Africans how will your story end?- The benefits of Colonization.

Have you ever observed how every successful Africans get the Western attention? The West does not look at your skin colour, once you have what it takes to win. The boundaries of racism and discrimination disappear if you can deliver. This is why I caution those Africans with victim mind-set to get over it. History has proven how prudent Westerners are, in terms of quick recognition of potentials. They would rush at it vehemently until they suck out of it all the opportunities associated with it. Imagine how many Western agents would line up to sign any outstanding African athlete? Imagine how quickly the West invest in any upcoming star from any parts of the world? They may call it corporate social responsibility or giving back to the society, but its all a gimmick! It's an investment!

Alas! Africans are not like that. When Africans see potentials, they kill it! They envy, disdain, disrespect, and desecrate greatness. They gossip about it. They talk about it. But they never invest in it. They never celebrate it. They just let it rot by the roadside, until the West comes by. Is that not why Africans have been backward for decades? But this parable shall no longer be told amongst us! The devil is a liar! Africa will rise again!

 A glossary look at our heroes show how many of them died frustrated. Almost all of them were only celebrated in their death. Not when they were alive. While they were with us, we criticize them, lie against them, blackmail them. They were unsung heroes because we have not been taught how to handle greatness. We were not taught how to interact with greatness. Probably because our environmental conditions did not allow us. So we fail to see many great people until the West overtook us, carrying away everything great amongst us. Then, we are left "empty". That is why we celebrate crooks, rogues, thieves, corrupt leaders, looters of public funds, evil-doers, and everything wrong. But I can see the light on the horizon, for Africa. It shall be well. The future is so bright ahead of here.

Truth be told, the West has helped Africa in a lot of ways. I don't allow victim-mentality in my world. I love the West and the Westerners. I have great Western friends who surpass some of my African friends in lot of ways. Above all, God made us all. So, I see the benefits of colonialism regardless of how some Africans see it. Dissecting culture and traditions, and getting free from the strongholds of ignorance and laziness is our struggle. Yes. We are proud to be Africans. But we have a lot of work to do.

You know, I have wondered why the heathen gods, the African idols of our Fore-fathers did not strike down their Colonial-masters? Where were those deities back then? The fore-fathers were chained like dogs into slavery despite their loyalty to those idols? What happened to all the rituals they demanded from our Forefathers? What about the beasts? Those goats that were sacrificed at the African shrines? Those pool of palm-oil, those countless kolanuts, those white chalk, those white, black, red coloured clothes, that was demanded by the gods? Where was the gods of iron? Where did the gods of thunder go?

What happened to Ogun, Obatala, Shango, Oya, and all other deities? Are the gods dead?! Couldn't they fight? What happened to them? They did not strike with thunders and brimstones? Why? Not a single one of our Fore-fathers escaped slavery? Yet, no anger was displayed against those white men who came to enslave our Fore-fathers. What happened? I am unsure of the whereabouts of the gods. But I know better. Have you ever asked similar question?
If those idols were true indeed, why this Western dominance that has continued till date?

We were told that some of us were actual descendants of kings, warriors, farmers, blacksmiths, etc. We would have remained as such. Alas! The Western intervention brought us into the western world, where we are neither accepted nor rejected. Nevertheless, colonialism brought some "goodies". Why? Because, until we were enslaved, we were staying with those heathen gods that had no life in them. They could not save us. So, it seems to me that we were enslaved to become the sons of God...for christianity was re-introduced to us by the west.

Although, the biblical account told us how that Ethiopian Eunuch brought Christianity into Africa right from a single encounter on a road called Gaza, while coming from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This to me is significant because, christianity went across Africa from Ethiopia, to other parts of the black continent. But if the story ended there, it would have been good enough. Alas! We saw the Light,yet some of us went back to our heathen practices. Why will anyone see the light and still go back into darkness? That in itself still baffles me. Most especially, when I see people who should know better.

