Monday, December 10, 2007

Dreams and Schemes...


When I was a young girl (now a young lady), I had an overwhelming feeling of the need to do something to make the world a better place. I recently realized that I am not the only person who grew up with such an unusual sense of responsibility neither am I going to be the last.
Everyday around the world, millions of young people go to bed with problems and wake up only to find them still unsolved. However, youths like Jessica Remington, USA; Dayo Israel, Nigeria; Craig Kielburger, Canada, to mention but a few take action through their youth oriented organizations to bring about profound change (not without challenges).
I still meet and hear about other young people full of ideas on how they want to cause a positive turn around on issues they are most passionate about. A colleague intrigued me when he said one day “I cannot solve all the problems in the world but one way I try to solve them is to make sure I am not a problem in and to the world”. I believe that sometimes, the change we really need to affect the world must start with us. Like Gandhi well stated “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. The numerous problems we have in our society will stop duplicating in other forms when we begin to take personal responsibility of putting ourselves in order and do things right.
A practical example is the corruption that poses as one of the major issues bugging our society today. In fact, it is one of the top hindrances of Nigeria's progress. We are quick to blame our government every time the issues is raised, closing our eyes deliberately (or not) against our own flaws. By this, I refer to the students who bribe Lecturers to award marks they never worked for; Parents who bribe off PHCN officials instead of paying their bills; Drivers who drive recklessly without license and police who take bribe from them instead of apprehending them etc.
If our society must change, the change must start with us as individuals. The new strategy I recommend for affecting significant change is to dream big dreams in small ways... a change move faster if we take personal responsibility to live the change and influence others positively to do same. For instance, if you are bugged about the increasing rate of unemployment in Nigeria, use your resources to create job opportunities or advocate for youths to build entrepreneurial skills.
Oprah Winfrey said “A passion should be as natural as breathing”. If your passion for change is as natural as breathing, then be the change you want to see in the world, be excited about living positively

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