Yesterday, I wept as I watched the Nigerian female athlete: Blessing Okagbare won one of the 100M semi-final race to qualify for the final rounds. I wept because the name Nigeria has been disdained and dishonoured. And here is a lady running to bring honour back. Here is a lady pushing the envelopes, giving her all, working hard to bring honour and glory back for her nation. She ran in such a way to overcome a slow start, blasting through from behind the rest in the first round of the 100 meters race. She finished first in one of the semi-finals.
Certainly we have not seen the finals yet. But as far as I am concerned, I have seen something worth celebrating! I saw energy! I saw attitude! I saw the indomitable power of the human spirit to overcome set-backs! I have seen the will to succeed in a "woman-being" I have seen a good reason to be hopeful! Why I am making a big deal out of this lady? Why am I writing about one athlete when there are countless participants in the Olympics? Why am I excited over a process than the end-product? Are there not countless athletes already decorated with medals at thesame Olympics? Of course, there are. However, I picked the moment Blessing Okagbare crossed the finished line in the Semi-finals as one of my personal memorable moments in the ongoing London 2012 Olympics; because I see national honour returning to Nigeria!
I see honour coming back not just through our athletes, but through those whose lives will be influenced by them! I strongly believe that as long as we have people like Blessing Okagbare, there is still hope for our nation-Nigeria. I see the restoration of lost glory. Nigeria will not remain dis-credited forever. We shall rise to the place we have been yanked off in history. Honour is coming back! Nigerians be prepared! Honour is returning to us! Although, We have been stripped of respect. We have been regarded as a corrupt nation. We have been doubted and stripped-searched especially at every Airport in the world. We have been blacklisted into terrorist nation. We have been second-guessed as the headquarters of Cyber-crime.
But honour is coming back! Honour is coming to Nigeria as surely as God is God. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream (Psalm 126:1). I see restoration of lost glory and a great future! I see the grace to rise above the present darkness!
So what do we need to do for honour to return to our nation? It is not enough to shout and scream with excitement. If we are going to be celebrated. If We will birth great victories out of our small victories. There is work to be done. We must not just create a system, without respecting that system we have put in place. Nobody should be above the law. Disorderliness must be punished. Criminals must be prosecuted as examples for others. Our leaders cannot make rules which they do not obey.
We cannot allow any misrepresentation of Nigeria. We must take such moments when Blessing Okagbare crossed the finishing line in the Semi-finals of the 100M race as sacred moment. A moment worth reflecting over. A defining moment. A moment that meant something significant. A sacred moment of greatness that gives birth unto other great moments. Much more, the motivation of this athlete should begin to stir us towards good works. Why because such moment brings to our youths a level of inspiration that words can not describe.The aggregates of such moments is what transform a nation. Anyone can run. But not many can win. And as we allow that victory to gradually transform us, our nation will be changed. One victory at a time.
I know the whole world is still waiting for the finals. But i celebrate this one moment in the semi-finals because it is part of the process. Many people wants to do great things for their nations but they are at loss concerning how to do that? We sometimes fail to realize that life is a matter of process. That great things are birthed out of small things. That there is no small success. That we can achieve much more through our chosen career. That by working diligently around our corporate goals, we can even achieve national victories. That this thing is not a matter of your size, but your role. That it is one step at a time. That you don't even have to be an Olympic champion to do greater works. That all you need is: be the best you can be. That your career is relevant regardless. That your best will inspire others, and it will light their candles. That by igniting others, the fire will go from one person to another. Until the entire nation is aflame!