Anyway, Africa went back to idolatry until the Westerners came by to reintroduce christianity to us. In the wake of colonialism, the West stormed the black continent with a purpose. Their cloak was unique. The colonial masters' dressed in a way that they had the guns and the bible hidden underneath. So, we ask how genocide became a norm in Africa today? That is a wrong question! The right questions should be who sold those guns into Africa? When? And how?!
We worry over the long wars in African regions like Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Dafur, etc.

The point is not in looking at Africa and shaking heads. Rather, we should begin the enactment of laws and making of right policies that will totally stop importation of guns and explosives into Africa. We worry over religious crisis in Nigeria, when we should shun gun exchange plans. We should be executing prompt prosecution of violators of the law of the land. And at all cost ensure the reward of those who do the right things. But we allow the West to profit on us. Through our ignorance, we have enriched the Western nations.

We should have known the attributes of the Westerners. They are adventurous. That means they never stay in "their place". We have seen how the West never stay at home, when there is gold in the "bush". They may call Africa bush, but we all know better. The most naïve of the Westerners assume all of Africa is jungle, where the inhabitants thereof live on the trees. So they come prepared...to "maximize" the opportunities around these "crude colored people". So, they go around looking for potentials, golds, diamonds, oil and gas, and more.

I don't blame the West, because they are smart and quick to see! They fell in love with what we failed to appreciate. So, their search became adventure. Their adventure became a thirst. Their thirst became obsession! And they wanted all. Not just more, but all of these! Then, their strategies became a plot to steal, to kill and destroy? Not just going around looking for opportunities any more. But polluting our environment. Then forcing us into borrowing so as to dominate, exploit, and take advantage of everything called Africa. Other culture and races also faced similar oppression. But Africa lags behind longer in a bid to recover.

Despite all that, the faith the West reintroduced to us clearly show us how we can be free from their "predatory" tendencies. Do you know that many times, only one out of ten Western initiatives in Africa have no strings attached? Even some Western ministers who traveled to Africa in the name of mission work, heard about how they could easily gather a crowd. Travel to Africa, get "some gullible coloured people" to hear you preach, come back to your Western country and show some footages of your "great mission work". Earn more respect. Raise some support. Go on Television. Make money and history at the same time! So why wait here and work hard in the West? Why struggle when you can birth a ministry for cheap at exchange rate? Why suffer in the name of God when you can be a star in Africa for "Christ sake"?!I know that is not true of some Gospel ministers.

However, there are some ministers who made it difficult for Atheist to come to Christ.This might not sit well with some, but I feel that one of the reasons why some Westerners hate Christianity, is because of bitter-truth like these. A "christianized mind" will always expose deceptions. Why? because true Faith sets people free! As for many oppressors, freedom means losing your captives. And to lose your captives is to lose everything. So they fight Christianity and its ideals. That is why we can identify with the insincere activism and the struggles of the Silversmith association of Ephesus, when they persecuted Paul. They did not go against Paul, just for no reason. They started an uproar in the name of the goddess of Diana because of their means of livelihood. It was all for the money in their trade. But they pretended to be defending something more. As if they had a purpose much bigger than them.

The Good News is unstoppable! Why because those who attacked it don't understand it. They see it as religion. But it is a relationship! Christianity introduced us to a Person...who taught us the Truth...and you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free! So, one of the benefits of colonization is freedom. But why are we still bound? Many of us are focusing on the negative aspects of colonization. And that ignorance kept us bound. It is because we have not dared to flip the coin yet. That is why we have not seen the benefits of colonialism. In the light of these bondage, we saw the true Light.

Sadly, after colonialism ended, we still see the reappearance of it in many areas. One of several ways through which the West continued colonizing Africa is by immigration and policies. Some of us only know the good stories of those who won the Visa lottery to travel to the West. We don't know what became of them after migrating to the West. There are many of them who find themselves working odd jobs till retirement! Many university graduates ended up in factories when their African credentials was not recognized in the West. There may not be adequate jobs in Africa, but we do not disrespect people's education in any form!

