Last week I wrote about starting with the man and woman you see in the mirror. You and I. Didn’t get any responses. Well maybe nobody has read it yet. No wahala. I’ll keep posting. Like I said recently on my facebook page: Live Your Life….Don’t wait for applause!
So I’ll keep doing what I wanna do.
In this post I’ll be revisiting the issue of the man in the mirror. (I’ve decided to start trying to relate my posts to each other as much as possible. Sounds like good thinking right? Good Thinking. Good product)
I think part of the problem we have in Nigeria is the image we have of ourselves both individually and collectively. On one hand, I don’t even think we have an image that is unique and that everyone shares as a people. What I mean is: I can’t say we have a strong Nigerian image or vision that everyone shares.
For instance you don’t need to be American to know that all Americans share what they call, ‘The American Dream’, or that they consider America to be the ‘Land of the free’. They see themselves as world leaders.
On the other hand, I think we Nigerians have a negative image of ourselves. We hear it time and again from our own lips, “We Nigerians are so corrupt”. Or, “We are so lazy, cunning”. And we see Nigeria as a backward nation, a land filled with problems. This kind of negative imagery, though easy to imbibe considering the frustrating way things are, can’t help us to go forward.
We need to begin to see ourselves as an intelligent, vibrant, creative and progressive generation. Now we are talking about rebranding Nigeria, giving her a new image. That is wonderful and I hope we succeed. But to do that, we need to take the negative stereotypes associated with Nigerians and replace them with something new.
That is why I said, the cleaner the mirror, the clearer the image. We need to refine however we look at ourselves, (the mirror), so that we can have a better picture of whom we are and what we can do for Nigeria (the image).
Let us concentrate less on the negative things about ourselves as individuals and focus on our strengths and virtues. Let’s bring out the discipline, hard work, honesty and righteousness in us. Only then will we find the strength to do what must be done for this country.
6 comments:
I agree...the cleaner the mirror, the cleaner the image.
We just have to see the best in ourselves and work from there. And there is so much to be happy about despite the challenges.
Just so you know, I read, but will comment more often. No wahala. =)
simply put, charity begins at home...if each functional unit that makes up an entity works fine,then i dare say that entity will do fine. i start with me, u start with u, and maybe, just maybe we can spread the virus that will ignite the individual change that will some day trigger the positive change naija as a whole needs. just like my friend the blogger always says,...we collectively make it happen..... i know my generation can do it. yes we can!!!!
Yeah, so are so right. Most times we focus on the negative things that have been said about Nigerians. I found myself repeating some of them like Nigerians are always late. I think it is ineed time to see ourselves differently.
I agree that a new perspective is necessary if we will make progress. If we think "bad" is our default position trying to clean up our act will be that bit more complex!
Thanks for all the comments
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