There is a popular saying that a nation gets the government (leaders) it deserves. Whilst this may not always be the case it certainly appears to ring true here in our society.
Hear that renowned philosopher, Seneca:
“No man can live happily who regards himself alone, who turns everything to his own advantage. You must live for others if you wish to live for yourself “.
So what does this mean exactly? It means self-centredness, so pervasive in these climes amounts to inadvertantly shooting oneself in the foot.
As a society, attitudinal change is more urgent now than ever. Society is made up of people, therefore it stands to reason that for society to change people must first change. Is this too late for our generation? I really can’t say. Many arguments can be put forward either way. One thing I’m sure about is that it’s not too late for our children. We must imbibe a society-focused culture in our children and adolescents. In admonishing us, the scriptures say, “Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Plato, the brilliant Greek philosopher once said society is individual writ-large. This rather odd sounding term simply means society reflects the aggregate character of it’s citizens. To put it another way, each Nigerian propels the image of a mini Nigeria. If one accepts this observation to be true then we must also all accept some responsibility for the state of our nation. Admittedly we cannot all be held equally responsible but for one to exonerate oneself completely may not really wash. Even if one isn’t a primary actor in this decay one should still ask oneself, “what genuine and not superficial, consistent and not occasional or haphazard steps have I taken to change this?” This is a very pertinent question. We can’t continue to rationalise that because we didn’t initiate the descent into the current moral morass and neither could we be accused of being at the forefront of prevalent indecorous behaviour, that it’s not our problem. It affects us all.
Many a time my wife and I would tell our children off for messing the house up; the usual really, leaving used cups on the table, leaving unwashed plates in the kitchen and so on. Their typical response would be it wasn’t them. Each person would feel it wasn’t his or her responsibility to clear up somebody else’s mess. Yes it’s true one must learn to be responsible for one’s actions but I do believe that a hallmark of responsibility is for one to correct an unacceptable situation even if one isn’t at fault simply because one recognises that a dirty and messy environment affects one too. Likewise, a degenerate social order should concern all of us and if we want a change we all need to do our own little bit. It’s time we began to change our nation one mind at a time starting from our individual spheres of influence.
Jesus is all about changing the mindset of men; admonishing the virtues of selflessness over selfishness. He is all about character and that in particular stood Him out during his thirty three years sojourn, living as a man here on earth. His teachings predominantly centred on the importance of good character. What stood all the great men of God in the scriptures out? Character. Jesus’s apostles remain reference points till today despite the obvious educational handicap some of them lived with. Peter, the fisherman and leader amongst them being a case in point. It was widely remarked they had been with Jesus as it was evident in their character.
Surprisingly, good character is not the easiest thing to define but a conflation of definitions that does well to capture my understanding of it goes like this:
“A person of good character must know what is good, desire good and pursue good both in private and in public. One’s emotional response, habits and actions must be in pursuit of the morally good and one must be inclined towards good through the development of virtues”.
This means one’s moral compass, founded on inner virtues developed over time, would both naturally and automatically direct one towards what is morally good. This is therefore one’s default mode and never a matter of what is expedient.
By guiding our children to develop virtues and the right outlook on life, we can help our children to deserve and subsequently produce the right leaders. To reinforce this vital point I end with these words. “The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as He determined to.” Let us raise them to deserve better.
Changing the nation…one mind at a time
Dapo Akande, a Businessday weekly columnist is a University of Surrey (UK) graduate with a Masters in Professional Ethics. An alumnus of the Institute for National Transformation; certified in Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence from Case Western Reserve College, USA. Author of two books, The Last Flight and Shifting Anchors. Both books are used as course material in Babcock University’s Literature department. Dapo is a public speaker, a content creator and a highly sought after ghostwriter.
