As we prayerfully look forward for a peaceful and fruitful meeting between the two youth organisations initiated by the traditional heads; there are lessons to draw from the whole issue. I may not know much about the election, the behaviours of the electoral chairman and his team, the declaration and counter declaration, the real reasons why the electoral committee said the election was inconclusive, the run or the rerun or the backslide, but the whole crisis brought to light some salient lessons to learn as a people.
According to John F. Kennedy, former US President – “When written in Chinese, the word ‘Crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represent danger and the other represents opportunity.” The electoral committee and those that were behind the crisis will better look at the dangerous side, but for me; I want to examine the opportunities.
It affords us the opportunity to know that our elders and leaders have the courage to watch their children fight dirty for a long time. It affords us the opportunity to know that some elders and leaders can descend low to take side with a particular child against the other without any form of verification. It affords us the opportunity to know those that support people because of sentiment and not because of truth. It affords us the opportunity to know youths that are pathologically fence sitters. It affords us to know youths that can be part of a crisis and can turn full circle to be advocates of peace later. It redefines leadership in the land; leadership is no longer about the position but what you do with the position. It shows everybody that crisis is an opportunity riding on a dangerous wind and it defines character. It shows those that are not good in leadership and how they hate competition. It reveals those that are weak and how they run from pillar to post for approval and recognition from bodies not recognised and saddled with the responsibility for approval. And so on and so forth.
But in all, Igede nation is the winner. Within months, many people will be out of the street to learn trade and many also are on scholarship for studies. One secretariat commissioned and another in a pictorial form awaiting commissioning. As we go to the round table for peace, I hope it will not stop these activities. I hope it will not be a compromise that will merge the weak with the strong to produce neither the weak nor strong. Let me not even bother myself with that; because what the elders will sit and see, even if I climb the highest tree I will not see. My prayers and affections are with them as they attend the meeting. We hope they come out more useful to Igede nation. We hope they come out with truth and enduring solution to stop corruption and duplicity among our youths. I hope they sanction those responsible to serve as deterrent. I hope they politely advice our elders to be neutral when an issue involves two children of the same father.
For those of us outside, my parting word- in a crisis, don’t hide behind anything or anybody. They are going to find you anyway, just a matter of time.
Dated: 12th October, 2020.
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