“We are what we believe we are”…C.S. Lewis
(1898 – 1963) British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary icon,
essayist, broadcaster, lecturer and Christian apologist.
The economy and us!
I
remember loving economics so much back in school, but I can’t really remember
why. Maybe its because I had a wonderful teacher or perhaps the terms “human behavior” and “forces of demand and supply” have a
hidden spell that sends some thrilling sensations of apparent business acumen down
one’s spine, did the imaginary trick work? Who knows? But I later found out
that I was yet to understand and fully appreciate economics in the real world
where the blank spaces of economic art
were yet to be filled and coloured with actual humans and their predictability.
Get it?
Me neither, but how awesome, anyway, hold that thought though.
“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I
think is still the secret of great creative people…”Leo Burnett (1891 – 1971)
American advertising executive.
Still
on getting it, maybe the question we should be asking is, are Nigerians smart
(at all)? Smart enough to use their unique powers (if they have discovered it
by now), economics inclusive, which virtually goes into everything, to hold the
country together for as long as necessary? Or till when it is uhuru,
if ever.
Are we
even serious? The whole system is obviously breaking apart and away and we
still have the time to amass wealth only to waste them on vanity luxury items
that further impoverishes us and spills our guts to the public arena as we
foolishly and wickedly seek to oppress the less privileged that are only devoid
of opportunity, come on.
Nigeria
has evolved to be as laughable as can be. Brewing to become a nation designed
for people to be corrupt and to fail. We fail our children, we fail the
legacies of our fathers, and we constantly fail our future by being untrue,
unfair and cowardly to face our demons to defeat it or die honorably.
We have
celebrated mediocrity enough, its high time intelligence and excellence took
the center stage, else we sleep, yes, the sleep of death.
“Even truth needs to be clad in new garments if
it is to appeal to a new age”…George C. Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799) A German
scientist. He was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to
experimental physics in Germany.
No doubt it’s a new age!
Some
cars already run on battery, maybe water will be the next fuel for vehicles as
well, just much later. Africa will definitely over-populate, Lawyers may run
out of business, talent won’t matter anymore and many folks may relocate to
Mars.
This is
the new world we live in, and some people already have their heads in the
clouds.
My
point is that we are in a new age where virtually anything is possible as long
as we are still breathing and our research still churns out discoveries and
creative fallouts. But there is a problem, the kids. The kids are not the
problem really, but wouldn’t we know that we haven’t set a good precedence for
them in a world that we have literally destroyed?
We have
accumulated huge economic debt for them to pay, we have degraded the
environment and expect them to clean it up, we blasphemed and let nature’s
wrath hurt them.
During
the times of our fathers new vegetables were eaten and fresh juice was being
consumed, but now we feed our kids with degraded and processed foods ranging
from pizzas to hot dogs and burgers, copying the western world and opening them
up to obesity and other health issues such as cancer which is an entirely
different story, we really are not nice.
I think
it is enough of the pampering, we should stop casing the truth in chocolate for
the new generation out of fear they won’t take it, we ought to let them hate us
now and then love us for our tough love in the future other than the other way
around, or else there will be no legacy to leave behind, and by implication,
there sadly will be no future.
“The future is certain. Its just not
known”…Johnny Rich Education specialist and author of the human script.
Maybe the future is predictable!
Did I just
say maybe? Apart from having the ability to predict the future by us actually
making the impending occurrences happen or turn out as we desire by altering
the status quo, our improvement in technology helps us have a pretty good idea
of what to expect. Preparing for the different seasons and imminent natural
disasters is one thing, adjusting to unavoidable change, which is the most
constant thing is another.
“No man for any considerable period can wear
one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting
bewildered as to which may be the true”…Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864)
American novelist.
Stop lying!
This
includes you stop lying to yourself asides other people. Why can’t we just tell
it as it is? Psychologist Guy Winch who writes for Psychology Today says even
little white lies creates something called cognitive disorder when you say
everything is fine, perhaps even when you are in crisis or at a diner
unsatisfied with the meal. Your brain while trying to conceal your true
feelings allows you to give a higher tip than normal
I’d
give kudos to Fela Anikulapo Kuti for speaking Nigerians’ true feelings
especially in his popular “suffering and smiling” song. It seems he’s about the
only one that was not a coward while alive.
Come to
think of it, we were designed to tell the truth so that we can remain in a
state of harmony, not trying hard to remember what we said and manufacture more
to cover up, it hurts our brain.
“The function of education is to teach one to
think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that
is the goal of true education”…Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American
Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and
leader in the civil rights movement.
Intelligence: An imperative prerequisite!
I once
knew an old lad whom used to emphasize to young folks “By all means necessary, get education!”
I
totally agree with this guy, but there is one thing I think we should strongly
consider, as you are probably familiar with the sayings “more than meets the eye” and
“read between the lines”, we certainly should establish what education
really is, and perhaps marry it with it’s offshoots, which are important key
words that our kids also must appreciate.
Look at
Nigeria for instance, rich folks send their kids to school abroad and enjoy how
illiterate fools idolize them back home, aren’t they ashamed that a bunch of
hungry and misguided beings loiter around them constantly? Haven’t they
discovered the power of empowerment? This is the secret of the American success
story, they give their citizens a voice, a sense of belonging, infrastructure
and the ability to become as great as they want to be.
Nigerians
can pray for Africa, and yet sit around like a spoilt kid without initiative
yet expecting a free meal, are you kidding?
As we
speak, a bunch of jokers with nothing to offer are running the state with the
sole purpose of milking the nation dry through contracts and massive
procurements while hunger ravages the land and while the infrastructure rots
away and the people perish. One thing is for sure, taking a cue from history,
nature and the heavenly principles, if Nigeria continues at this rate, it won’t
matter if Nigerians are smart, rich, holy or greedy, because at some point, she
will seize to exist, just like the smoke that caresses the skies.
So are
Nigerians smart? Well, maybe that’s not the question, but whatever the question
is, Nigerians need to be less cowardly, and become proactive enough to start a
true revolution, a revolution of the mind.
God
bless Nigeria!
Thank
you, and be awesome because you
truly are.
Akin
Abimbola.
Twitter: @akinzogee
Facebook: Critical Lyric by Akin Abimbola
Instagram: Akinzogee
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Sources: Brainy Quote, Google, Good reads, Lifehacker, The
human script, Wikipedia
This article is an
original piece, which was reasonably researched contains considerable opinion
and is composed in a unique style of the author.
The names in actual
stories are not real and the stories in this write-up are fictional. Consequently,
people’s names appearing are purely co-incidental, except for quotes and news
that are typically referenced.
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