in an actual war-front, in order to secure or recover lost territory, and subject same to their own sovereign laws. Now that’s a classic instance of what I would refer to as Ammo deployed on Assignment! Let us refer to the duration within which this ‘war’ was planned and waged as a CYCLE. Think of this CYCLE as your LIFE-TIME. Without intending to play with words, I’m convinced that there’s a difference between YOUR PURPOSE & YOUR ASSIGNMENT.
There’s an epidemic of purposeful people who seem not to have a clue as to what their specific Assignment entails. The subject of Purpose has a tendency to be occasionally vague, but make no mistake, assignments are always highly specific. The responsibility lies with every man to take the initiative, and actively seek to discover and subsequently execute his assignment.
(…a bit of Digression)
The purpose of attending a formal arrangement called a graduate or business school is to learn, but more importantly, learn how to learn. (We ought to go to school to learn the skill and discipline of how to keep ourselves relevant and informed throughout life! The process is more important than the outcome. I studied computing in school, but that isn’t sufficient indication that I would run a software firm. The process of learning computing in school has helped me acquire the critical skills and discipline of applying myself to actionable knowledge. I have since leveraged these skills in developing additional competencies (informally) that are necessary for executing my assignment (in national planning and reformation, strategy and execution). This process would certainly result in my attaining a higher level of effectiveness than many persons that actually studied to acquire these competencies in formal arrangements! This does not undermine the importance of formal arrangements, as they are very critical for aggregating/harvesting knowledge for human development.)
This publication doesn’t particularly address purpose, passion or preferences. However, all of these are prime pointers to what this article addresses, which is your assignment! I’ve decided to look beyond “Purpose” in this publication, for the purpose of charting new frontiers and developing a radically different perspective of approaching life. This message is intended to be life-transforming and at the same time, life-constraining. When one man refuses to execute his assignment, the often result is that it is merged with another man’s assignment, and this second man automatically receives the reward of executing that assignment, in addition to the reward of executing his own original assignment.
This truth is Life-transforming because it ought to change our lives completely, and help us effect a fundamental shift. It should pierce into the very depths of our souls and completely change our views and perspectives about life, assignments and death (in that order because our assignments start at birth, and end with our transition into the reward-zone). We build our lives upon foundational/fundamental perspectives that we form, and occasionally reconstruct over our life-times. These constructions, deconstructions and re-constructions are influenced by a myriad of factors, chief of which is the environment, culture and family values. (Huntington and Harrison addressed this extensively in “Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress”). On this background, I still firmly believe that the concept of right and wrong foundations is not subject to the theory of relativism.
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set ye free!
This doesn’t sound like a negotiation! It’s cast in diamond-stone. There is the right foundation. There is the truth. There is the right way to do things. There is the right way to train a child. There is the right way to lead a country. And then what you have left is everything else - Counterfeits!
Though we were brought up in different societies, with varying income-groups, different cultures with different histories, different methods of getting things done and even still, different standards of measuring success, there remains nevertheless, the right foundation, irrespective of our circumstances. Therefore, we must accept this fundamental truth that life is all about assignments, and these assignments can only be successfully executed on the right foundation, knowing that everything else about our lives revolves around our Assignments.
This truth is "Life-constraining" because everything is subject to the theory of constraints. Everything (except one) has its own boundaries. Even though boundaries have the ability to be extended and pushed out, they would always remain. Therefore, life ought to be lived in such a way that limits it to certain boundaries, which when violated will spontaneously ignite the law of diminishing returns. Let us recognize that our limited cognitive and intuitive abilities are the reasons we invented what we call infinitesimal quantities. The fact that we cannot measure some quantities accurately, or estimate the dimensions of certain elements of nature does not make these elements infinite from the point of view of the Original Intelligent Designer.
We humans are the ones who by reason of boundaries and limitations, lack the ability to measure these seemingly immeasurable quantities. We must therefore recognize that our Assignments are always applicable within specified contexts. When we stray beyond our allocated layouts, that basic law of economics (diminishing returns) sets in. In a few words, our assignments demand that we limit ourselves to the relevant and most critical things. Allocating our limited resources to none value-adding or conflicting activities would significantly compromise our ability to execute our assignments.
END OF Part 1
...the food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work He started. – John 4:34 (References from THE MESSAGE BIBLE)
We were hewn out of God by God Himself, and therefore, possess His creative power to execute His specific and personalized assignments for us. In contemporary terms, we all have a purpose. PURPOSE is a buzzword today, and there are numerous Christian and Business publications addressing this critical issue from multiple perspectives. The use of this word has increasingly become pervasive, such that we now reference it as some sort of automated mechanism that once acquired and deployed, makes success inevitable. Make no mistake about the fact that not understanding the purpose of a thing eventually results in undermining it, but I would like us to explore deeper beyond the realm of ‘purpose’.
