In 2007, I heard a man teach on a biblical story in Luke chapter 5 from verse 1-8. The story is about an encounter between Jesus and a man who had been sick for about 38yrs.
The pool of Bethesda was a place filled with so many sick folks needing a touch from God whenever the water was stirred by an angel. On this particular occasion, Jesus came by the pool and asked the this man a simply but life changing question; ‘‘Do you want to get well?’’ Such a simple question required a simple answer, a YES or NO. This was not to be, because this man had been so frustrated by his condition that he chose to express his heartfelt displeasure. He said, ‘‘Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’’ The man chose to complain and give excuses why he was in such a state...
This is where Nigeria comes in; seeing that Nigeria like this man has been in a bad shape for a long time (96yrs). Most Nigerians have experienced more downs than ups... thus they have become frustrated, insensitive and full of criticisms. They all desire a change but can’t really see where it would come from.
However, the question posed to Nigerians today is, ‘‘Do you want to be a great nation?’’
The answers you get are: We should never have been amalgamated in 1914; The British are to blame for colonising and exploiting us for too long; We gained our independence too early (others say too late); We should never have changed from the regional system of governance; The military tore this country apart; The monopolising of power by the North killed our development; We should have separated after the civil war for we can’t work together; Ethnicity is our major bane (others say religion); Crude oil have crippled us as a people; It is because we are black that is why all these things happen to us; Bad governments have paralysed our economy; Our problem is negative publicity in foreign media; We need to create more states and all our issues will be solved; The level of our corruption is astronomical, nothing works well; The cabal is our biggest concern; 419 among our youths is the problem; No credible election, no progress; We need a new lingua franca so we can break from our colonial slavery; and so on.
Please recall the question asked... ‘‘Do you want to be a great nation?’’
Nigerians can go on forever giving you one reason, excuse after another why we are where we are today. But we all know that complains do not change anything they only magnify the issue.
Let’s get back to our story... After the man’s whining and complaining was over, Jesus said to him, ‘‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’’ He had compassion on the man even when he failed to answer his question seeing that he had been in that case for a long time. From then on, the man lived a new life.
If Nigerians would live a new life, a great life in our next 50yrs as an independent country, then we must;
RISE--make up our minds to leave mediocrity for greatness (a decision)
TAKE UP OUR BEDS--start from where we are with what we have (a participation)
WALK--take definite steps of greatness (a journey)
We cannot continue to simply complain, criticise, protest and give excuses for our present condition. We can decide to build a great nation, an envy of the whole world.
A good place to start is by turning our population from being a huge liability to being a great asset. This is by getting actively involved in critical sectors like Education and Health. For when you create a world-class citizenry, you create a world-class nation.
For EDUCATION, we call on every alumni association to RISE; take charge...
http://www.facebook.com/notes/taulpaul-oselen/a-letter-to-the-nigerian-alumni/444662537904
For HEALTH, we call on every community to RISE; take responsibility...
http://www.facebook.com/notes/taulpaul-oselen/a-letter-to-nigerian-communities/446665887904
At this point in our history, all hands must be on deck.
Thank you and God bless Nigeria.
By: Taulpaul for MTW.
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