Wisdom for a New Nigeria
We’ve Taken the 1st Step
Great Nigerian Youths! Great!!
The level of coordination and achievement of the #EndSARSPeaceful Protest before the guns were turned on us is the first step in our journey towards a New Nation. What is needed to start a journey is the first step. The brutality we were raising our voices to end was what was unleashed on us on #BlackTuesday, October 20, 2020. While this has shattered our hearts beyond imagination, it has given us a very clear understanding of what we are up against.
We are up against a mindset that is not ready to engage in dialogue. But for progress to be made and objectives met, there has to be dialogue; i.e. the free flow of meaning from parties involved in a conversation. So when we have not been able to conclude our conversation before the gun-chase, then we need to device another channel for our voice to be heard. What is important is to achieve our objective, which is a New Nation.
We are up against a mindset that is not ready to engage in dialogue. But for progress to be made and objectives met, there has to be dialogue; i.e. the free flow of meaning from parties involved in a conversation.
David Adegboyega
Let’s Take the 2nd Step
So, let’s use what we have to achieve our objective of a New Nation. We need wisdom to use what we have for a New Nation. What do we have? We have Youth, Voice and our Vote. We, the Youth, must have a dialogue amongst ourselves, so we can have one Voice and can galvanize ourselves to harness the opportunity Democracy has given us to birth a New Nation. To have our dialogue, we don’t need to be on the physical street(and continue to endanger our lives), we have being meeting on the social street, so let’s continue there.
We have Youth, Voice and our Vote.
David Adegboyega
We need to live to bring about the positive change we so long for and are clamoring for. We as Youth must imbibe #soundcharacter. The second step we need to take is to hold conversations around integrity of purpose through honesty, hard work and patience amongst other sound character strengths.
Raising a Mass Action for Sound Character
We need to raise a critical mass of youth to imbibe sound character if we are to have a New Nation. Why is this needed? A mindset of team work so that everyone will not justle for what we call the ‘juicy positions’; but have imbibed needed value system to support and deliver at every level. Let’s know that beyond the President, Governors, Senate President, Speakers, Committee Chairmen, etc, people are needed to run the workings of Government. We need men and women of sound character at every level of the nation. Russian Poet, Boris Pasternak, says: “It is not revolutions and upheavals that clear the road to new and better days but… someone’s soul, INSPIRED and ABLAZE.”
The wisdom for a New Nigeria is to raise a critical mass of young people who have imbibed sound character. If we have that, there would not be fellow young Nigerians who would be used to scatter the peaceful protest. I believe the Government has heard our 5 for 5; while we wait for action, we need to have dialogues on how to inspire the youths to imbibe sound character so this caliber of youth can arise to vote, be voted for and work as citizens of the New Nigeria. We should do this by 2023. This is the wisdom for a New Nigeria!
David Adegboyega
Author & Sound Character Coach
+2348032015433
daveadegboyega@gmail.com
- Published in Sound Character Weekly
End Everything Wrong in Nigeria
A New Nation in the Rising
Interestingly,the #EndSARS #EndSWATprotest is happening just as we turned 60 years as a nation. The rot in our nation has pushed the young people to the wall and this protest is only a tipping point of a series of changes that need to happen.
Certainly, a new nation is in the rising and that new nation can only be built by a new people. These series of protests will lead to a new nation, that is a new people. A people who are ready to change. We must #EndEverythingWrongInNigeria together.
Top of the list of the wrong things we must end in Nigeria is collecting moneyor food items from political aspirants to vote for them. Refusing to collectsuchoffering is a clear sign to any elected official that he must deliver to the common good, rather than playing up propaganda at the expense of creating an enabling environment for us to thrive.
We must end everything that is not giving us an enabling environment to thrive.
We must end everything that is not giving us an enabling environment to thrive.
David Adegboyega
We, After the Protests!
After these protests, the young people of Nigeria must imbibe sound character in the areas we are yet to. We must channel this positive energy to end everything wrong at every level of our influence. While we hold the elected and appointed leaders accountable, we must hold ourselves to a higher ideal in our everyday life.
After these protests, the young people of Nigeria must imbibe sound character in the areas we are yet to.
David Adegboyega
These higher ideals are a product of sound character. The rot we see in SARS – the police harassment, brutality and exploitation – is a complex of the dysfunction in our society. We must not focus only on SARS/SWAT; we have to take this opportunity to re-grow our nation.
What has happened over the last week with no end in sight, supports my belief that we need to focus more on followership than leadership, as a people get the leaders they deserve. We, the people, are the real leaders.
Our Souls are Inspired and Ablaze
Russian Poet, Boris Pasternak, expressed it well by saying:“It is not revolutions and upheavals that clear the road to new and better days but… someone’s soul, INSPIRED and ABLAZE.”
This is very instructive because the protests can only continue for long enough. After the protests, we must not return to business as usual in everything we do. Remember, #EndEverythingWrongInNigeria. Our souls have been inspired and set ablaze by the energy generated from the protests.
We need sound character to keep the fire burning. The spirit of the protests must not end on the streets, it must inspire us to impact the four pillars of the society – the family, education, religion and media.
We need sound character to keep the fire burning.
David Adegboyega
The time is now to #EndEverythingWrongInNigeria.
David Adegboyega
Author & Sound Character Coach
+2348032015433
daveadegboyega@gmail.com
- Published in Sound Character Weekly
I See Nigeria@110!
