My QUOTES

THE PLACE OF INFORMATION

                The development of a nation is directly proportional to the mental strength of its people. A people with creative mental ability produce a developed nation. Hence, the destiny of a nation lies in the hands of its people. No nation can build itself. It is the responsibility of its people to build it. Suffice me to say that any under-developed nation has itself to blame and the developed nations have their people to thank. In the light of the above, we can simply assert that our mental capacity as a people has kept Africa the way it is currently.

                One of the ways of going forward and developing this continent of ours is for us to fill our mind with the right information. Information in this context can be seen as knowledge. No person can act beyond what they know. In fact, the difference between two or more individuals in simply the quality of information they possess. The more quality the knowledge you possess is, the more respect you command.

                Gone are the days when people rely on their physical strength for survival and societal impact. Gone are the days when battles are won on battlefields. Welcome to the era where your placement in life is solely determined by the quality of the knowledge at your command. It is expected that we follow the signs of the times. Since we are in an era where quality knowledge is the order of the day, it is foolishness to still continue to wallow in the abyss of physical strength.

                When I was much younger, I had an experience that had remained indelible in my mind. I saw an elderly man who was as old as my grandpa pushing a wooden truck that was full of gravel to the site where it would be used. This man looked so pale and weak. I looked at him with pity as he struggled to push the truck up the hill. One big question that came to my mind was, what did this man do when he was a young man like me? This question persisted in my mind. I was literally troubled. Unknowingly to him, I decided to follow him up to the site where the gravel will be deposited. When he finally arrived at the site, the foreman there paid him N150.00 (a little less than $1). I could see him receiving the money with discontent and perceived he wanted more; perhaps he received what they agreed on.

                That scenario made me appreciate the power of information. Even as a kid, I understood that the reason why that old man received that paltry sum of money even when he was much older than the foreman was because of the quality of information that he possessed. He did not know enough to be able to earn enough. As a result, he relied on his physical strength to help him acquire financial relevance. He had to depend on the foreman to dictate the worth. At the end of the day, I believe the foreman would earn far more than the old man even when he did not put in one-tenth of the physical exertion compared to the old man.

                It is high time we (African youths) embarked on a rush for quality knowledge. Enough of our reliance on physical strength. Our continent has lagged behind as a result. The destiny of this continent is in our hands. Our fathers have passed the ball over to us, it is left for us to dictate its pace. Let us do this for the future. Remember, the future begins TODAY!

Americans built America;

Europeans built Europe;

Africans CAN and SHOULD build Africa.

It begins with YOU.

***Watch out for the Part 2***

Written by Godspower Chidiuto Onwudiwe (@gonwudiwe),

Master’s Degree student,

Faculty of Humanities,

School of Education,

University of Cape Town,

South Africa.