This may not be "liked" by some Westerners. But the subtle style of colonialism has been unveiled. The Western system has been shut against many immigrants. It appears as though, the West are saying: 'somehow we can still continue to enslave these black people...and the idea is that, if we can no longer enslave them in their own countries as a people, then let us break them apart into fragments, by tactically inviting them over to be enslaved in our own countries'.

The problems immigrants face in settling down in the West are proof of this fact. The odd jobs immigrants have to endure. The conditions surrounding many who have no legal stay in the Western countries. The harshness of exploitative employers and more. For many of them, nobody can speak for them. They are silent voices. They dare not raise their heads. They live in strongholds, hiding in caves for several years. Always afraid of deportation. As for those with legal standing and right of stay in the West, there is failure to recognize their foreign credentials.
For those whose credentials were acknowledged at all, they can only rise so much at their workplace. Promotion is per cents! No more! They are stopped carefully from advancing. So, the plot to enslave the descendants of Africa is tactical, and subtly planned.

So do we have to stay in these dysfunctionalities? So what is the answer to our messy situation? How can we break free? How do we cross these limits? How can we rise above this static level? How can we rewrite our story? What must be done to be made whole, since we want to be whole? Do we wait for another year of stirring of the waters? Or should we settle for less? Should we give up or keep trying for the rest of our lives? Where do we go from here?

The answer lie in our vision! This is what will determine how our story will end. Africans! What do you see? Where do we go from here? The question is not who is coming next to fight our cause? Thank God for previous freedom-fighters. But we have left that era. We are now in the era of empowerment. Individuals empowering themselves, until a community is greatly empowered! We still work together where necessary, but we must train our generation about the power of deliberate personal growth and development.

Some would not mind working odd jobs forever. Some don't mind working as slaves under oppressive employers, and heartless supervisors. But there are some of us who are different. They may call us difficult. But we are just different. Why because we know who we are. We were not born for less. We were not raised on tress. Not fed with weeds. We were raised on princes' and princess' diet. We grew on King's meals. No, we were not born with silver spoons, but we were fed by golden hearts and richly minds! As a result, we are different.

We understood our identity. We understood time and seasons. We know who we are. We came out of Eden. We might be working in the fields for now. We might have a long way to go, but we will not give up, until we get there. We are from Eden, the symbolism of God's presence. Our ideals remains kingdom's ideals. Our values have been shaped. We don't fight for acceptance. We don't try to belong. We deliberately standout. We create a world, where the world wants to belong! We have seen the Light. Much more, we saw something. We have encountered a Person. We are not crazy religious fanatics. We are light-bearers! We are the salt...the seasonings. We have become a force the world cannot ignore. We are relevant. Our assignment transcends the four walls of any religious organization.

We have bypassed strongholds. We have seen the Truth. We know the truth. We have escaped corruption. Our destiny lie in understanding. So, we are outstanding...with a sense of purpose. We figured out all deception. We reveal manipulations. Because we have seen God! We encountered and triumphed over the devil and his hosts.We are in the company of the Angels! In His light, we see light. It is in these hope we rest. So, in labour we see rewards. For in all labour there is profit. As we hope beyond the present scope. We remain immovable, planted by the rivers of water, to flourish in due season. We will yet blossom because the sun will rise again!

Of the increase of His government, there shall be no end. And through us, He shall reign from sea to seas. His Kingdom will know no end. His glory will know no bounds. For the government shall be upon His shoulders. And as long as the shoulder remains a part of the body, we are reigning as God's body on earth. This light will continue to shine. It will shine in the darkness, and darkness cannot comprehend it. Because this same power that conquered the grave lives in us. Ours, is the Light that lightens the world. Africa will arise. Not just Africans but the West. Not just the West, but as many that believe in this, all over the world. For whoever call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Safety is of the Lord. Salvation is unlimited in scope. It transcends church into politics and beyond!

