I am amused by what I see in Nigeria. Many Nigerians including Traditional Rulers, Entertainers Politicians, and even Content Providers do not recognize that there can never be PERMANENT CHAMPIONS in human affairs. There will always be CURRENT CHAMPIONS that will fade away and be succeeded by another set of CURRENT CHAMPION .
It’s the design of nature that every living organism or organisation will grow and eventually die. Whether it is eucalyptus tree, or an elephant or lion or tortoise, or an empire, it will grow, mature and vegetate to death. The Dialectic Theory states that for every THESIS, there will be an ANTITHESIS . Both the THESIS and ANTITHESIS Will collapse into a SYNTHESIS. This SYNTHESIS will become the new THESIS and a new ANTITHESIS will arise against it.
Both the new THESIS and new ANTITHESIS will collapse into a new SYNTHESIS. That really how the world grows. As the Yoruba would say ENIKAN KO LE LO ILE AIYE TAN. NO ONE
PERSON CAN EXHAUST THE WHOLE LIFE TIME.
You can see the same trend in the growth and development
of science. A new scientific proposition is seen as an HYPOTHESIS. After years of testing, if positive, it becomes
a THEORY. Later, some scientists can challenge this THEORY by proposing a new HYPOTHESIS, which if subsequently proven will replace the old THEORY. Nigerians are unable to understand and appreciate this.
Do Nigerians know that there have been Greek, Roman, Ottoman, French and British Empires that have become remnants of history? Do they remember that Britain was once the Queen of the Sea because it had the largest naval fleet in the world? Do they know that USA, whose President
is bullying the world was a colony of Britain? Can the British Prime Minister stand up and face President Trump and say your country was my colony therefore I am your boss.
The UK Prime Minister won’t do that because he doesn’t live
in yesterday. He lives in the contemporary world. He faces
today’s reality. The Yoruba Obas don’t do that. They hold to
imaginations of Empires that are as long dead as dodo. Do
they hear people talk as if Mansa Musa’s Mali Emipire is still
alive?
People elsewhere recognise that Songhai Empire, Zulu
Empire, Benin Empire, et al are long gone like every human
organisation will do one day They know that your relevance
today depends on your economic strength, infrastructural
growth and development, Al and ICT capacity etc. I hope the
Yoruba Obas will understand this.
There was a time that ANC dominated the politics of South
Africa. ANC did that for over 100 years. In the last election,
ANC didn’t make 50% of votes and had to go into alliance
with Democratic Alliance before they could claim the
Presidency . In the height of their intoxication, PDP said it will
rule Nigeria for 60 years . After 16 years, PDP collapsed into
irrelevance. That PDP is today struggling for freedom from
governmental and Judicial strangulation. That’s why I’m
amused when I see APC intimidating all Governors,
Senators, Political elites etc into its fold. APC is a human
organisation subject to the law of growth and decay. Perhaps
the party is worried that the 16 years ceiling they inflicted on
PDP is near the corner. As the Yoruba would say AFIDA
PANI KII FE RIDA. Those who kill with swords are afraid
when they see the sword in their front.
There was a time PELE ruled the world. Then came
MARADONA. Then came Ricardo. And there was the futile
argument on who is better: Pele or MARADONA…both of
them relics of history. Just as the struggle between Jimmy
Cliff and Bob Marley, also between Victor Olaiya and Roy
Chicago, KSA and Ebenezer Obey,etc.
Frantz Fanon wrote that EVERY GENERATION WILL
PRODUCE ITS OWN MESSIAH. In essence, there can be no
messiah for all generations. Why ? The environment keeps
changing. The tastes and interests of people keep changing.
That’s why because of the changing circumstances and
scenes of life there can be no permanent champions. That is
why wealth of DA ROCHA, DANTATA, M.K.O ABIOLA, cannot
be compared with those of BUA and DANGOTE, whose wealth will certainly pale away as new CURRENTCHAMPIONS will emerge.
Let us spend less time looking backwards. God didn’t put
our eyes at the back. Let us all do one thing…LET US ALL
FORGET THINGS OF THE PAST. LET US PUSH FORWARD TO
NEW GOALS OF CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE AND EXCELLENCE.
