I was dismayed this morning when I heard the news of some Nigerian illegal migrants who died in a boat mishap off the southern coast of Spain. They were of course trying to get into Spain, about a 100 of them including 2 pregnant women. As at now only 23 have been rescued and over 60 confirmed dead. In such a situation who do we begin to blame or what do we place the blame tag on? This is a simple indication that if a 100 met their Waterloo in a bid to find a better life, probably a 1000 or more make their way illegally across to uncertainty.

We keep hearing of the Spanish government deporting sending back several boats attempting to cross over and even deporting those that made it. We must remember that these desperate individuals have already lumbered their way through the sahara deserts, determined to reach the land of the golden sun. What pushes these individuals or what draws them seems to be agreeable by all those who hear of their fate: Nigeria has nothing to offer them thus it behoves upon them to seek a better life where it can be found, by hook or crook. You can be sure that this is one singular explanation you can get all Nigerians to agree on.

From my recent musings however, I have taken time to rethink many of the circumstances which Nigeria presents to those who wish to analyse its issues. And this issue of illegal migration is certainly one of which I choose not to approach as common as we have before time made it seem. There is something beyond the discordance in the nation that acts as a push or pull factor for these individual who seek every possible tunnel of bolting. I agree that the life across may be lush and that behind harsh, and those this may be a necessary condition but is it sufficient for dare-devil acts such as these?

Leaving one condition for another should be predicated on the satisfactory knowledge of what obtains in the destination. But what I see is that this is not the case. Nigerians, heavily blinded by the quest to survive, abandoned the noble virtue of judgement and foolishly embark on a journey through an escape route to uncertainty. The argument or notion that Nigeria has to offer now is lame and at best simplistic. This is because in the last 4-5years, Nigeria ranks among the 20 countries in the world experiencing rapid growth. Opportunities are breaking forth and many are changing their status and class in society. With all its glaring short comings, in Nigeria there is currently the remoulding of a middle class and increasing number of upwardly mobile citizens are gaining entrance into the corridors of the economy.

The amount of foreign direct investment in Nigeria has shot up in recent times and both small and medium scale investors are leveraging their skills in a moist system. Any dude who is blind to these factors for growth and development, and is still seeking in ‘Sokoto’ what is the ‘Shokoto’, must be compared to the circus Elephant. While young men are exploiting openings in the economy and testifying to possibilities, others are numbed by sights and sounds of glamour and comfort, flashed by the western media. And like a persistent fly flirting with a hot bowl of pepper-soup, we know the probable end of these fleeing friends.

Let me state very clearly here that we are wiser now to know that nothing works for you except you work a it. Even when you find a system where everything works, it still will not deliver value to you until you plough through its provisions. Deception is at work in our young people. This is why many are ready to leave a present discomfort for uncertainty. It is amazing how much faith they have about succeeding in an uncertain future, but have no faith in the possibilities of the now, whereas both require the same level of internal convictions. So please can someone trap down their relations about to fall into the error of misguided judgement.

I will however not exonerate the government from this issue as well. While we still have unpatrolled borders and points of exits, we have also not looked at appropriate policies that will hold down young people from engaging in illegal immigration constituting a problem for other countries and further smudging the already hideous image of Nigeria. I know we have the capacity to absorb these individuals and make them have a meaningful existence, but what draws them is beyond what government can legislate on. So while I charge the government to make the country look better than where our children are escaping to, I also charge our children to stop risking their lives to find what they already have. If you care to till your earth you will find a life.

I risk sounding very simplistic, but I will go that path. Have you ever wondered about how everything you know emanated? Or have you ever pondered upon the real truth on what you presently know about the issues of life? Fret not! You aren’t alone on this. I can authoritatively tell you that most people at some point of their life question everything they know to see if they are firmly rooted on true principles worth believing, or they should carve out a new path for themselves. From our teenage years we begin a silent rebellion to the knowledge and rules that we grew up with, and some of us alter our path into dangerous territories that leave us with bad scars. Some of us successfully sieve through the muddy issues of what values we should accept as truth and which we should reject, while most of us only discover the truth after being battered by the faulty choices we made in our quest for real answers.

One truth I have come to see is that everything in life has an origin. What you presently believe about anything, has its origin somewhere, either in one man’s idea, or a collective agreement by some gathering. Let me give an example. In northern Nigeria, when men want to urinate, they stoop down to do this. And I asked myself why? I researched and found out that it is a practice with Desert Nomads, who for the sake of heavy desert winds have to stoop to prevent splashes. It became a practice embedded in culture and even religion because of the conversion of these tribe into Muslims, and with their territorial expansion and overarching influence everywhere you have Muslims now, it is the common practice. There the question is would a northerner be abnormal if he stands to pee? When these men visit where you only have toilet bowls, how would they do their thing?

Another example is this. In the Christian religion, we have always been told that it is a sin to drink alcohol or should I say it is perceived as unacceptable to take in alcohol. Are there no benefits in the substance called alcohol? With science showing benefits to this substance shouldn’t we be concerned with what level is beneficial and what level is dangerous? We know that even water, when taken in excess, has its side effects and this is also similar in alcohol? So how did we come about the most Churches banning the taking in of any form of alcohol? I once went for the burial ceremony of a friends dad on an empty stomach due to the early time of the day the occasion was slated. I was glad to partake of the communion that day and joyfully walked down the aisle to receive a portion of ‘Christ’s body and blood’. The problem came a few minutes later after drinking the ‘blood’. My eyes began to roll and I felt as though I had suddenly become taller or the ground had move further from me. Of course the communion wine was very alcoholic and my empty stomach did not receive it well. Did I come out of Church a sinner?

