A tale is told
How God in the Beginning sent three sons
Into the World—Earth, Water and the Forest—
With one and twenty gifts for Earth and men
That are the sons of Earth; and all save one
The Forest and the Rivers stole; and how
God promised to his first-born, Earth, that men
Should win the twenty gifts again by virtue
Of that last one, Good Humour. And this is true:
For in those years when Ógun and the Gods
Made known their handicrafts men learned to seek
Thatch, food and wine in Forest and in River
Strife
between
Odúwa and
Orísha
Patiently. So Man prevailed; but in those days
Came strife and turmoil to the Gods—for still
For jealousy and pride Odúwa held
The bag Arámfè gave to Great Orísha.
Often Orísha made entreaty; oft
A suppliant came before his brother—in vain;
Till once when Odudúwa sat with Ógun
p. 28 In that same palace where the Órní reigns,
The sound of drums was heard and Great Orísha
Approached with skilled Obálufon, and said:
"The time has come to teach Arámfè's arts
"To men. Give back the bag (for it is mine!)
That I may do our Father's bidding. Else,
Have a care, is it not told how caution slept
In the still woods when the proud leopard fell,
Lured on by silence, 'neath the monster's foot?" 1
Then was Odúwa angered exceedingly:
"Am I not king? Did not Arámfè make
Me lord of Gods and men? Begone! Who speaks
Unseemly words before the king has packed
His load."
Excerpt from Myths of Ife by John Wyndham
or so long the youth of this country have abdicated responsibility for the state of the country, like the story above, when Orisha sought his rightful heritage from Oduduwa;we have crept around the issue and usually broached the issue in a manner which might raise the ire of our predecessors. However, with a little introspection it's possible to disagree without being disagreeable.
The first step in any endeavour of such magnitude is to realise that just as Orisha being the younger was given the bag of wisdom, so also in the present stage of civilisation in which we find ourselves, it is necessary for the younger generation to take back the bag of wisdom and shine the light for the older. Lest there be any misunderstanding , a little clarification will suffice, in the present stage of civilisation the elders have earned their positions of leadership which is as it should be but they ought to comprehend that there is a necessity that they do not neglect the input of the youth who have come of age in this period of time and are more equipped to navigate the pitfalls of this present era.
Charles Darwin it was who indicated that for any species to survive it needs to both cooperate and adapt to the changing environmental factors in a timely manner and how else is this adaptation consolidated if not by the subsequent generation.
The elder statesmen need not vacate their positions but rather as is logical, deduce that there is a need for their work to be carried on both in principle and in the form of a physical embodiment.
Yet the youth are also to blame for how else does one excuse the pursuit of anothers culture without any attempt to blend it ito ours. we want to emulate western culture in all aspects basically becoming our own neocolonial masters.
The present state of the nation is clearly evident as a fraction caused by the loss of harmony between older and younger generations. Look from the niger delta down to the north,from militancy to terrorism it points to one common problem, there is no one on the side of team nigeria.
But how can one be on a team if there is no coherent social agenda that establishes the core principles of this entity. Yes we have a national anthem and even a constitution but even before the whiteman brought these abstractions to our shores we had something more important which was... community. Yet this communal feelings were based on certain understandings that the interest of the individual were not seperate from that of the community,hence why if you go from the deepest forests of the south, to the village squares of the west,towards the market squares of the east, the drinking houses of the middle belt and the grazing plains of the north one theme is consistent despite all our individual distinctions,which is the age group system in one form or the other which we have lost sight of in our haste to imitate western politics.
Truth be told we cant return to those times but there is something important to be picked from that custom,which is that everyone must contribute to make soceity a haven both for themselves and others.
For so long the youth of this country have abdicated responsibility for the state of the country, like the story above, when Orisha sought his rightful heritage from Oduduwa;we have crept around the issue and usually broached the issue in a manner which might raise the ire of our predecessors. However, with a little introspection it's possible to disagree without being disagreeable.
The first step in any endeavour of such magnitude is to realise that just as Orisha being the younger was given the bag of wisdom, so also in the present stage of civilisation in which we find ourselves, it is necessary for the younger generation to take back the bag of wisdom and shine the light for the older. Lest there be any misunderstanding , a little clarification will suffice, in the present stage of civilisation the elders have earned their positions of leadership which is as it should be but they ought to comprehend that there is a necessity that they do not neglect the input of the youth who have come of age in this period of time and are more equipped to navigate the pitfalls of this present era.
Charles Darwin it was who indicated that for any species to survive it needs to both cooperate and adapt to the changing environmental factors in a timely manner and how else is this adaptation consolidated if not by the subsequent generation.
The elder statesmen need not vacate their positions but rather as is logical, deduce that there is a need for their work to be carried on both in principle and in the form of a physical embodiment.
Yet the youth are also to blame for how else does one excuse the pursuit of anothers culture without any attempt to blend it ito ours. we want to emulate western culture in all aspects basically becoming our own neocolonial masters.
The present state of the nation is clearly evident as a fraction caused by the loss of harmony between older and younger generations. Look from the niger delta down to the north,from militancy to terrorism it points to one common problem, there is no one on the side of team nigeria.
But how can one be on a team if there is no coherent social agenda that establishes the core principles of this entity. Yes we have a national anthem and even a constitution but even before the whiteman brought these abstractions to our shores had something more important which was... community. Yet this communal feelings were based on certain understandings that the interest of the individual were not seperate from that of the community,hence why if you go from the deepest forests of the south, to the village squares of the west,towards the market squares of the east, the drinking houses of the middle belt and the grazing plains of the north one theme is consistent despite all our individual distinctions,which is the age group system in one form or the other which we have lost sight of in our haste to imitate western politics.
Truth be told we cant return to those times but there is something important to be picked from that custom,which is that everyone must contribute to make soceity a haven both for themselves and others.
This mental laziness which is predominant amongst us the youth where we think our contributions are too miniscule is merely an excuse to do nothing,for if the water drops had the same attitude there would be no ocean. However, its clear that its not so easy to contribute meaningfully, hence why dont we start at the very beginning and ask ourselves what sort of soceity we desire to reside in and if by our actions or inactions we are creating a hell or heaven.
The people running from our country to foreign shores forget that it was not people who ran from their countries that created the society which they are so eager to run to ,but those who embraced their community with all its flaws and strove to make a better place.
Hence, let the shifting of blame be temporarily halted and instead engage in self reflection for even if there is much to fix there is also much to gain...
For while other countries are conspiring on how to exploit our lack of unity,we give them more fodder for their cannons by attacking eachother. At the very least if we can't be like the bees in the hive who make pleasing honey,let us at least emulate the clown fish and sea anemone who despite divergent goals are aware of the necessity of cooperation. We gain nothing by destroying eachother and we gain more by symbiosis..yet we fail to see why our stolen funds are taken to foreign shores while we complain of hunger at home....it is said the dog the gods have chosen to kill does not hear the hunters whistle , hoping that is not the case....
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