Yesterday in a long chat with one gentleman, he lamented of his perceived lack of opportunities for people to do one thing or the other. Then I asked him, Who is responsible for giving who the opportunity? He said, The system. Then I asked again, Who is the system? Then he said, All of us. So if the system is you and I, and all of us for that matter, then who must give who the opportunity? You see, I am not going to pretend as though I have it all figured out. No, I dont. We still keep trusting God for greater things. But this begging mentality we have, that until someone hands something over to us, we cant thrive, is not only a losers mentality, but one that would render you irresponsible. If some people I knew ever waited for some kind of opportunity to do anything worthwhile in life, they would wait all their lives. Unfortunately, this mentality seems to be an African mentality. Where our heads of state go begging because until they are helped, they cant do anything. Now, get this clear. I am not downplaying seeking help from people. Help only becomes useful when you have actually started doing something with your life and at such a stage that it becomes wise to seek for help. The idea of looking up to others for opportunity is one that liberates you from taking responsibility. This is especially to the youth out there. And like I maintained in The Realities of Life After School, nobody....I repeat, nobody, owes you anything. If youre waiting for help when you havent taken the first step to show your commitment to your cause, nobody will come to your aid. The time has come for us to take responsibility for our lives. We have begged and begged and begged for too long a time. And the more we beg, the more we retrogress. Do you know why? Because an IRRESPONSIBLE BEGGAR makes no progress. Progress is only a reserve of responsible people who measure how much they have achieved vis-a-vis what they have set for themselves. I love a quote by George S. Clason in his book, The Richest Man in Babylon. He said, The prosperity of our nation depends on the prosperity of the individual citizens. If Africa will be a better continent, its got to do with our taking responsibility for our own lives. The days of waiting for an uncle or father or some relative to die and inherit their wealth is over! A new day has come. A day for us to take responsibility is here! Lets embrace it for a better Africa.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 08:16:35 +0000
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