Ending The Blame – Game, Fixing The Problem – By Abideen Muhammed Ayomide
Loading ...The perfect paradigm for the above heading can be clearly seen in my
dear country – Nigeria, as virtually everyone refuses to believe we
have all, in one way or the other, contributed to the present
misfortune of Nigeria. The cliche on the lips of an average citizen
is: ‘This Is not the Change we voted for’. Some even said: Buhari and
APC deceived us… ‘ But could there be a change without pain? Tough
time never lasts but tough people do, so they say. Nigerians simply
forget this fact and prefer to relish the acronym – Giant of Africa –
preferring to enjoy the privilege without responsibility.
Giants are known to be tough, and in tough time, tough people soar and
rise above the tidal waves of excuses. Real men, don’t blame others
for their misfortune. They don’t even give excuses when calamities
befall them. They are drivers of their life. Tough people accept their
failures without trading blames…. fixing the problem is of paramount
to them. Faithful and strong Nigerians are indeed needed in real tough
time. Yes, we are witnessing “economic recession” and everybody is
pointing accusing finger at one another.
This is the time when the ruling party tends to put the blame for the
present predicament on another party (the exited party), just as the
Peoples Democratic Party blames the All Progressives Congress for all
the woes that have befallen the nation since its defeat, refusing to
take responsibility for any of its past deeds, actions and inactions –
good or bad.
Citizens, on the other hand, do not help matters. Rather than brace
up to the challenge, they take to despair and refuse to see any good
in the government efforts, no matter how well intentioned. While some
are guided by primordial sentiments in their pessimism, some people’s
cynicism are influenced by party sentiments, yet some are goaded by
selfish aggrandizement. Rather than cooperate with the government to
address the problem, we simply resort to an era of crook marketers who
needlessly inflate prices of commodities; yet we hypocritically engage
in lamentation as it holds the key to our problems.
Nobody seems to be free from this as we all have a share of the blame,
especially on corruption. Corruption should not be erroneously pinned
to diversion, misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds.
Misuses of power, time, resources, stealing, injustice and
discrimination are all within the domain of corruption. But does it
befit a giant to cry aloud in the presence of smaller creatures? No,
of course. We are expected to set the pace for others to follow but
the question is: what kind of foundation do we lay for the future?
Dr Robert Schuller said: The uprightness of tough people can come
only through “possibility thinking”, that is, positive thinking. The
power of positive thinking is practically lost in the midst of
Nigerians. It reflects in their actions and reactions. Many have
completely lost hope and do not believe in the future of the country.
And of course, do you blame them. What do you expect from a poor –
hopeless man?
Nigeria at this critical period truly needs hopeful revivers and
incurable optimists to restore the power of positive thinking in the
people.This negative attitude has led us to where we are – fixing the
blame rather than fixing the problem. We just need to wake up from our
slumber and eschew defeatist attitude. Here comes a baffling question:
Who will fix the problem for the despondent populace? Without doubt,
it is important to note that fixing the problem is everybody’s work.
Twilight and darkness cannot coexist. Let all us drop our ego and
sacrifice for our nation.
Let the East jettison religious and tribal sentiments. Let my West
abandon superiority complex, let the Middle Belt or North Central
eschew sectarian violence, let the North stop discrimination and let
the South-South abandon militancy, vandalism and economic sabotage. It
is high time we understood our individual differences and work as a
single entity – for the betterment of Nigeria as a whole. Let me
quickly paint a scenario on the futility of fixing the blame which
surely leads to nowhere in particular – vanity upon vanity.
As a student who lives in a hostel, let’s assume your room mate slept
off without locking the door and you woke up to discover that your
phone is gone and gone forever. I am very sure your next reaction
would be to blame your room mate but can the blame return the stolen
phone?
The very deficiency in our basic foundation and values makes it
difficult for others to help us. If the foundation is faulty, how
would a builder assist in erecting an enduring edifice? If the world
gathers to help Nigeria and we are not ready to help ourselves. What
miracle could they perform?
Problem well defined is half solved. We are all in this together and
we are definitely going to solve it collectively.