It is important to know! Know what you believe. But much more, who you believe. Know whose you are. It is time to rise. You have a hope and a future. You have a destiny. You have a role in God's script. You are a vital part of something bigger than you. You are making history. The whole world is incomplete without you. There is a call...and it was your name that was called. You have a root. An Identity. A brand. A reputation. So, roll your boat! Don't rock the boat! This is your time. This is your day! Now is your season. It is your moment! It is time to rise and shine again!

Nigerians hope in the Olympics for the return of honor!

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!

Role of Political Parties in Extinguishing Terrorism in Nigeria

This is a quick attempt at analyzing the last election. This SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis will give us clarity to where internal terrorism actually kicked off into full blown phenomenon in Nigeria. The SWOT analysis of the last campaign has proven how irrespective of their sizes or victories, political parties have a major role in reforming the nation. 

At times, it seems that it is only in Africa, we fail to evaluate elections. We need to see what went wrong and how we can not just remedy it; but even avoid that same error in the future. Somehow it seems that the last election has a subtle affinity to the present terrorism we now experience in Nigeria. 


The trends show us that when terrorism began in Nigeria, it was gradual and at a point when the election was drawing closer. What the naïve will later call a religious war can actually be traced back to a political crisis. So, the way to reform a political crisis is not to shut our eyes to the root cause of it. By calling a spade a knife is silly. This is why I strongly believe that the unrest we are seeing presently can be calmed if the political parties can come together at some point.

The need for a round table discussion, and dialogue towards the way forward in terms of national reform must be mutually worked together. There is need to strategize towards  peace and unity in Nigeria. This is just one of the least good deeds these political parties can do for us as a nation. Another role the political parties can play among several is to consider incorporating opposition into reform processes in Nigeria. 


The plethora issues facing the nation require more than one ideology. There is no unity if the extinction, exile and excommunication of the opposition is all that is advocated by the ruling party. It is sad that when a political party lose in Africa, they don't want to have anything to do with the winning party and vice versa. The winning party rules without considering opposition party as partners who they can work together with in reform process of the nation. This is why implementation of laudable policies has been difficult because some people are not in support. 

In considering, the roles of the political parties in quenching unrest of terrorism in Nigeria, we must evaluate the last electoral process to realize how we got here; and avoid the repetition of similar error in the future. Firstly, this SWOT analysis of our last election reveal flaws in the selection process of the gubernatorial and presidential aspirants. Let us consider them step-wisely: 

The strengths: 
Many prospective aspirants trooped out that we did not expect. There was diversity in terms of the attributes and origins of those aspirants. We saw elites, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and even clergymen showing interests in rebuilding the nation. Since, that diversity reflected what we normally see in the West, we can say that in some aspect, Nigeria is moving towards development. Although, the pace of development seems slow, but we are getting there gradually. 


 The Weaknesses: 
We saw major components missing in terms of what it takes to rebuild a nation. One of the most glaring was the criss-crossing of aspirants regardless of the differences in their values-system. This evidently reflected in how the minority parties could not win where they might have won. The candidates were paired up based on ethnicity rather than their values, vision and victory records. 


In bid to do justice to the Geo-political zones and demands for ethnic-balance, the selection of candidates was totally flawed. So, what was the outcome? Some people saw those "mismatches" and felt that we are not there yet. Others were not discouraged along that line; but obviously the two schools of thoughts voted in frustration. Candidates who would have negotiated and made successful alliances were unable to do so because of that same mismatch of aspirants. So, the masses were not the only people who were confused at some point but the aspirants also were confused concerning who to form alliance with. This resulted in the way the electorate voted. Most people were forced to re-vote their incumbent leaders. Some did not vote at all. 

