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Hope and actualization of Dreams are born out of a conscious determination... |
The basic nature of man is to act,& not be acted upon. To take responsibility,to be proactive,to choose! However,this is not the case in our society as individuals at several levels in our society choose to be acted upon & succumb to reactive,as against proactive behaviour, which unfortunately is the root of our socioeconomic backwardness.
It amuses me when I see youths,who belong to the most energetic age group fail to act & make things happen but rather choose to lay back & let things happen to them,& then push the BLAME on the nearest person or thing. It further fascinates me when I see that this Blame syndrome has eaten so deep into our fabric that it has become cultural,even spiritual!
Our children BLAME their parents/guardian for sending them to public schools, or making them hawk,& then use that as an excuse for not finding time to read or refusing to do so when told to,while some few proactive ones in the same shoes with them come out in flying colours,proceed to higher institutions & go on to become great men with inspiring stories.
Our students BLAME their lecturers for failing them in exams & bribery,or ASUU for going on strike,or lack of electricity,or lack of conducive environment or money; anything at all,as excuses for performing poorly in school. As if those who excelled all have rich parents,or attended classes somewhere else,or were taught by different lecturers,or had generators in their hostels!
Our GRADUATES blame the government for not providing jobs,their parents for not being influential,& even the companies for favoritism & nepotism. And they shy away from self-development,they refuse to acquire needed skills & competences, refuse to show initiative,to take interest & aptitude tests,to study industry,expand knowledge,sharpen their thinking, & even get acquainted with the business process & problems of organizations they are interested in...the worst of which is,we can't even justify our degrees!!! We render ourselves useless to ourselves, employers & our society,& are quick to sacrifice others for our unemployability.
The employed blame their bosses for lack of results & non-performance,blame colleagues for conspiracy & corruption,& quickly justifies Mr. X's promotion to be a result of his relationship with the MD.
The dismissed blame their extended family for spiritual curses,or friends for jealousy,some even their mothers for witchcraft!..and run to religious houses,some of whom tell the truth,but most of whom leverage on our cultural psyco-pathology to rip citizens off & feed fat & play to the gallery with baseless theories of spiritual interference!
Companies with bad & greedy management blame government & multiple taxation for their unprofitable state,they blame lack of social amenities,high overhead costs,too many employees,debtors etc etc for their misfortunes while their competitors soar & expand by the day.
Our government blame the nation's woes on previous bad leadership,an irony as the past leaders are still part of present governments. Past civilian governments blamed the military,the military blamed the founding fathers,& those in turn blame the colonial masters!
Our society keeps moving round & round in a web of blames & counter-blames...& no one is taking responsibility & initiative for their actions & destiny...the few who do are victimized or accused of being beneficiaries of nepotism. I weep for my country,my heart bleeds for my generation!
This is not to say that all these factors mentioned above do not exist,or do not constitute a serious challenge to socio-personal & economic development. However, as Eleanor Roosevelt observed,"No one can hurt you without your consent"...& in the words of Ghandi,"They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them"
And until we can truly accept,as Steven Covey states that "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday..." Then we can't say 'I will be tomorrow what & where I choose to be!'
And if we can't say this,that is,take up what we psychologists call internal locus of control,& expunge these external loci of control,then our youths,& our society will keep falling victim to self-inflicted under-achievement & impoverishment...
So help us God...
