Let us look at the lifetime achievements of some great human rights crusader such as Ida B. Wells-Barnet, Benazir Bhutto, Martin Luther-King, our own Gani Fawehinmi (SAM) and some others. These people believe in a course and stood by it despite the challenges mitigating against their stands and ideology. However, I want to relate the positive contribution of a WOMAN during the post –slavery abolition period in the so called “God’s own Country” U.S.A. She is a well-known African-American female journalist who was born a slave. She became well educated courtesy of her Dad who is a staunch believer of education even in the 19th Century when slavery had only just been abolished.
She was a teacher before becoming a Journalist. She edited many journals and wrote articles against the mistreatment of black people, especially lynching of Black people in the United States. That terrible and cruel act of lynching African-Americans only got stopped in the 60s. After reading some of her written works, I felt a lot of sympathy towards the Blacks over their sufferings and the long period of endurance until they triumph through the courageous efforts of people like her who overcame torture and oppression in all forms.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a fearless anti-lynching crusader, Suffragist, Women rights advocate, Journalist, and Speaker. She stood as one of her nation’s most uncompromising leaders and most ardent defenders of democracy. She was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862 and died in Chicago, Illinois 1931 at the age of sixty-nine. She got an experience when she was young travelling on a train and had an encounter with the Coach conductor, who asked her to leave her compartment for another over-crowded one (simply because she was Black) which she declined. She was forcibly removed by the Three Coach staffers to the cheers and jeers of the White onlookers. However, she did not stop there rather, got the Railroad Company sued and won at the local Court. The verdict was later overturned by the supreme court of Tennessee. That was the first of many struggles Wells engaged and from that moment forward, she worked tirelessly and fearlessly to overturn injustices against Women and people of color. The suit against the railroad company also sparked fame and admirers and ignited the journalistic instinct in her. Many papers wanted to hear about the experiences of the 25 year-old School Teacher who stood up against White supremacy. The writing career blossomed in papers geared to African-American audiences. I can go on her story but I will leave you to find out more yourself on Wikipedia.com.
From this excepts, I want us to imbibe virtues, traits that could help evolve CHANGE in our Country. Let’s embrace SOCIAL JUSTICE, FAIRNESS and remain FEARLESS and STEADFAST in our goal to make this country a better place to live in from NOW…. The idea is to have a POSITIVE MINDSET TOWARDS A GOOD CAUSE. Most people always say that there is too much corruption and greed in Nigeria apparently because of individual sensitivity to National Insecurity and lack of confidence in some of our leaders. To this school of thinkers, change will not work because everybody is perceived to be corrupt. However, I want to state emphatically that it is a mindset problem. We have to develop the right MENTAL ATTITUDE or MINDSET that will embrace CHANGE to be able to achieve National progress. We need to have total commitment to PUBLIC SERVICE. You got to have the right form of ideas of what will stimulate the quantum leap. It is really on this basis of that quantum leap that we can achieve progress that can surmount POVERTY which is our greatest enemy now if not the challenge of our time.
Once our mindset is geared towards eradicating Poverty through concerted efforts towards the goal of WEALTH CREATION, which of course is ENTREPRENUERSHIP, change will develop in our mindset and take us to another level of Nation building. I BELIEVE IN NIGERIA AND TOGETHER WE CAN ALL MAKE IT RIGHT. Let’s forget the past and bury our hatchets and embrace the new task of change without recourse and deviation from the pertinent task of Nation building. GOD BLESS NIGERIA. More on www.nigeriasoccerforum.blogspot.com
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