CULTURAL CHANGE I
I heard of an event that was said to have happened in Ghana some time ago. A man who had been cured of an ailment was about to be discharged from the hospital. But the hospital would not let him go until he had settled his bills. Unable to pay, the man sent for his relatives. But they refuse to come. Then he had an idea. He said; “Doctor,
please send someone to tell my relations that I have died.
” The following day, his relations came in a bus with a coffin and drummers to be his funeral ceremonies. You see we have a culture that spends more on the dead than on the living. This and other aspects of our culture impede our development. We need a cultural change in several areas of our national life in order to progress. One of these areas is our value for time. The average African has little value for time and does not try to control it.
If he has an appointment for 10 o’clock, that 10 o’clock is not by his standards the time to be there. Whenever he gets there is his 10 o’clock. We call it African time. The average African is unproductive in the use of time. All over the world, it has been discovered that time is man’s most valuable resource, and it is convertible. The exciting thing is that it is given to everybody in equal quantity.
I find it very interesting that our country right now is seven to nine hours ahead of different parts of the United States. Naturally, we are several hours ahead. Why are we behind in development? We don’t fully understand what is called ‘man hour’ and the fact that our productivity or wealth depends on ‘the value of our time multiplied by the number of working hours in a day multiplied by the number of people working.
That is what determines our Gross National Product (GNP). We do not realize that every day of excessive holidays that we fix for ourselves is dragging us behind. We do not mind traffic hold-ups. That explains why it does not bother the people who are responsible for the roads to find a lasting solution to the traffic jams which steal thousands of productive hours from our people.
Dear reader, let the change begin with you. Place value on your time and that of others. Killing time is not murder, it is suicide. And saving time is saving your life. Be punctual for appointments. Get the best out of each day. Don’t just spend time, invest it. There the also a problem of misunderstanding and misuse of power and authority. In Africa, we use power and authority to suppress and dominate people.
Being in a higher position is proof that we are superior to everybody else, and our promotion qualifies us for worship. We do not understand that leadership is about service. There is a sense in which we believe that our leaders have magical powers. When an attempt is made on the life of a leader, in Africa, and he escapes, it is further proof of his magical powers.
In Africa the community dominates individuals making them feel powerless and transfers the power to the leader. This is one of the reasons democracy is not working yet. Because in a democracy you respect the right that God has given to each individual. Power resides in the individual, who willingly delegates some of it to the state. For example, from statistics in Nigeria today, the youth should more than the older people.
If young people knew that, they would exercise their power to vote out wrong leaders. But everybody watches while somebody else or a small group controls the life of the individual. The average person just feels powerless. We have so structured our society that except if you obey the community, the structure does not allow you to succeed. The rights of individuals and their responsibilities are not emphasized.
As you read this piece, please know that there is something you can do about how this country is run. And it begins with your vote, and your decision to help change the way things are done in this country. You can decide to do the right thing in your office or your neighborhood. This is also a society where there is a preference for feasting rather than working – pleasure comes before work and friendship before business.
Social interaction is more important to us than social development. We borrow money to organize or attend parties. And we would rather break rules and principles, allowing the organization to fail than expose a ‘brother’ who has embezzled money. There are people who have stolen public money in this country and their communities have risen in their stout defense, sometimes giving them chieftaincy titles.
So, you do not hear too many voices of dissent even when things are going wrong. And I insist, if things are wrong, it is not just a problem of leadership – it is everybody’s problem: both leadership and the followers permit failure. I ask you once again to stand for what is right wherever you are. If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. Let us break free from fear.
If this country will be worth living in thirty years from now, we must decide what it will become now. You and I must begin to work toward it. According to Zig Ziglar, a renowned motivational speaker, for us to do things the way we have always done them and to expect a different result is one of the definitions of insanity.
Nigeria will Succeed!
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