Do the people really want to be free? Do we really desire the positive change we want? Do we deserve the positive change we want? Are we ready to accept and practice the truth,if we are told? Dont we love deceptions? If given a chance, are we ready to take the necessary steps and sacrifices to have the positive and great change we desire? These are questions that have troubled my mind for a long time and have recently come up prominently in my mind. I ask these questions daily and recent events have made me ask so. I ask this because deep in my heart,I have a genuine passion for the masses. Its not that Im downtrodden or I dont live fairly comfortably,but I have a burning zeal and desire to help the downtrodden masses. It touches me when they are treated badly. I feel it when hundreds die during bombings or a kidnapped by criminals,especially in preventable situations. I feel it when millions attend interview for just a few spots and many get trampled upon and die. Only if wishes were horses,even beggars would ride,so says the popular adage. I wished I was in a position to bring bad leaders to justice and ensure equity and justice. Call me The Punisher if u want. I wish I can help the masses to get better healthcare, education, better economy,better jobs, better business empowerment, better welfare, care for widows, orphans, disabled and disadvantaged people, eradicate,not alleviate poverty and wished to give people a higher standard of living, better wages and a lower cost of living. I wish to make life better for people. I wished I had that power and I cry daily when I see misfortune ,especially avoidable ones befall my people. I wish God who rules in the affairs of men will just empower me. Over time,Ive discovered something disheartening : The people dont want to be free and live that good life. Infact,they preferred bondage to good life. Dont get me wrong here. The people in their hearts do appear to want a better life,but they consistently take actions that shows they want the evil lives they live. They profess things that they do not practice in reality. Its more of a thing of the mind. They consciously, unconsciously, willingly and unwillingly take consistent actions that take them into worse bondages and they wont listen to you even when you correct them. These are things of the mind. Thomas Sankara said a slave cannot be willingly freed by his master,a slave has to free himself by himself. So true and realistic. The masters,in this case the political leaders, the cabals, mafias and mafiosos and syndicates impoverising Nigerian masses are not ready and willing to let go of the masses. The masses must fight and win to be free. Unfortunately,the elites have a way of dividing and changing the masses opinions. They use religion, tribe, ethnicity, political affiliation and other things to influence the masses. This is a war. Its a war of the minds because if the war is won mentally, then it can be won all through. The multi-award winning raggae musician - Bob Marley once sang in his song - Redemption Song ...Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, Cause none of them can stop the time. How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? ... So what we need to emancipate ourselves from is the mental slavery,the bad mentality. In The Good Book, when men wanted to built the Towel of Babel, God said that since they were one and their language (or mentalities) was one,what they planned to do cannot be restrained from them {Gen 11 v 1-9}. God confused their language,so they werent able to achieve their purpose. It shows the power of liberated, united and determined minds. Even God may find it difficult to change those minds. The people have shown they always love to choose the wrong things. In the days of old when God sent prophets to the people,even Jesus Christ,The Only Begotten, people rejected God sent. They stoned them, mocked them,killed them, disobeyed them, even crucified them. Its not a thing thats just happening anew. Afterall,theres nothing new under the sun. Alexis de Tocqueville, a french political thinker and historian, once said ...in every democracy,the people get the type of leadership they deserve .... I have seen this very true in Nigeria. Ive seen countless examples. People vote based on sentiments,mainly religious and ethnic and because one pastor or imam or emir, obi, oba or royal highness, instructed them them to do so, rather than voting for the best candidate. Some vote because they heard or read a certain, unsubstantiated report about somebody that he said .... They dont even do a thorough homework to test it and verify. The Good Book says test all things and hold on to that which is true, meaning we need to verify all things and hold on to that which is true. There are no excuses for ignorance. Ignorance of the law isnt an excuse. My learned friends always remind me. The Queen of Sheba in the olden days,it was said by historical books, travelled great distance from a region around Zimbabwe to Israel,when she knew of the great wisdom of King.Solomon to Israel,to learn of his wisdom. Learning and verifying the truth demands sacrifice. Are the people ready to sacrifice? Change sometimes need tremendous sacrifice. I remember that in old Oshodi, Lagos, infact,you had all sorts on the road. The roads were not free. It was bad. Stalls, houses etc had to be demolished,for the roads to be cleared. Okadas (commercial motocycles) had to be banned to reduce accidents because unemployment was so bad that many untrained riders saw it as a quick way of making ends meet. It resulted in lots of accidents and banning Okadas had reduced the fatalities, deaths and morbidities on the roads. Oshodi is better now. We complain of low standards in schools,yet people wont allow a governor to sack substandard teachers who cant even read their names. Its so bad. If a blind man leads another,both will fall into the pit. You can imagine a bad teacher leading unlearned children. Its almost a know fact that there are many redundant staff in public service,even many ghost workers. Yet any governor that tries to correct many wrongs will be hated by the same masses he wants to liberate. So sad. The leader that wants to do things the proper way and wants to instill proper discipline is termed as wicked and too harsh by the people. I heard of a local government chairman that lost re-election because he doesnt distribute cash, food items to the people. Rather he used such money to develop the Local Government, pay students School Certificate exam fees, construct roads etc. Rather,the people complained he was too stingy. They voted for the man of the people who when he was sworn in distributed cash, food etc to traditional rulers and the people. The people regretted because he never developed the locality but rather parents started paying for examinations that were hiherto free and paid for by the LG. Indigent students missed the exam because their parents couldnt raise the fees. Whose faults? Their parents who made wrong choices. Many and countless examples abound. People forget so easily and vote based on foolish,selfish sentiments. Some people may forget so soon that a much maligned politician was the one that constructed the last tarred road in their localities. They forgot so soon that the last time their hospital or school was rehabilitated was by an agency headed by a maligned politician which still bears the relics till date,while all attempts by the peoples choice to do more repairs never lasted and was hog wash. When will my people learn? Great change will occur when the people emancipate their minds from mental slaveries,none but themselves can free their minds. How long shall they kill their liberators while they either participate or look the other way. People dont understand that when the resolve of the people is one, even hardened dictators found it hard to rig elections and have been chased away when the people resolved so. The purpose of this article isnt to campaign for anybody or any political party but to straighten things out ! I hope we love the truth when we are told .It saddens me as I write this piece. Ive made up my mind that if Nigerians ever miss the chance to effect great changes in the next general elections, I may greatly reduce,if not stop making political comments. Im serious this time around. I hope we change. It takes fools to be ruled by idiots. Now to answer the plethora of simple questions I asked at the beginning of this piece : Do the people really want to be free? Do we really desire the positive change we want? Do we deserve the positive change we want? Are we ready to accept and practice the truth,if we are told? Dont we love deceptions? If given a chance, are we ready to take the necessary steps and sacrifices to have the positive and great change we desire? I say NO as answer to all the questions. The people arent prepared yet. Rather than take positive steps, people take solace in face religion and hypocritic ways of life. So sad. I hope well be prepared soon. BY VOTE Senator Joe Obinna FOR NIGERIA 2023 Signed: Senator Joe Obinna (akunachuariri of mabike )
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 15:57:57 +0000
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