CULTURAL CHANGE IV

A few days ago, I saw an okada driver riding in the wrong direction. He almost hit a pedestrian. Then, he shouted, “Get out of the way”. I found it quite amusing that the one who was breaking traffic rules would turn around to be the aggressor. But that is the story of our country today. We don’t know the difference between right and wrong anymore.

There is a need for us to create an orderly society. Our society is highly disorganized. And it’s been discovered all around the world that order and development go together. The poorest countries of the world are also the most disorganized. I learned a few years ago that order makes for an increase. If you need an increase, create an order. For instance, there is a way you throw clothes into a box without folding them.

The box would not be able to hold as much as it would when you neatly fold those clothes into the box. The more you neatly fold and arrange your clothes, the more the box could take. Nature abhors a vacuum. A disorganized life lacks suction power because there is no room to take in more blessings. We’ve got to create an organized society. It’s an eyesore here when you drive around and see the disorder on our roads.

We live in a society where people who are disorderly and disorganized think they are smart but not knowing they are the direct opposite. Where there are supposed to be two lanes on the road, some people create a third and fourth one. Common sense suggests that when you are in some of those bottlenecks a little exercise of patience would get everybody moving faster.

So we need to create an orderly society. Of course, there is a big responsibility for government in this area but you see, the government begins with the people especially in a democratic society. Democracy is defined as the government of the people, by the people; for the people. If it is all about the people, the people should take their destinies into their hands and create the kind of society that they want.

We need the queuing culture, whether queuing in cars or in person. In reading through the Books of Exodus to Deuteronomy in the Bible, I see what God did while bringing a nation of slaves out of Egypt to build a new country. God through Moses, the prophet, established rules and guidelines for living; and relating with other people. The Laws of most countries are built on those guidelines.

We need a society where whenever anyone disrupts order or jumps a queue, everybody around would protest. We need a society where some people would jump out of their cars to stop the person who is driving wrong. We need a society where there is no general consensus to fail. I look around and see how our government is missing fantastic opportunities to make money.

We should make money from people who break our laws. I was driving on a freeway in a city in the United States some time ago and I saw a sign on an overhead bridge that read: “Throwing thrash on this road attracts a fine of $2,000.” The road was very clean. When you see such roads, you would think everybody that plies that road is filled with the spirit of God.

But the fear of fines is the beginning of wisdom. We need loads of law enforcement officers in this country because most people don’t know how to live in a civilized environment anymore. We need to emphasize virtues that look so small but are important like courtesies. Showing courtesies should become a national culture. We show a lot of disrespect to one another in this country.

I wonder why some people here say they are poor when they treat people the way they treat people. They talk to people anyhow. Everybody deserves a measure of respect. We should learn to use more often words like please, thank you, sorry, excuse me, and so on. Policemen stop car owners by shouting “Park” and wielding guns at them.

Shop attendants and sometimes owners act rudely to their customers. In other parts of the world, a policeman would say, ‘Sir’ to you all the way; even while taking you to jail. Of course, what do you do in a society where people lack self-esteem? We need to realize that we are a special set of people in this country.

We must love value and respect one another. We need to cultivate virtues like cleanliness and excellence. You see; the dirtiness of our streets and the weather-beaten faded paints on our buildings are not a function of lack of money but that of poverty of the mind; a lack of appreciation for excellence.

There are businesses in our country that have been around for many years that have thrived and made it. Businesses like hotels and restaurants. The people who own these businesses make money but do not reinvest in the business. Then, after some time they are shocked that customers no longer patronize their business. For heaven’s sake, some new business is going to start somewhere around the corner.

They are going to put on fresh paints and new rugs on the floor. And if I know people very well, there is no way they will continue to patronize your old business with stained rugs and a signboard that has been weather-beaten. The difference is just a simple culture of excellence. Your house should not be the one looking dirty on the street.

However rich our government becomes, it is not going to clean your house for you. Unfortunately, this culture of mediocrity, since it is ingrained in everyone, is carried into government office. It is a big shame to see the amount of refuse that is piled along our roads. We must remember that cleanliness is next to godliness. You and I must take responsibility for the development of this nation. Let us start now.

Nigeria will Succeed!