After 2-days in Nairobi, I decided to visit the National Park and the main attraction (for me) was the Maasai People (see picture above). Prior to this visit, I had never heard of this particular set of people and their unusual culture which includes sharing your wife sexually with any of your fellow tribes men; killing a lion before a Maasai male can get circumcised and eventually get married, female genital mutilation is highly encouraged, their babies are not accepted until the age of 3 moons, using cattle as a form of legal tender and eating all sorts of raw food.
One of the fascinating things about the Maasai people is the ability to conserve their culture despite various forms of evolution and development. It is actually a fascinating thing not to be moved by outside influences and to stick to what you believe in but as we all know, deciding not to appreciate and get influenced by a superior way of life may lead to primitive lifestyle. The Maasai people are a bunch of fascinating people to watch especially for tourist from various parts of the world but there is no single development amongst the people.
This reminds me of the Nigerian state and its people; we appreciate superior nations like the USA, UK, UAE, etc but we refuse to move in the direction of the change and sacrifices that these countries have gone through (old story, right? Wrong!). We have the resources but not the will; we are not different from the Maasai people. The problem is not with the leaders but the followers; there is no democratic leader that can lead without the concurrence of its citizens; we complain, we argue but we are unwilling to change;
Late last year, I was embarrassed when I heard our Late President Yar Adua went to Saudi Arabia for treatment. What does Saudi Arabia have that Nigeria doesn’t have? On a surface view, Nigeria as a nation is better than Saudi Arabia. It does not matter how much you have but how you use what you have. Just like UAE, the skilled force of Saudi Arabia is governed by foreigners. Till date, we do not have the caliber of hospital that disgraced the Nigerian state; nobody is even talking about building such hospital – the kind of spending we threw to celebrate our 50th birthday could have been diverted on such hospital project that will reduce unemployment, increase foreign skilled workers, etc
For almost a month, Nigerians could not ascertain the where-about of their president; the Nigerian state could not move on because our president was tucked away in a foreign land receiving treatment from a hospital that we have all the means to build in every 36 states in Nigeria. There is really no lesson learned – as I watch President Goodluck Jonathan vie for the leadership position in 2011, I really wonder why? If he falls sick, where will he go? UK? US? There is so much talk about the power of incumbency when we should be talking about the power of the people (the followers).
I am seriously tired of complaining as I hear arguments for Goodluck Jonathan being in the “will of God”; maybe God will use him to midwife the New Nigeria? I really do not know but I know that God reigns in the affairs of men and whatever God gives to man, God expects him to be fruitful and multiply it (Mathew 25: 14-30; Luke 19: 12-28). It did not take 6 months for Fashola to show that there will be a radical change in Lagos State – I am really not seeing any sign to indicate a change in the next 4 years with President Jonathan presiding as everything remains the same from politicking to wrong spending.
Just like the Maasai People, who are averse to change, Nigerians believe in mystery. There is nothing mysterious about productivity; it is a habit that cannot be hidden. The man that produced 10 talents from 5 talents was not instructed on what to do; he was just entrusted with the talent. Just because someone was entrusted with the leadership position does not mean it cannot be taken away from him (You may re-read the parable of the talent). Then the “Maasai” thinking that President Jonathan is the best amongst the rest and I begin to wonder when Nigeria became the blind country where a one-eyed man is ruling………
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Have a lovely week!
