Even though we are very good at using one case to down good leaders, some people must yet be stopped or prevented from spreading negative messages. It’s obvious that many unpatriotic Nigerians want our economy rendered irrelevant. That shouldn’t prevent us from fighting for our future and the future of our country with pride and dignity. Our country must be made a leader of changes in Africa and the world. Our leaders must learn to campaign about policies not emotion. Nigerian politicians must understand that, Nigerians are dying by the hour. Our leaders must learn to prioritise their workloads and have the fear of God in them. They must learn to campaign about strong economy, better education, first class health services and social justice. Our leaders must be prepared to eliminate fuel poverty. They must be prepared to fund and reform schools and prisons. Serious organized crime agency must be created to combat child trafficking, conspiracy to blackmail, conspiracy to defraud, child prostitution and illegal “NGOs” etc. Many effective agencies should be created in Nigeria i.e Commission for Tribal Equality, Police Complaints Commission etc. Nigerian Police should have “operational independence”. Nigerian government should not be able to instruct the police to arrest or proceed against any individual.

The Nigerian police administration should be controlled by Police Authorities of elected Magistrates, High Court Judges, Senior Lawyers and Senior Civil Servants, and by the role of Justice Administration Minister. An independent authority or agency should be created with the power to investigate Serious Complaints against the police. We must learn not to play politics with people’s lives. Nigeria is one and our leaders must lead by example. It’s very much ok to be passionate about politics, but we must never play politics with people’s lives and the nations economy. We must help our country become a true democracy. Let’s help to raise the standard of living and make Nigerian people happy. Our governors and representatives must appreciate the fact that, they have a duty to serve and represent the interests of their constituents. Nothing that comes from bribery or injustice will last, but the effects of loyalty and love will remain forever. Wealth that has been obtained dishonestly is like a stream that runs full during a thunderstorm, tumbling rocks along as it flows, but then suddenly goes dry. Acts of kindness and charity are as lasting as eternity. Money is a trap for those who are fascinated by it, a trap that every fool falls into. A person who gets rich without sinfully chasing after money is fortunate.

TROUBLES WILL COME BUT ONLY WISDOM WILL LEAD US OUT

Some people are better educated than others. They have attended more classes and passed more exams. Does this mean they are more knowledgeable? Perhaps, in a limited, superficial way. We are all, born blessed with equal access to a universal library full of profound insight and important information. To consult it, we don't have to train our brains; we just have to hear our hearts. Just as a salmon instinctively knows its way back to the spawning ground, our intuition knows its way home to the right answer. Self-discipline is laudable. Self-denial is lamentable. We must understand that, we can't test the depth of the water by putting in our toe. If it looks right and feels right as far as we can tell, let’s go ahead and dive in. We must also remember that, we cannot please most people. Most people would rather lie through their teeth than speak the truth. Live and let live and not waste your entire life trying to solve the problems of this world. The world is divided into two groups...the givers and the takers. Takers rarely give and givers don't usually know when to stop giving. Kind of a handicap? Well! The thing one must be most careful of is people who manage to take the truth and distort it for their own gain. No matter what you say…if it’s not what they want to hear they will twist it...we therefore must be wary of those people. But we must never give up who we are for what people want us to be. People always want others to change but seldom are willing to change themselves. Our leaders need to improve their negotiating skills and techniques and with this insight into the process of negotiation, they will be able to control what is both a complex and sophisticated activity. They need to improve their performance and learn how to identify and focus on key priorities to increase the effectiveness of their team and themselves.

We all know that it is easy to get swept away by political topics of the moment and lose sight of basic issues that underlie politics everywhere. But one thing we must always remember is that, how political authority is constituted can make the difference between plenty and poverty, life and death. Our leaders need to develop a committed government and transform civil and corporate performance through learning invaluable motivation and transformational leadership skills. Negotiating is a key activity – government success or failure can depend on it. By understanding the psychology of negotiation and recognising how to deploy their skills at each stage, our leaders can become effective negotiators, in order to stay in control and be able to focus on not just government but people’s priorities and gain a battery of techniques to give them a better work and life balance. There was a righteous man who abandoned wisdom. He destroyed himself by killing his brother in a fit of anger. Because of that sin, the earth was flooded, but wisdom saved it again. She guided a righteous man in his flimsy wooden boat. Troubles will come and many people will groan. The Lord’s saving power will surely rise on us like the sun. But only wisdom will lead us out.

HOW ABOUT A FUTURE IN WHICH WE HANDLE IT ALL WITH MORE WISDOM?

Anyone who wishes to understand Nigeria must first carry over her concept of Democracy from the political and social field to the cultural….. Everywhere we go we meet people with plenty to say. They make promises and give explanations. They announce and make us all think they must know something. We all know what they say. They say actions speak louder than words. That’s true in one way, yet actions are often surprisingly quiet. We don’t hear them until long after they have happened. And if enough deceptive words are being uttered while the actions are taking place we can be misled. Actions may speak a lot louder than words, but they don't necessarily make any more sense. Just as words can be deceptive, actions can be misleading. We can read the wrong things into them or fail to see what really lies behind them. If we seek true understanding, we must investigate neither words nor actions, but intentions.

We must ask ourselves for honesty. And we must encourage others to be frank about their deepest feelings. It isn't easy, though, to be upfront about a matter that you fear could create disapproval, disagreement, or worse. So what must we do? We should learn to use our eyes, not our ears. Also believe in intuition before passing any judgment. We might never live in a perfect world. There will always be people who want to criticize, compete against – or enter into conflict with each other. There will always be pressure, pain and sadness. There will always be selfishness, greed, ignorance and abuse of power. There will also, always, be earthquakes, floods and fires. Given all this, how can we speak with any hope about a golden age? What can any “new era” have to offer us? How about; “A future in which we handle it all with more wisdom. A time, we make more efforts to understand, to tolerate and to co-operate with our fellow being. An epoch, in which, more of us become inspired, more enlightened and more willing to care and share.” I am very much looking forward to such a change. And, despite all the current evidence to the contrary, I confidently predict that by the grace of the living God, it is on the way.

D.AKINSANYA JULIUSON
Cultural & Public Diplomacy Practitioner and Specialist Investigator