Martin Luther King jr…

If a great man ever lived in America, it was Martin Luther king Jr. If a black man ever lived his life, leaving behind his foot prints in the history books, then it was this man. Every 3rd Monday in January, Americans celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day to celebrate his birth, life and what he stood for. The end to segregation and equality for African Americans.
Here is a reminder of what he stood for and my thoughts on how his quotes though 40years since his death, speaks volume of Nigeria’s present situation.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”
- There is still a significant number of Nigerians with no access to free and good primary and secondary education. Primary schools are filled with teachers, poorly paid with no access to good teaching materials and the universities, lecturers are more concerned about failing students and selling hand-outs. The true meaning of education is lost in all of this decay.

“The time is always right to do what is right”.
- It is time for the political leaders of Nigeria to do the right thing. History will do a man no favours, if he fails to do the right thing in the present.

“I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live”.
- When are Nigerians going to stand up against the incompetence of its leaders, the corrupt and effective civil institutions and liberate itself from the shackles of poverty?

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”.
- War, killings and division is not the answer to the Nigeria’s problem, a sovereign national conference is needed to acknowledge our challenges and agree the way forward.

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”.
- We can not wait for an ineffective minority ruling class to set us free, we must collectively, speaking with one voice demand that enough is enough. Only then will freedom come. 90% of Nigerian’s income comes from the Niger Delta, and yet a region that only contributes 6% to the GDP gets the lion share. The North only contributes 6% to our GDP, yet, by land mass and population, they account for 55% of our population.
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“The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society”.
- Unfortunately, the churches in Nigeria, in itself a corrupt establishments, with the sole aim of condoning the activities of our corrupt leaders and taking from the poor masses, their widow’s mite.

“Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?
- A lot of Nigerians are more concerned about what others can do for them, than what they can do for themselves, neighbours and less fortunate ones.

p.s: I don’t mean to be a doomsayer and always blogging about what is not working in Nigeria but I find that a lot of us are too content with short term improves. My cry is for a strategic change, in all the ramifications of governance in Nigeria, with long lasting benefits that will out live the present generation.
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