The landscape of our national politics, allow the electorate to culturally prefer the old to the new; especially where the new seems undecided. So most preferred the devil they knew to the angels they were about studying. The consequence of this was seen months later in wrong timing of the oil subsidy and some other socio-political issues. In terms of whether or not the country chose the right leader? The answer may not be audaciously stated. Why because the terrorism that ensued tells us that the nation may have done well if the present leadership were to operate within 100 percent cooperation of all the opposing parties.


The fact that we have chosen a seemingly "wrong" candidate, in a seemingly wrong time tells us that we need to start considering timing in choosing our next leaders. For history has proven how important it is, to discern the right time for candidates; especially when it comes to minority aspirants. Although, minorities may be advocating for their turn in rotational leadership pattern Nigeria has chosen, the timing may not be right. As we can see how many lives have been lost to terrorism in our nation?


 This is not to state that a particular leader was not good enough; but misjudging the timing for such leader to lead the nation might be critical. Leaders come in different forms. Some are natural pioneers, others are managers. It takes wisdom to discern what kind of leader, the nation need per time. And that goes beyond making ethnicity and tribes as a variable for selection. It may be the turn of your region, but if your region cannot present the kind of leader the nation needs, it is better we pass to another region and still live together in peace. 

Our primacy ethnicities have drawn us into more national problems than we can ever imagine. It has led us into errors in our electoral process. Among several other weaknesses we also observed that some missing part of the puzzle during the last campaign and election was: the lack of wisdom, inattention to the need for speed, the absence of strategy, absence of foresight, Inability of candidates to pay full attention to details.


Time would fail me to pick these points one after the other. But mainly, these are the missing link in most of the last presidential and gubernatorial aspirants we saw in the last Nigerian election. So, the ability to know what to do next; which we can call wisdom was a missing puzzle. 


It is not enough to be excited about joining the political race. It is vital to understand where does the road lead next? Many aspirants were just angry about the status-quo without actually presenting a better strategy that can change the status-quo. Some were just happy to be part of the political debates, just to prove a point that they are part of the national issues. 


These "me-too-aspirants" made the electoral process more complicated. It is much more important to know why, when, where and who leads the nation next. It is a mark of honour to see greatness in others and celebrate it, without blindly competing against them. Some people were just competing out of insanity!

 We also see that a lack of idea and absence of vision seems to be disturbing many of the aspirants. Some old leaders who re-appeared had nothing new to say. The challenge for crowning leaders who are at their wits-end is that we will be expecting a change, when in actual fact no change would be coming in a long time. So what role does the masses, the church and the youths play in all these? In ameliorating this kind of experience? We need youths who understand political intelligence. We need those who understand cutting edge governance as a matter of wisdom, vision, leadership, timing, development, strategy, and more.


 So, how can you come in? You can start getting diligent in your sphere of influence and field of practice so that you can support the future leaders in all ramifications. We have observed that lack of information is adversely impacting our nation. There are no reliable data-base systems, records that are substantiated with facts and figures. There are no cutting edge statistics that can support developmental reforms. So, when such components are missing, the aspirants have already failed ever before their campaigns started. Not to talk of when they get into office. 

 Another vital issue was that as we followed some of the political aspirants online, there were those who had no websites. Some were not even known except within their geo-political region. There was no deliberate maximization of the new social media. The internet was still held at a distant from the electoral process. We could not track the results of the election online, immediately they were counted. We were kept in the dark as the ballot boxes were trooping in. 


So, technology like we saw in the western elections was not maximized. If I was asked that do you think that the absence of details made the last election from campaigns to manifesto and eventual election not convincing enough such that the masses were unable to trust the results. As a result, it has led in part to the present violence and terrorism, we now see as a nation. I will say yes.


 This is why we must start looking forward to the next election now. It is not too early to prepare. We saw the absence of preparation in the last election. We saw how urgency was missing in the manifesto of most aspirants. We saw how goals were set without deadlines. In points of fact, there were no goals in sight for some aspirants and what they were proposing to do. How do you think such error can perpetuate trend in African politics? 

