It takes much more than intelligence and energy to succeed in any endeavor in life; Ethics, integrity, and transparency are the pillars of success…so don’t be afraid to stand alone in the midst of “the madness”. Take the moral high ground it pays in the end”…the words of Amina Oyagbola, the former senior executive of MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, resounded in my ears as I listened again to the audio recording of the radio interview I conducted, with her as a guest on my radio talk show, Mindscope on Eko89.7fm on the 3rd of December 2018. She is a certified ethics officer, and no doubt a successful career woman. In her words “Ethics concerns itself with what is good or right in human interactions. You need to always consider not only what is good for you but others in all your dealings, strive for a win-win!” I cannot overemphasize the need for politicians, professionals at all levels; carpenters, vulcanisers, plumbers, every business minded individual and even families, to be ethical at all times. Clean business is good business!!! You can stand tall as a moral agent and be prosperous. You may think “but everybody in Nigeria is mad…in short, corrupt”. Don’t let your heart freeze! I make bold to tell you that you are gravely wrong, there are still remnants in every facet of Nigeria’s economy that have refused to be soiled in the mud of corruption, of course, to have freedom you must fight and in warfare it’s either you take or you’re taken. The on-going fight against “The Madness” is ferocious but freedom looms! Your PVC (Permanent Voter Card) is a weapon, use it wisely!
Lest I forget I must let you know that my heart is overflowing with a beautiful thought towards you! Just as the new bloom spreads fragrance and freshness around, may the New Year spread a new beauty and freshness upon your life. Happy new year to you!!! Dear friend, how you start matters, when an assignment is completed, another unfolds. What you used in solving the first assignment might not suffice for the new therefore you must be dynamic in starting. Much more, the kind of examination you face tells you a lot about the diploma you will get. Some exam candidates face many examiners (panelists) at once; this indicates that such an exam is an advanced level. Life is lined up with a series of assignments and examinations, the answers to these assignments and examinations are simply thoughts, words, and actions. Succinctly, thoughts lead to words and words become actions, and of course, your actions sum up your character. I charge you to take your life seriously. Pay attention to your thoughts…think about what you are thinking about! The heart is the seat of power, in fact, whatever can move your heart can move your life. Guard your heart jealously. I would advise, channel your thoughts towards good causes; only deep calleth unto deep, personally, I have found out that no level of knowledge, education or discipline, not even new year resolutions can drive away evil thoughts from interfering your mental space however you can put them where they belong in the place of prayers. I’m not talking about new year resolutions, what I’m saying is that you need to create time for sincere conversations with God, the one who sees and rewards all hearts. He doesn’t expect you to be perfect, but he does insist on complete honesty. Don’t let God be a “social limbo” on your tongue; get serious with your spiritual life! Having sincere conversations with God through prayers keeps you free from evil thoughts, that way; you will be able to stand and fight evil and thereby excel in the assignments and examinations life throws at you, shining your light in the midst of the thick darkness that has enveloped the earth. Remember, good works are done in good company…be careful of the company you keep.
A good company always adds value to you. To my amazement, I got a new laptop on the eve of the New Year, from one of my mentors, who was really concerned about the continuity of this good cause. I narrated to him how my laptop stopped functioning and my ordeal at the cybercafé I visited penultimate Friday to write my article…how a fight broke out amongst some “restive youths” who came to check their email. Apparently, the common cause that bound them together was a “bet” and unfortunately one of them lost while another won, the loser was no doubt a bully and he pounced on his prey (the winner) right there in the cybercafé. As I stood up to pack my materials, I noticed the spill of blood on the ground. What a sight…My heart bled! Any time I encounter these breed of youths, I grieve but there is hope!
I remember a real-life story of a young man who was a notorious criminal, in fact, he was the mastermind behind most robbery operations within the city he lived and he had allies even among security operatives. He was often in and out of prisons, little wonder; he was the leader of most robbery gangs. During one of his ‘free periods’ (out of jail season), one day, he decided to take a walk to visit one of his gang members, on getting to the man’s house, he found out that the gang member no longer lives in the house, feeling frustrated and tired, he sat down in front of the house to take a nap and suddenly heard a voice from one of the rooms in the house. “Some people are heaven made leaders…God has made them leaders, they carry mighty destinies that can affect the destiny of their nation however many of such people are not aware of what they carry, presently, they are doing evil and wasting away the great gifts that God has bestowed on them…if you are such, you need to surrender your life to God..”. The woman was exhorting a small group of people in the room. This notorious criminal knew that the message was for him, even though he was not in that room, he started crying as words rolled out from his lips “I don’t want to be a leader of criminals rather I want to be a leader of great people..” He summoned the courage to walk into the room and today, his story has changed for the best. Now, he advocates against crimes at all levels, especially amongst the youths. What a great change! I make bold to tell everyone especially the youths that riotous living leads to a place of great cost and tragedy. A phenomenal fool thinks “I can always get away with my actions…No repercussions”. Please be wise, if you do not change your evil ways, you’re headed for destruction, remember the law of seedtime and harvest! To be continued next week.
Leave a Reply