Value of restlessness in creating intentional economy: Case study of Egypt.

 Today, as we witness the value of restlessness in the stepping down of the Egyptian oppressor of three decades. Something valuable came to mind. The importance of intelligent resistance cannot be displaced on the match to democracy. Lets recall how valuable it will be for all and sundry to pick a lesson from hereon. 

For Hosni Mubarack, he may learn that honor is the peak of all achievements! A man that cannot live and die for honor is not worth living. And Great leaders learn to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest! For us, the moral lie in: the power of protest!

For instance, Canada is a peaceful country. We don’t want any unrest. So we allow everything? It is okay to be just quietly nice? It is cultural to go with the flow? You don’t offend anybody? Don’t disturb your neighbor? Always sit patiently on board for the Bus driver to have his lunch while you run late for your appointment? Activism is evil? It is impolite to protest? Be agreeable in everything? And never ever raise any dust? These are all implied and imbedded in the Canadian culture?

On the other hand, Nigeria (a West African country) is where you are free to protest at your own risk! It’s perilous to speak against the Government of the day. It’s like cutting your own throat! Most African countries face intimidation, oppression and corruption with fear of the consequence of protest. We are scared of being killed. We worry about being jailed. Nobody wants to lose his head. “They” will arrest us and imprison us”; we say. I am the last born in my family, how dare you expect me to protest? I am the only survivor of the civil war in my lineage, how can you push me to War again? Why should I end up in jail or on stake for the masses? As a result of such fear, evil continue at its bliss in Africa?

 The opposite is true of Egyptians. Despite their piety and religious culture, resist oppression and prevailed. Theirs, was one of the rare protests that ever succeeded in Africa? Usually the Military and the Police would have disbanded such protest? Again, it points out the fact that the Military have crucial role to play in any democracy anywhere?

 If the glory that passes away could be this glorious in Egypt today, how much more is the eternal weights of glory going to be like? If the Egyptians fought for honor and won, how much more should we? It is imperative we stand against evil in all ramifications?

The case study of Hosni Mubarack of Egypt is a lesson for all African leaders. Don't overstay your visit by seeking a third term in power like one of our politicians. Leave political office honorably when you're no longer wanted. Nobody is indispensable. How so true was the statement of the Patriarch who said: “…But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." (Genesis 27:40). The yoke we see today are more than oppression. Until we become restless, dominion will remain an illusion.  Until we learn to see evil and resist it, we won’t break the hold of evil! 

Just because oppression does not appear in guise of “Hosni Mubarack”, it is easier to merely cast a glance and walk away. We can casually let the sleeping dog lie? But the sleeping dog may continue lying forever, even making more mess on the threshold? The principles  we break will boomerang to haunt us.There is value in intelligent resistance.

How to Create New Economy from Doldrums in Third World countries.

So we were at this job test in one of the third world countries and every fresh Graduate is waiting outside the test venue to be called in. the norm is that all those with a cumulative Grade point of 2.1 and above are invited here. Those are the smartest brains ever. You see those who graduated with 2.2 and below; they are toast!  They have nothing to offer! They are dummies and as such, they have been weaned out. So they can’t be here except of course by some connection to somebody in power.

But while we were waiting for the Test to kick off. Several connections of old friends, old student unions and fraternities were forming outside the job test venue. We started gisting, talking about so many things. Some of us were catching up on old times, another upcoming job test, and another job advert in the Dailies. We are discussing the last interview which we attended but we were not picked. Out of the 300 percent that was interviewed, the company picked just three people. And it was so bad that it left us sad. They picked someone who they knew. It was not on merit…too disgusting.

 Anyways, did you watch the game between Arsenal and Chelsea?

-Oh! I miss that one because there was no power supply.

We had to fuel our Generator to watch it; the electricity source in my neighbourhood was disconnected

-So did you watch the match between Manchester United versus Liverpool FC in the UEFA?

Oh! That was brutal!

-It was a bloody!

Those guys were Real Red devils!

-O yeah! I saw that…

Just about some few meters from us, there was another group where some folks were interested in the Politics and the Government.

I am no more interested in the Tribunal trial. They are a set up! They are not doing anything to the rogues they caught!

-Oh! Yeah! I am not going to vote for their Party in the coming election.

Those guys are rogues. They claimed to spent 11.5Billion on constructing the new Expressway way.

-Just look at our roads, does any of this road look new…we have no job, there is no good medical facility, no free education system and no electricity.

So we went on and on… blabbing in our circle, creating a niche of unemployed whiners in our small group discussion. Nobody discussed idea or innovation that we could birth in a radical way. We felt we were too small in our own eyes to make a difference in such economy. What can we do? This is the way it’s going to be forever.

This is all true of our life in the third world countries. We were standing in the middle of masses of talents, potentials and human resources but all we know to do was just talk!  We actually exchanged phone numbers and we went away afterwards to our individual home to make some free midnight calls. Guess what our call was all about. It was all about the lady we wanted to date and probably marry but our poor economic state has been delaying such dreams from coming to fruition.  Sometimes, we actually do some conference call and ask: How are you doing.

Were you picked from that last Job test to come for their next phase of interview?

-Oh! No I was dropped. Hey! Sorry…

 Well I was luckily called yesterday to come for an interview. Just hope it works out. Pray for me.

This is the life out there in the third world country where opportunity is limiting and often overcome by deficit of chances.

Amongst those of us who were standing out there were fresh Graduates from all disciplines. There were Graduates from Banking and Finance, Engineering, Economics, Agriculture, to mention few.

I was just thinking that what if we start a radical approach to job creation. What if we start a Bottom –Up approach kind of revolution?  What if we deliberately synergize as a Company of skilled providers and began to market ourselves better. What if we start a business empire where all we need to move to the next stage is in the team. What if we use each other’s brains to move one another to another level of Job creation? What if we all go home and convince our family members to withdraw all their money from all those big Banks and start investing into us. What if we shun the old banks and start transacting within this new Bank! What if we began to grow, expand, compete and become a threat to those old banks? We started out small but we may end up big if we all convince our Parents to bring in their monies, their middle class salaries and retirement Pension Funds into this new bank.  I know we may not depend solely on the inexperience knowledge of Fresh Graduate Bankers or Lawyers.

We can look amongst for those folks whose Uncles and Aunts were fired lately from those big Banks in the name of recession. We can invite them to run it with us. We can invest into the thrown-aways …and based on their experiences we can create a lasting movement of people who understood the system and are ready to re-invest into the system that spilled them out.

We can start using the money gathered into this small bank to fund new small businesses. And this will bud gradually into an economy. What if? What if?! What if we start doing something intentionally and radically? This Relevance!