As a media entrepreneur I have reasons to spend a lot of time on the internet, on social media specifically. Having contacts and connections numbering tens of thousands I’m daily exposed to many people with opinions, expressions and comments on different issues, topics, developments, events and occurrences as they unfold in our country.
Lately I began to worry about the amount of productive time many people spend on social media sharing their opinions, complaining, lamenting and criticizing different people and different situations. More worrisome is the huge knowledge gap this interaction tends to expose as it has become glaring the high level of ignorance we’re confronted with, especially the youth.
Many have no clue how things really run, they do not understand nationhood, citizenship, rule of law, tiers of government and their roles, balance of powers, public policy, international relations, ethics, morals or acceptable levels of rights and infringements.
Unfortunately the most ignorant ones appear to be the prominent and notorious cyber bullies. They criticize, insult, curse, mock and even threaten anyone with a superior opinion.
I worry about how much time many people spend on social media without adding value to the society or getting paid for time spent online. I then also worry about how many really think one day this country will become so perfect and all our problems will disappear.
Ladies and gentlemen, it will never happen. As long as nations are occupied and governed by human beings, a perfect state of national life remains an illusion. Yes, the state of our nation today leaves so much to be desired, but I assure you agitations, aspirations, complains, and dissatisfaction remains with us forever.
This is because the world is designed to keep improving and progressing, and what we see as the standard or the perfect today in a few decades or fewer years will become obsolete or substandard, hence, a clamor for upgrade and improvements will forever remain with us.
As important and appropriate as it is to put the required pressure on leadership to do what is right, waiting and expecting them to create for you a perfect environment or condition for you to live a great and fulfilled life is a mirage, it will never happen. No nation in the world is perfect!
Being successful in life is an individual responsibility and has little to do with the activities of the government. The participation for resource acquisition and management is everyone’s business. No one will work hard and subsequently deliver all the proceeds in your backyard.
If you see things as bad now, it applies to all and when things improve drastically, it improves for everyone in the country, hence we all still have a level playing field to compete and contest for resources, power and control weather in our current state as a nation or an improved state of the nation.
The agitation for restructuring and devolution of power weather it sees the light of day or not may not favor you as an individual simply because no matter how perfect a structure is, it is the management of the structure that make it work of fail.
I think if resource control is tilted more to the regions, the agitations and perceived marginalization may not end, it will only be transferred to the level of regions as there will still be the rife issues of greed, corruption, discrimination, injustice and all the labels borne by the current structure at the regional levels too, why, because whatever the structure is, it is the quality of the managers of the structures that matter the most.
Why share this opinion you may wonder this morning, all I’m trying to make you understand is, there is a difference between your personal success and a national success. You can fail in a succeeding nation and you can succeed in a struggling nation.
Listen to me dear friends, it is impossible for the activities of any single leader or a government to create an irrefutable perfect situation or future for any nation. The sacrifice of Nelson Mandela did not deliver a perfect South African nation, many South Africans are still poor and needy till today. The sacrifice of Martin Luther king, who in fact, gave his life did not create a perfect future for the African Americas in the US, many of them are still broke, burdened, distressed, confused and clueless.
To think a leader, a party, a movement even if they’re sincere, honest; incorruptible and sacrificing are the answers to your personal problems, challenges, limitations and poverty is a misconception.
So I find the idea of wasting several hours on social media raining curses on anyone a misplacement of priority.
Dear friend, what are you doing with your own life today? It is your life, it is your life, it is your life. Only you can fix it, mend it, improve it and make it great. No one can help you if you wouldn’t help yourself. You can blame everyone and anyone, it’s your right to express your feelings and no one would stop you, but how will your seemingly genuine excuses and blame game make your personal life great or glorious?
Don’t you know that champions are not those who recline and shy away from tough times, tough situations and tough responsibilities? Real champions confront their problems, challenges, detractors and oppositions and triumph. Champions don’t complain, champions win.
There is a champion in you my dear friend. It is time to get up, grow up and show up at the place of your duty and destiny in life. You have prioritized your comfort zone over your destiny call for far too long.
It is time to take on your battles one after another and win each and every one of them. It is time to defeat all confrontations and oppositions. Look all your problems eye ball to eyeball and sentence them all to extinction.
It is time to take tough decisions on yourself and your life. It is time to return to school, your age notwithstanding, it is time to start that business despite your fears and anxiety, it is time you stand up to that domestic oppressor and subjugator of greatness and glory in the name of marriage. It is time you escape from the trap of that religious or spiritual bully and scammer.
It is time to walk away from good friends going nowhere in life. It is time to live the life you can afford not the life people pressure you to live. Paying a rent of 8million, 12 million every year that is stretching your finances to pieces doesn’t make sense simply because you want people to believe you can afford an elitist neighborhood.
It is time you reclaim the control of your life from the wild opinions of friends and family. You don’t need to live a life you can’t truly afford just to impress someone who doesn’t really care about you. Its time you rekindle you vision, your passion, your dreams and excitements in life, even if people around you don’t see it as fancy. If it makes you happy and peaceful, that’s all that matters.
It’s time to walk away from that slavery in that mean workplace you call employment. Its time you build a life that you want, add great value to your nation, leave a good legacy and make sure you fulfil destiny.
There will never be a perfect time or situation in this country for your dreams to come to pass cheaply. Your best time is now. Many people with great dreams and ideas years ago kept waiting for Nigeria to improve and now they’re old, weak and poor and their expectations of a perfect Nigeria has been dashed.
Make this your life count, if your maker made this nation and time your own season to come into the world and manifest, He has already put in you what you need to handle the tough times and difficult situations in your era.
Stop wasting your time and hours complaining, criticizing, fighting, cursing and waiting, you may wait all your life I tell you. Whatever you need to do, do it now. This your life; own it completely and make it count. The whole creation is waiting for you to manifest, don’t be sloppy with your life, manifest now!
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