Quest for justice, peace, truth, and a better Nigeria.

Today, good appears as evil, and evil is celebrated as good. There seems to be no room for dialogue. People shout at and insult each other without any understanding of what the other’s issues are. Truth is nowhere to be found in many of these conversations. Frankly, I could go on listing our world’s present shortcomings. However, that may do little to encourage improvement or inspire hope.

Many injustices still plague our world. Poverty amid surplus, religious intolerance, racism, gender discrimination, and many more. The need for change cannot be overstated. 

In many communities across the globe, people are crying out for a transformation from the current world order.

Therefore, the question remains, “Do we turn away and give up in our quest for justice, peace, truth, and a better world?” 

The answer for me is a resounding NO! We must recognize that until we challenge our world’s problems, we will continue to live in fear, lack, and anger.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do one good thing every day that scares you.” While it is essential to do one good thing every day, our current global reality also calls us to “Do one good thing every day that everyone is scared to do.”

Many people are scared to speak up, step out and act out; our world will never be whole if we fail to stand up for what is just and equitable.

Beyond the disorganised political principles, our social and moral compass is nonfunctional. Our fore-fathers whom we follow, were strong men. Their focus was primarily on elevating the poor, healing the sick, and challenging the corrupt and hypocritical systems. 

As a true Nigerian, let us strive to ensure that every citizen can dream of a better future beyond what they are currently experiencing. If we are indeed a true Nigerian, let our actions as Nigerian speak, words will be unnecessary.

It is common for us to reference our unborn children as the future. In many instances, we decry their lack of preparedness to manage the world we will pass on to them. Sometimes we decry their inability to appreciate the sacrifices we make for them. While our sentiments hold some truth, we are prone to forget the number of children abused and mistreated, with little chance of a better life or a future where they can thrive.

Until we take serious actions to protect our land, culture, children et al, we adults must realise that the work that we are currently doing may not yield a lot.

A word I learned and internalised is “INTENTIONALITY”—being deliberate and purposeful about a thing.  

Brothers, Sisters, it is time for us to be intentional, purposeful, and deliberate about our country. In Unity, Strong Success is sure. 

My faith in Nigeria and her ability to rise above the challenges of this period is unbending.

Today, the silence is deafening. The silence is loud and uncomfortable. The silence is overwhelming. There are many questions and many concerns. To whom do we turn?

In a recent conversation with some young men and women, they lamented how they often vote for change, but they never really see any difference. My response was, “You vote for change, and you do get the change because you usually vote for bringing one group of individuals to replace the other.”

In most societies, we crave change but do not prepare to challenge leaders to witness this change. When we vote, we should be seeking a transformation in the state of affairs. We should be asking questions concerning transformation in health care, education, justice, legislation, and the economy, to name a few.

We should all be seeking transformation in all ramifications—a transformation leading to a bright future.

Had we considered how far we were some years back, we would take everything concerning Nigeria seriously and joke less about the dysfunctional state.

I see nothing humorous about the repulsive state of our polity. In this 21st century, I must admit that every nation has its own social, economic, and developmental challenges. However, amid those challenges, there are serious efforts to provide the basics for their people.

I believe it is time for us to soberly reflect on where we have been, the magnitude of the challenges we are up against, and begin to plan to build a better Nigeria.

This is not about a specific government; no one regime can solve our problems. It is about us, every Nigerian committing to do whatever they can in their power to help change the tide.

Our country is not poor; our subregion is loaded with many natural resources. Our youthful population should not be risking their lives in a foreign land doing menial jobs because the leaders failed to create opportunities.

The biggest threat to peace and security in our region is not the lackadaisical attitude of our leaders. The biggest threats are the millions of young people that go to bed hungry daily, the thousands of families who cannot afford proper health care, the millions of school children receiving substandard education, and our leaders’ children and grandchildren schooling outside.

I can go on listing the pains and suffering people in the sub-region experience daily due to the failure on the part of our leaders to prioritise the basic human security needs of our people.

I believe that democracy is a two-way street – needs of people and respect for the process. Failure to do either will lead us to where we find ourselves today.

Although several Nigerians today believe that the core of our problems lies with government operations, many regular citizens remain culpable of some of the acts listed above. We continue to naively refuse to accept that we are contributing to the problems in our country.

Let us all take a long look in the mirror as we ask ourselves: What will we love about Nigeria in 10 years?

We do not have to love the Government of the day or agree with all their policies, but we have a duty to love our country. Praying that the Government fails is myopic. In a time of a national crisis we must be patriots and unite in promoting peace and national cohesion.

While we all may not be able to do big things, we all can do small things in a big way. Let's begin where we are with what we have. Let's make change in our small acts of kindness and grace.

One of the challenges Politics of Development (POD) is facing in Nigeria is the lack of National identity of culture, values and integrity.

The constitution of Nigeria recognizes culture, values and integrity as the foundation of the Nation. Patriotism can be a major vehicle for promoting our culture and enhancing national cohesion.

Progress of any country has never been possible in times of comfort. All breakthroughs in human affairs have been through sheer grit, sweat and blood and in the most extraneous of circumstances.

We should all be concerned when our political space becomes shallow and lacks substance. This is a powerful vehicle for shaping societal values and the players therein must be imaginative and deeply knowledgeable. We should not settle for shallow products in these areas.

We need cutting edge thinkers and innovators who can use their creativity to shape a better world view. Political enthusiasts are not conveyor belts. They must be ahead of the pack in understanding and interpreting issues affecting society.

Our stories matter. Nigeria matters. We must never take our creativity for granted. Politics of Development is a powerful tool for promoting positive social values and addressing the challenges facing society. We need to invest more in the Politics of Development (POD) as a tool for socio-cultural development.

This is not about catching attention. It's not about getting the most followers. It's not about having the most engagement. It's about valuable ideas.

While the demand for actionable reforms to protect citizens subsists, efforts towards their empowerment mustn't seize. Less talk, LET'S WORK!

Written by @OBAAdeyemiO