What are the opportunities? 
I hate to be one of the doomsayers. There are lots of opportunities awaiting our nation. The opportunities in Nigeria lie in the population. There is strength in our number. We have intelligent minds in our nation. Nigeria is one of the well-traveled nations of the world. We can bring the endowment of experiences and expertise of our travels into the governance of our nation. In addition, we can tap into the momentum we saw in the last election. The entire world was watching Nigeria. We saw international observers sat in our presidential debates. This was not a joke.


Another opportunity can be harnessed in terms of pulling the aggregates of our diversity in building our nation irrespective of our different alliances with political parties of our choice. Although, most aspirants will think that this is foolish, but I strongly believe that many of those who came out to contest can still pull the same resources, manpower and energy together towards reform. It should not be in who got the accolades so far the job is done. This will even boost their integrity towards the next season of election. The masses can see how fair you have played despite your losses, and support such candidates based on their strength of character. 

 What are the threats? 
Delay-culture is one of the threats to our national development. We lack the sense of urgency when it comes to time. What we observed during that last election was that we did not act until it was too late to make a reasonable progress. We saw the die-minute attempt of some political parties towards alliance. This was what they ought to have done immediately they started their campaigns. So, coming into the eve of the election and confusing the electorate is a threat to our national progress. 


The archaic methods of politics of the 80s and 90s must be done away with. We can no longer wait for the last hour before preparing the electorate for the Election Day. This fire-brigade, fire-fighting culture has not helped our nation at all. It reflects not just a weakness in our political transitions but it generally poses threat to our national lifestyle. Other threat that has already graduated into a risk is in the unrest and violence that erupted since that last election. 
Immediately the election was over, you will assume that sleeping dog would lie; but no! Among several, we saw the loss of lives, businesses, plummeting of our Naira in foreign exchange market. We saw how expatriates are scared of coming to invest in our nation. We saw the loss of international trades. We saw how the nation has become seemingly ungovernable since then. 


The implication?
You may ask how all these impact our national development? The violence and terrorism has driven many Nigerians out of their country to neighboring countries like Ghana, Chad, Benin, and Cameroun. These people are crossing borders to resettle. Many of them will re-marry, have children and make mix-blood descendants. 

The implication is that, there will be fewer full-blooded Nigerians in the next generation. 


Besides, another impact of this exodus to the Nigerian economy is that our national economy will continue to dwindle because the active workforce is being lost to other nations. People who are supposed to actually build the nation will be building another nation. The increase in this rate of loss will require that we invite strangers in form of immigrants, to sustain our country in the future. The sad awakening question is who will love to immigrate into "unsafe" zone? The threat we are now facing is not mere lower level of our national development; rather, it is even the national brand that we are impacting. We are writing our national history unconsciously.

The origin and the lasting solutions to terrorism.

Oftentimes, I have stopped people from exaggerating discussions regarding discriminations because in the process of fighting discrimination and attacking bigots; (if care is not taken), we ourselves, end up discriminating! And it is so subtle to detect at times. Well-intended, I will say that we have left the age of racism, some decades ago! Although it is still part of our history and many bigots still exists today; but looking back at history with a proactive viewpoints always makes a lot of sense than flashing back with a victim mentality. I usually say that leaving the unnecessary battles for the impending wars of our age remains the hugest challenge confronting our generation so far. 

 Racism. Terrorism. Hypocorism!
As of this date, many people have died from hypocorism and terrorism more than from racism. Although discriminations still tries to rear its heads in our day, it has transformed from the very form we seems to know it to be! Today, racism has transformed itself into terrorism. And hypocorism has become the commonest form of its expression. The evil of discriminations hides away from detective eyes under pseudonyms! So it is difficult to see it for what it is. I can blindly say that our battle is no longer racism in actual sense. Rather, it is terrorism and hypocorism. So, let us leave the glory of the victory of those days of civil rights movements to those who actually fought and won such victories! There are Great Wars worth engaging in our day and our role is not to hide behind past victories of others! 

