THE “THEY” MENTALITY (Part 2)

This is so much more than just the judiciary system. It is connected to the ‘they’ mentality possessed by most of us - the belief that ‘others’ are the ones responsible for everything while the rest of us are exempt from and therefore free of any obligation to act. This mentality is what is killing us as a people. We show no interest in the crisis in Egypt, Syria, Liberia and other nations because we believe it has nothing to do with us. We raise our noses up at the plight of others because it has not gotten to our backyards yet. The Ebola issue is a classic example of this attitude; where thousands were dying and we did nothing for almost 6 months after its initial outbreak until Patrick Sawyer came into the country and we lost 20 lives. I applaud our rapid response but this same attitude I’m referring to is why America, Spain and other countries did nothing until it got to their shores. No more digression, back to Nigeria. If we are to be a people, we need to work together to ensure all parts of our society is working so our future generation can be secured.

Below are a few suggestions & recommendations on how to right the wrongs in our society so as to build better systems to sustain us as a nation:

1. Enlightenment Campaigns - these can be done by anyone (bloggers, journalists, activists or even concerned citizens) on any platform or medium be it on TV, print or social media. We need to educate people on how to be value oriented, emphatic as well as sympathetic towards the plights of humanity all around us. But most especially to be compassionate (which takes empathy and sympathy to the next level which is action!), doing something about the issues around us. Only then can we see the change we seek that can restructure our failed national systems.

Isioma lamented, “Sometimes it seems like all we do is talk, protest and speak plenty English” and who can blame her when you put all our efforts of #bringbackourgirls on the scale of protest versus actions. But I believe that in speaking regularly through every medium about issues plaguing our nation and their solutions, we not only create awareness that these problems exists and needs to be solved but also encourage more people to be solution oriented and proffer better solutions that can be implemented if the right people get wind of all our chatter.

2. Laws and Sanctions- it’s not enough to create laws but there needs to be mechanism in place to ensure that these laws are carried out and sanctions are emitted on those who do not. This is where law enforcers come in, not to victimize the populace but to ensure law breakers are actually knowledgeable about the laws they are breaking and the penalties for them before executing sanctions.

3. Accountability – this is where you and I can play a very active role. We can hold our leaders accountable by holding protests (street march/sit downs & hash tag online campaigns), calling in to ask questions during televised debates with our leaders or engaging in PRO debates. We can also be effective if we knew who the people representing our constituencies are and call them out of they fail to do their jobs.

4. Think and Act - I don’t know about you but I am tired of reading articles that point accusing fingers at everyone else as the blame for the failure of Nigeria as a nation. If we all do what is right, raise children who believe in doing right, then we would have raised a generation of thinkers whose passion is to act on what they know is right to do. Don’t just sit and complain; ask yourself, what can be done? Who can help make my ideas reality and what can I do to ensure the solutions I’ve come up with are heard and implemented? It doesn’t matter who takes the glory for the solution you provide, what matters is if it’s acted upon.

It‘s time we get off our high horse and get rid of this ‘They’ mentality that absolves us of any responsibility towards the improvement of Nigeria, our nation. @grandverve said, “the sort of change we need requires critical mass” and I agree. Only a few good men can’t change our systems no matter the significant position of power they hold. If we won’t do it, who will? Let us not be like those who live in the moment and forget to keep an inheritance or leave a legacy for generations unborn. If our heroes past did not stand up and fight for our independence, we may not be here as a country 54 years later. If we truly believe in the unity and posterity of this nation, then it’s time for us ALL to cast aside all forms of segregation especially the ‘they’ mentality and embrace a ‘We’ mentality approach to Nation Building.

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