THE ROLES OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN BUILDING A FUNCTIONAL AND HAPPY SOCIETY.

BY
OLOHY EJEMBI

Let me start with this: a society is defined by its people, not by its govt. A government is simply an agreement by the people in a society to design an organized system. And for this system to function completely depends on individuals in the society. We should know that stereotype is not an attribute of any government, but the common attribute of individuals in the society. Therefore, whatever our country is, whatever Nigeria is, is what we as individual made it to be.

To say that the current socio-economic outlook in Nigeria is challenging is not a new story. Our fast growing population at nearly 3% and the unenviable position of Nigeria as a country with the highest number of poor people in the world are alarming. In 2018 unemployment rate, according to National Bureau of Statistics, was 23.13%. Alarmingly it has been estimated that by 2050 only Nigeria and Togo would have 40% of all the poor people on earth. This is not a good story at all. It means that more than 2/3 Nigerians will live in poverty; if we are 300m, for example, more than 200m will be poor.

In this reflection, we must take a resolute position now to either remain victims or victors in the nearest future, by realizing that it is our responsibility and opportunity as individual to create the present and the future we want to see. Government is just a mere abstract aspect of the society. We as individuals, are the concrete objects, the rocks of the society that can build a functional, solid and happy society that we desire.

Seriously government is just an abstract system of the society. If you go to Aso Rock you won’t see government, you will only see you and I; if you go to National Assembly you won’t see government, you will only see you and I; if you go to your states and enter the so called Government House, you won’t see government, you will only see you and I; if you go to America you won’t see government, you will only see its citizens; if you go to UK you won’t see government, you will only see its citizens; go to France, go to China, go to Russia, go to Germany, go to any parts of this world, you won’t see any governments anywhere, you will only see their citizens. There are no any governments anywhere; you and I are the government we talk about. So, when it is said that the government of so or so country is good, it simply means that there are good people in that country. It’s only where the people of a country are good that the country can be good. If Nigeria is not a good country then we Nigerians are not good people – we simply don’t do what is good.

That is it! If we do good we shall see good. It is on this background that an American president once told his people that they should not ask what the country could do for them but what they could do for their country. I believe this was the idea Buhari’s first tenor intended to capture in a very simple sentence: “Change begins with you.” Meaning: it’s my responsibility, it’s your responsibility, to build the society we desire to have. And that is very true.

Let me tell us an anecdote. I was born in hamlet. A place where nothing much was heard about government. There were no roads, there were no schools, and there was no healthcare. There were no people that were working with the Local Government, neither with the state government nor with Federal Government. Everybody was a farmer. But there was something interesting about this community. In a literal sense of it, there was no hunger, there was no extreme poverty in any family. Curiosity might have pushed you to ask how already. But this is how it was. Though the people came from different places to reside in this community, if there was any weakling or anyone that was sick among them, the people would cater for him/her by helping the person concerned on his/her farm. They would go to the person’s farmland and cultivate it for him/her – sometimes in an organized manner in group, sometimes individually. In this way, there were no people lacking among them. That is how a good, functional and happy society is built.

That is the way we must treat one another as individuals if we must come out of the present predicament that Nigeria is in and have a prosperous future. Let the strong help the weak. Let the rich enrich the poor. Let those who know how orient the ignorant. Let our leaders, our politicians do politics of grooming and mentoring: politics of grooming that provides followers with opportunities, and politics of mentoring that leaders rise to the challenges of personal example to serve as role models; politics of grooming that motivates all people, in spite of differences, to work together as one, and politics of mentoring that projects the true aspirations of the people.

As Obama told Americans, if there are poor people around us, it should matter to us even if they are not our relatives; if there are people that cannot pay for their healthcare around us, they should be our responsibilities even if they are not in our homes; if there are school-age children around us that are not going to school, it should bother us, and help them to get education even if they are not our children. For the true wealth of a man is not the amount of the resources he has, but the number of the people he helps; and the true security of a man is not the number of armed forces around him, but the number of the people who celebrate him as a good man.

A good man is one who is patriotic.

A good man is one who has sense of responsibility.

A good man is one who has sense of accountability.

A good man is one who rises to the challenges of personal example.

A good man is one who seeks peace and harmony.

A good man is one whose quest is to build a functional and happy society.