Ammunition and sophisticated combat equipment (such as warheads and F-18s) could be kept in some military base, and their purpose and applications could be well understood (such as for protecting civilians, combating crime, training military personnel, or even entertainment in the form of air shows). Because their purpose is well understood, there may be no case of misuse. A radically different scenario is one in which these items are strategically deployed to combat and defeat enemy forces in an actual war-front, in order to secure or recover lost territory, and subject same to their own sovereign laws. Now that’s a classic instance of what I would refer to as Ammo deployed on Assignment! Let us refer to the duration within which this ‘war’ was planned and waged as a CYCLE. Think of this CYCLE as your LIFE-TIME. Without intending to play with words, I’m convinced that there’s a difference between YOUR PURPOSE & YOUR ASSIGNMENT.
There’s an epidemic of purposeful people who seem not to have a clue as to what their specific Assignment entails. The subject of Purpose has a tendency to be occasionally vague, but make no mistake, assignments are always highly specific. The responsibility lies with every man to take the initiative, and actively seek to discover and subsequently execute his assignment.
(…a bit of Digression)
The purpose of attending a formal arrangement called a graduate or business school is to learn, but more importantly, learn how to learn. (We ought to go to school to learn the skill and discipline of how to keep ourselves relevant and informed throughout life! The process is more important than the outcome. I studied computing in school, but that isn’t sufficient indication that I would run a software firm. The process of learning computing in school has helped me acquire the critical skills and discipline of applying myself to actionable knowledge. I have since leveraged these skills in developing additional competencies (informally) that are necessary for executing my assignment (in national planning and reformation, strategy and execution). This process would certainly result in my attaining a higher level of effectiveness than many persons that actually studied to acquire these competencies in formal arrangements! This does not undermine the importance of formal arrangements, as they are very critical for aggregating/harvesting knowledge for human development.)
This publication doesn’t particularly address purpose, passion or preferences. However, all of these are prime pointers to what this article addresses, which is your assignment! I’ve decided to look beyond “Purpose” in this publication, for the purpose of charting new frontiers and developing a radically different perspective of approaching life. This message is intended to be life-transforming and at the same time, life-constraining. When one man refuses to execute his assignment, the often result is that it is merged with another man’s assignment, and this second man automatically receives the reward of executing that assignment, in addition to the reward of executing his own original assignment.
This truth is Life-transforming because it ought to change our lives completely, and help us effect a fundamental shift. It should pierce into the very depths of our souls and completely change our views and perspectives about life, assignments and death (in that order because our assignments start at birth, and end with our transition into the reward-zone). We build our lives upon foundational/fundamental perspectives that we form, and occasionally reconstruct over our life-times. These constructions, deconstructions and re-constructions are influenced by a myriad of factors, chief of which is the environment, culture and family values. (Huntington and Harrison addressed this extensively in “Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress”). On this background, I still firmly believe that the concept of right and wrong foundations is not subject to the theory of relativism.
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set ye free!
This doesn’t sound like a negotiation! It’s cast in diamond-stone. There is the right foundation. There is the truth. There is the right way to do things. There is the right way to train a child. There is the right way to lead a country. And then what you have left is everything else - Counterfeits!
Though we were brought up in different societies, with varying income-groups, different cultures with different histories, different methods of getting things done and even still, different standards of measuring success, there remains nevertheless, the right foundation, irrespective of our circumstances. Therefore, we must accept this fundamental truth that life is all about assignments, and these assignments can only be successfully executed on the right foundation, knowing that everything else about our lives revolves around our Assignments.
This truth is "Life-constraining" because everything is subject to the theory of constraints. Everything (except one) has its own boundaries. Even though boundaries have the ability to be extended and pushed out, they would always remain. Therefore, life ought to be lived in such a way that limits it to certain boundaries, which when violated will spontaneously ignite the law of diminishing returns. Let us recognize that our limited cognitive and intuitive abilities are the reasons we invented what we call infinitesimal quantities. The fact that we cannot measure some quantities accurately, or estimate the dimensions of certain elements of nature does not make these elements infinite from the point of view of the Original Intelligent Designer.
We humans are the ones who by reason of boundaries and limitations, lack the ability to measure these seemingly immeasurable quantities. We must therefore recognize that our Assignments are always applicable within specified contexts. When we stray beyond our allocated layouts, that basic law of economics (diminishing returns) sets in. In a few words, our assignments demand that we limit ourselves to the relevant and most critical things. Allocating our limited resources to none value-adding or conflicting activities would significantly compromise our ability to execute our assignments.
END OF Part 1
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