I was once invited for a private 10 man birthday lunch. The celebrants husband had just returned from pilgrimage to Jerusalem and brought one of the finest Palestinian wine, which has a history back to the time of Jesus. A little taste of that wine and I knew that one full glass can magically titillate ones senses. But somehow over the years, we have been passed down the concept that it is sinful to even put your tongue to it. Is this very true? Are we really walking in the truth with all the church traditions we know of? So much for Church…. you figure out the rest.

Today we have also grown up to know democracy as the most effective form of governance, because it gives more power to the people. But is this true? Does it really apply to a system of multi-ethnic people who are all scrambling for recognition and self-interest? Is democracy native to us as a people or is it a borrowed ideology from another society? Don’t we think we need a rethink on what leadership and governance is all about? What about money? Should we work for money? Should we strive to make all the money we can because we want to help other people?

What of education? Is a university degree or any education at all a necessary condition for success in life? Should everyone go to a secondary school or university? Do we have to study what we do in our tertiary institutions? Questions and questions and questions? I cannot exhaust them all. But I tell you, if you try to seek the answer to these questions you may have a conclusion that defies your current belief system. I challenge you to embark on a journey of seeking answers for yourself.

I will deceive myself if I say I can capture the entirety of my thoughts in this little piece. I am already experiencing a bloc in this write-up because some other things I want to mention are pretty controversial. However I want to stimulate your thought process in answering for yourself the questions that others usually answer for you. I am in the process of rethinking everything in my life to find true value in all my engagements. I cannot continue on the road whose origin is unknown to me, neither is the destination in my mental articulation. Within me I cannot afford to ignore the gently throbs for the truth on all that lies on my path.

My name is Reginald, and I am rethinking everything.

Have you ever seen a human who doesn’t want to be great? Although one may argue that there are such people, I doubt if it would be a personal decision of any man not to be great. Therefore greatness is a subtle wish of every being living or dead. If you ask a little child this day and age, already, with so much examples around us, such a kid would likely speak pompously of a dream lurking in the corners of his malleable heart. Being great is a driving force for the things we all engage ourselves in, whether work or play, we all try as much as we can to increase of our relevance all in the effort to bring greatness to our lives.

The most frustrating thing to any man is when he has no relevance to his given environment. Nothing is as depressing as when you come into a place and you are not even noticed or accorded any pleasantries. It reduces your feeling of self-worth and puts you in the mud of questioning your very existence. I have had a friend, when we both witnessed the above circumstance, tell me “Reggie! I have to be great oh.” I could practically feel the ooze of a strong desire from him, and I suddenly knew why many people in their quest end up on the downside of ambition. I am not immune from it, that’s why I think I have the imprimatur to break the cocoon of my thoughts on the matter.

Two men in our contemporary history present us with the two sides of greatness, as counsel to those of us who seek to walk the paths where the Lions and eagles tread. We have celebrated them and poured so much encomiums for their acts of courage in the face of defiant foreign domination and enslavement. The names Nelson Mandela and Robert Mugabe strike the musical notes of exemplary leadership and influence that cause a whole nation and continent to dance in a uniform manner, and get historians frantically penning down pages of rhetoric for the annals of Afro-History. The name of the latter may now provoke feelings of disdain, but nevertheless, we cannot strip him of his former accomplishments and his stumbling is a factor for the thoughts herein.

Mandela and Mugabe, at birth may never have conceptualized the extent of the relevance they would have in their generation until they picked up undying passions for freedom from oppression. Today we know that these men were in the forefront during the years of playing on the turf in the game of African renaissance against imperialistic proponents. But while one is still soaring effortlessly on the wings of greatness, the other is on a downward spiral on the broken wings of ambition. After tasting the wine of grandeur, one is done by it while the other is drunk by the same liquid. It reveals the sourness in sweetness. Reminds me of the sweetness/ bitterness of the garden egg, depending on who eats it. Now I am knowing that greatness is like wine or the garden egg, it has a varying effect on its consumer. Greatness produces both Masters and Monsters.

After watching the movie by Jim Carrey: The Mask, I am more persuaded that true greatness is first the nature of a man before an appendage. While the mask produced a sort of superhuman in one, the same mask produced a super monster in another, based on the the inherent nature of the recipients. Greatness is like this mask which some men may be given the opportunity to wear in their lifetime. What results is entirely a revelation of the hidden nature and predispositions of such a ‘lucky’ individual. Saul and David in the holy writ are also due examples of the differing outcomes of greatness. Both led by the same passion to free their people from domination, set about glorious deeds. But what resulted was that one has a name that we so eagerly give our children, while the other is a word of caution to our erring wards. In like manner, greatness has revealed what was the content of the heart of Mandela and has shown us also the motivation behind Mugabe’s actions. Therefore I am poised to be inspired by both men as I carve out my own path of relevance to a watching world.

While Mandela has shown me how greatness can make a man a living legend, Mugabe has taught me that greatness can warp the mind of a man and make him self-conceited. I have learnt that greatness is a privilege and not a right thus it cannot be forced but exuded. I am also learning that clinging onto privileges makes one an unnecessary pain and a hindrance to others as they seek to enter into the doors of opportunity. Now I know that true greatness inspires the same in others, while false greatness seeks to sap the value out of others and establish self serving interests, even if people have to sacrifice their lives for it. Today at 90 years of age Mandela is a living legend, while Mugabe at 84 is a living Brigand.

I will not be stupid enough to dwell on their achievements, but to set my own course by dealing essentially with my nature first, so that when greatness comes knocking, I will be a Master and not a Monster.

MY COURSE IS CLEAR!!!