Nigeria@60!
Looking over our 60 years as a nation, shows a history chequered with joy and pain. The pains have reached a crescendo that there have been repeated calls to split. Into how many regions do we want to split? 3 or 300? What we focus on grows, so focusing on the pains will definitely lead to us going our separate ways. In 60 years, we that were once different entities have been interacting as one.
Though there was a time of war, how about we focus on what has caused us joy over the last 60 years? Beyond the individual successes we have achieved, the joy we have achieved as a nation has been because people of different ethnic, linguistic, geographic, religious and educational diversities were brought together to create a nation. Joy comes when we achieve greatness, and greatness comes when we serve people. Therefore, the opportunity to have about 300 ethnic groups under a national identity should be harnessed and cherished. We need to save the future of our nation, and sound character is the vehicle.
We need to save the future of our nation, and sound character is the vehicle.
David Adegboyega
Your Role
What is your role in ensuring we have more joy than pain over the next 50 years? What is your role in ensuring that the greatness of Nigeria is released over the next 50 years? I call this the “50 Year Challenge”. Your role is to ensure that over the next 50 years, you imbibe sound character in everything you do and inspire it in everyone you meet. Sound character is a unifying factor that takes the focus away from what divides, to what unites. Take love for instance; when love is flowing, you don’t think to favour one person over the other.
Your role is to ensure that over the next 50 years, you imbibe sound character in everything you do and inspire it in everyone you meet.
David Adegboyega
Government policies could at best provide a sense of order to guide how things should be, but living by sound character makes you do what the policies try to make you do. For instance, the Federal Character Principles which was meant to foster equality in Nigeria, is now seriously contested. So what was intended to foster equality, has now become a basis for disunity and a quest for separation. You must allow fairness, truth, transparency and love to guide all you do. The result will be a united nation.
Nigeria of our Dreams
The Nigeria of our dream is that which has systems that harness the collective strength of its teeming population. In 50 years’ time, by 2070, Nigeria’s population will be 550 million (according to PopulationPyramid.net). imagine half a billion people who are inspired by sound character. A nation where students are not after certificates but after knowledge; a nation where governance is about the good of the people and not the unashamed interest of a few; a nation where the youth are not bothered about getting rich quick but about seeking education to create solutions that make life better. I see Nigeria @ 110 years, and therefore spending time and character today to save the future. Let’s raise the banner to a great future for our nation, Nigeria. I, therefore, dedicate the sound character theme song – “Save the Future” to the 60th Independence Anniversary of our nation. You can listen here:
David Adegboyega
Author & Sound Character Coach
+2348032015433
daveadegboyega@gmail.com
- Published in Sound Character Weekly
Learning to Wait
Suddenly, everyone can’t wait anymore!
What has happened that most of us can’t wait anymore? Why is it that everybody is always rushing? We’ve emerged in a world that is bombarded with information which people want to action immediately. The immediacy propagated by success motivation videos and the Internet has created a pressure to get things done fast.
However, while it is great to get things done quickly, we have thrown away the balance – the place of waiting which comes by sound character values. This has caused students to not want to study hard, but rather depend on examination malpractices; graduates changing their ages just to get jobs or get into business just to be rich early. Why do we not know that life is not fast but in transitions, and a connection of processes that lead to the desired haven?
Why do we not know that life is not fast but in transitions, and a connection of processes that lead to the desired haven?
David Adegboyega
If you can’t wait, you can’t be great.
We must raise a generation of people that will learn to wait, and stand up, right. We must let the world know that true greatness comes through waiting which is enabled by sound character. It is while waiting that you learn the wisdom and build the goodwill that makes greatness happen. Greatness is a function of how many people you serve. To serve people requires that you have a solution to what they need; and this solution is not developed in a hurry.
True greatness comes through waiting which is enabled by sound character.
David Adegboyega
It takes process. When we don’t want to give the hardwork and ‘hardwait’ required to create a solution that people want, then we really do not want to serve them. The farce called ‘get-rich-quick-n-early’ has brainwashed a generation of young people, making them eager to by-pass the process but get the products of success. But if they can’t wait, they can’t be great. Little wonder we see several abandoned building projects as well as luxury cars in mechanic workshops.
What you get when you wait
When you wait to go through the process, life itself will connect the dots to your greatness. When you wait, you gain sound character strengths. When you wait, you learn patience to see what people need, humility to hear how to solve their problems and perseverance to get to work to create the solution. You learn how to be focused and avoid the pitfalls on the path to greatness.
When you wait, you learn patience to see what people need, humility to hear how to solve their problems and perseverance to get to work to create the solution.
David Adegboyega
There is joy in waiting because, the process is more important than the product. When the process is mastered, it keeps reproducing the product. When we learn to wait, we would not want to eat the future today. When we want now what is to be had in the future, we eat the future today and so never get into that future. The mindset of not wanting to wait has led to many broken marriages, ‘uneducated’ graduates, religion without character and near-failed states where basic amenities of life are shamefully absent in the midst of plenty.
There is joy in waiting because, the process is more important than the product.
David Adegboyega
To build the nation of our dream, we must teach the current generation, and leave a legacy for the next on waiting. Learn to wait!
David Adegboyega
Author & Sound Character Coach
+2348032015433
daveadegboyega@gmail.com
- Published in Sound Character Weekly