So, what is our battle today? What does our generation need to know and war against? Terrorism has been seen only from the angle of the person making an attempt to bomb an airplane or a person strapping himself or herself with bomb and detonating such explosives in the public in order to kill as many people as possible. The point is that terrorism is even more reflective in any leadership that aids and abets terrorist groups. Failing to engage, expose and combat terrorists is the same thing as being a part of terrorist groups. If a leader remains quiet about evil happening under his roof, he's either a coward or an accomplice of such evil. 
 Hypocorism, I know you've been wondering what that word meant. It seems too big for relaxation. I understand. That was actually deliberate! How can I prove to my mum that sending me to the university with her life-savings was not a waste? Okay! Enough of grammatical innuendo! 

Hypocorism in this context means glossing over the actual thing. Beating about the bush, making excuses for the obvious, and giving abbreviated observations to what really demands thorough scrutiny. This is what our generation is fond of doing. We are experts at covering the truth! We love to cosmetically makeup realities. Designing authentic with falsehood! Rather than call a spade a spade; we call it a forklift. We give it nicknames and pet-names. Oftentimes we do so, to create temporal peace. We suppress truth and colour the face of justice. Imagine someone who committed a murder deliberately. Our Justice system would cover it up at law court as mere manslaughter. As a result of the insanity of the judicial system, the suspect who was let go under the cloak of self-defence would return as monster several years down the lane.
 You can remember the state of African politics. Imagine a politician who loots the public treasury. The society cried and screamed. The media will start celebrating the same thief in the same state where the funds was looted almost within the same political era. It is so sad that our generation will excuse the evil and say that everyone deserves his or her own share of the national cake. Sadly this same corrupt politician would usually contest audaciously and win at the polls in the future election. Why because we have not managed to identify the actual war that we should be fighting against in our day! It is easier and safer to banter about other things but the most pressing issues. We will never exhaust topics like Global warming, financial melt downs, HIV/AIDS, etc. We readily hide from being bombed by shying away in the safety-nets of our professions and disciplines. Not realizing that everything is interconnected and interrelated in the grand scheme of things. The need to confront issues that remains pressing in our generation cannot be overemphasised.

The origin of terrorism 
 The origin of terrorism can be traced back as human history. It is a result of sheer intolerance, pride and selfishness! It is partly religious driven, but it is much more than that.
 I daresay that terrorism has a spiritual dimension to it. Although, time would fail me to delve into such aspect at this stage; it is not just ordinary. To the more educated, terrorist are nothing but some groups of misguided individuals, unreasonables, and unenlightened. However, it is so funny to know that in the world of the terrorists, everyone else are unenlightened, except the people in their own circle. So how do we reach such sect who believes that everyone else are blind except themselves. People may easily cast blame on those who lack enlightenment. Not realizing that we are the same society that bred these people! 
In the West, we bred terrorists from inequality, gangs, homeless and dropouts. By allowing school dropouts because we increased the school fees incredibly. In Africa, we bred the terrorists by allowing corruption, homelessness, hooligans (Area-Boys), unemployment, poverty, inequality. So those groups of people stoop to weapons against other human beings. 

 We sit in our homes arguing what audacity these terrorist have to assume that they can wipe out a certain race, a certain culture, a certain ethnic group. We sneered at them that these misguided folks does not realize that God is sovereign and he is always preserving at least a remnant in all His creation. Such school of thoughts expose our indifference and inefficiency when we start facing the extinctions of vital creatures from small to great. From great animals like the Dinosaurs to small animals like the Galápagos tortoise that refused mating and eventually went extinct recently for not breeding. 
The challenge we have in our hands by the series and continuous attempt at destroying another sect by some group of extremists is no longer a matter of cursory discussion.
 The need for in-depth analysis and study for solution becomes germane. We can no longer say that those extremist are stupid for attacking other tribes, race, or religion. That is not a solution. It is not enough to assign unnecessary respect to them as though they are sacred cows for attacking other groups of people with different ideologies. So, what is the way forward? And how do we solve the puzzle of terrorism in our day?

Lasting solutions to terrorism
Firstly, we must understand that there is no problem without solution. Thus, we must prepare for drastic measures. Some problems demands solutions that transcends waiting on nature and science. We cannot wait for terrorism to bid its time! We cannot rely on international communities to solve most local problems. Let every country whose citizens are oppressed by suspected terrorists take on their fight and engage their foes! This requires a deliberate and timely intervention by the government of each state. In every state that is besieged by terrorists, let every leadership be changed completely. Everything rise and fall on the leadership. The leadership that abets terrorism cannot fight the same (terrorism).
 Overpowering terrorism does not require a rocket-science! The leadership must take initiatives to investigate and prosecute promptly. And that may mean unveiling of series of names. Such need for flushing the societal system cannot be overemphasised. However, it will require true leaders, who are bold enough to stand in their office and confront evil and pluck out the unquenchable fiery darts of its power! 

The fact that terrorist have strategies that are difficult to understand does not mean that they cannot be traced and tracked. There is no secret under the sun. The way heaven so designed His universe, is so simple; such that every terrorist have relatives, one family member or the other! Since, terrorists are human being with families; who is going after these blood-ties and weak links? How many investigators, criminologists, forensic experts have been despatched so far? Where are the case files? Who is evaluting these cases for due diligence? So, where are other qualified, smart, spot on detectives? Where are the secret investigation bureaus? Where are the revamped police force and law enforcement agencies? Where are the unpolluted military forces with their artillery in battalions? But wait a second. Before we deplore bloodshed, have we thought of dialogues? Before going brutal, if we try negotiation, dialogue and diplomacy; we may succeed in ameliorating terrorism. But if those tools failed, then there will be no point wasting time.
We can also solve the problems of terrorism by creating an enabling society where things work naturally based on the good system that we have in place. This is not just a matter of the government but every members of the society must cooperate to achieve that. This is where social responsibility lies on the part of the entire state that demands a change. 

The Priam's principle.
Lastly, the audacity of a true leader will always put an end to terrorism. 
 The conversation that ensued between Priam, the king of Troy and Achilles; comes in handy here:
 Achilles: Who are you? 
 Priam: I have endured what no one on earth has endured before. I kissed the hands of the man who killed my son.
 Achilles: [realizes, stands abrubtly] Priam? How did you get in here? 
Priam: I know my country better than the Greeks, I think. 
 Achilles: [walks forward, lifts Priam] You are a brave man. I could have your head on a spit in the blink of an eye.
 Priam: Do you really think death frightens me now? I watched my eldest son die, watched you drag his body behind your chariot. Give him back to me. He deserves a proper burial, you know that. Give him to me. 
Achilles: He killed my cousin.
Priam: He thought it was you. How many cousins have you killed? How many sons and fathers and brothers and husbands? How many, brave Achilles? 

Just as King Priam, (the king of Troy) had to go after Achilles the one all warriors dread. When it comes to terrorism, the chief of armed forces, the prime minister, the president, the head of state must dare to go after the menace that threatens the dynasty of his state. The leader must learn to repeat the words of Priam to the terrorists, that: I know my own land more than any of you strangers! Lastly, the writer of proverbs said: be careful to know the state of thy flocks. The leader, the president who is not in the know of the state of things in his own country needs not be kept in office. A vote of no confidence, an impeachment, or even a voluntary resignation will help the state from terrorism. Why because the longer such leaders stay in position of authority that aids violence, the more devastating and irreparable the nation  gets. Education and enlightenment are two different things. So also is leadership  in terms of mere figure-heads, office-holders, and true audacious leaders!