Until He Grows: Presidential Speech on African Day 3rd December, 2021

University of Tasmania Society of African Students (SAS) Presidential Speech for the African Day Event held at Harvard Room 2, University of Tasmania Sandy Bay Campus on the 3rd of December, 2021 by Dennis Mark Onuigbo 

Title: Until He Grows 

Beloved friends and brethren, this was to be my opening speech for the African day event held on the 3rd December, 2021. Due to time factor, I could not finish typing this – so, I gave a short opening remark knowing that this important message must still be sent. It might be an advantage that it is coming now. Especially that the message can be shared fully and widely. 

Firstly, I thank the Almighty God who made it possible for the event to hold successfully. And I pay my respect to the original owners of the land where we dwell currently. I also acknowledge the efforts of the previous and present SAS executive committee in ensuring the society lives on and connect people since its inception in 2017. Permit me to mention people like Kehinde Obamiro, Moses Kangogo, Vongai Dakwa, Abraham Daniel, Olugbenga Olatunji, Richard Mawulawoe Ahadzie, Ibrahim Jatau, Mimieveshiofuo Aiyede, Mercy Ndalila, Nizam Husen Abdu, Mirabelle Chi Epse Okezie, Chris Miyinzi Mwungu, Bassie Yizengaw Limenih, Gideon Kiprono Kirui, Israel Adeseko, Nana Ama Ayebi-Agyeman, Festus Oby Osegi, Salpha Dut and Janice Wanjau who have contributed in various capacity to the existence of the UTAS SAS. And special thanks to our 2021 guest speaker Dr. Desmond Ayentimi and panellist Amanda McRay, Favour Onu, Florence Nduku, Duncan Spender and Grace Williams (brief speech due to schedule). 

I have titled this speech “Until He Grows”. It might an unusual way to prepare a speech but bear with me. 

Imagine the son of a king, born few years before the dad left the earth. At 2, his throne will be controlled by those around him. Until he grows, his authority in the kingdom remains untapped or passive. Even though he owns everything, he does not differ from a servant. Only at maturity does he understand his position in the kingdom and gradually takes his rightful place. Without maturity he can still be a tool in the hands of servants or elders. 

Maturity is not necessarily about age because even at 50 he can still be a tool excepts he understands two things: 1) knowledge of his self-worth and 2) the principles that govern the kingdom. For example, if one is a Christian, he must understand that he is a "god" that is representing the father "God" on earth. He must also have a certain understanding of the principles that govern his operations on earth. This ushers him to his rightful authority. Other examples abound. 

Many Africans await their maturity in the area of knowing their self-worth and understanding the principles that govern their existing on earth. So many fear, beg, rely and are treated in different manner. “Beg, rely, fear etc.” are attributes of servants. We know that attributes can be natural, given or acquired. Which one are you exhibiting? The material you read, consume or watch can shape your attributes. For example, if two men were born on the same day; one was given a book and another a tool for work. The attributes of these two individual will be different. 

We are empty until we know and want to know. The things we know can be influenced by access to material (e.g. access to a book or access to a tool or access to both). Thus, one can be given a material to influence their attributes and we know that these attributes bring about the behaviour of an individual. In recent years, a book can help you discover your self-worth and the principles that govern the earth where you live, but a tool alone can be used to break rocks or hurt one’s self due to lack of knowledge on proper usage of the tool. So, do not be surprised when you see a certain behaviour widespread in any location. If it is more negative behaviour, you must understand that only a tool was given to majority and the book to a few. A tool can be a hammer, crane, money, hoe, cutlass, gun, tractor, needles etc. book can be along this line - the Holy books, Culture of Love and Respect in Africa, The Modern Money Theory and other relevant books. Note that some other types of books might be a tool, for example, books along this lines- Advantages of Foreign Loans, How Mugade Stole from Africa, How Boko Haram Kidnapped Chibok Girls, Why Africa Cannot Grow, Why Africans are Looking for Greener Pastures, Why Gadhafi is Evil, Reasons Africans don’t Love themselves, Why You Should Leave Africa Now, Life Expectancy in Africa is 62 for Male, Africans are Selfish and Greedy, Africans are too Religious, therefore they are Lazy etc. He must know the material that has kept him for long and gave him some advantages. 

Until he grows, those around him can create the attributes they desire by the kind of material presented to him. It could be a book that make him understand his self-worth and the principles guiding his existence in the kingdom or a tool to make him spend or hurt self - due to lack of understanding of how the tool works. Some types of books can be a dangerous tool that must be avoided. 

When he matures, he can then use his authority to the full, break negative influence, love his people and relate goodly with neighbours and the world. 

God bless Africa and the rest of the world. Merry Christmas to those celebrating and a prosperous new year to everyone.

 

Dennis Mark Onuigbo 

President UTAS SAS 2021 

Completed and shared 25th December, 2021

Why are we so much in a hurry to conquer the world

Why are we so determined to conquer the world, control other creatures which include the trees, animals of land and sea.

As I stared from the window of my room today (good Friday 2020). I saw how beautifully the trees danced to the direction of the wind. I guessed they must have been quite happy that the wind came to them – maybe to stretch their muscles for exercise and create a pleasant and joyful moment. Other creatures like the birds must have also enjoyed the swing due to the wind.

All must have been quite interesting without too much smoke and the painful gases in the atmosphere. With the coming of the wind, the hairy peacock must have opened its feathers and walked majestically on the streets around the bush corners and maybe the ants must have formed a chain of themselves not to be carried away be the wind. An interesting moment close to their ant-holes, with the strongest dragging the chain into the ant-hole for safety.

In the case of the ants, the ant-hole might be a great luxury in this modern age. The trees that survived must have been the luckiest of them or extremely “useful” to the immediate man. Dancing is restricted to how the man wants it. Maybe branches cut off to dance only at the top and get beaten in excessive weather conditions – or too short to dance. The bird needs to travel more to get good air for dancing and swinging. How sad it is for the weak ones. The peacock imprisoned and taught to live indoors, lonely, no sight seeing and no flaunting of wings in the streets. These are only a few cases and am sure you can add a thousand more.

The aim is to bring our consciousness to life. We want to live happily; we must make others live happily. We must not be happy at the expense of others happiness. Else, we all fail. We must treat nature sustainably and never allow anything to lose its value or become extinct. I assume that everything created has a purpose or contribution to human life, so if we consume without conserving, we condemn ourselves in the future.

There is a Cycle - for One to be Better

At a start point, one has something; he learnt something new and left what he had; he needs to come back to what he had before and refine it with what he learnt - for him to be better.

The above thought came to mind as i ponder over the shameful act of some fellow brothers who have now learnt how to become depressed, lonely, heartless, and sometimes suicidal. These are not attributes of the original humans - especially our African culture does not support these derogatory attributes.

The culture was that of community life and well-being, it was a culture of hardwork and fun filled leisure in most community square. Communities have their theater of arts and entertainment. free for all and open for all. people were creative and desire to perform in the theater. Praises and nice names were showered on the great performers and rules of the game are clear and understood by all. No one assumed the other is ignorant and weak. We have learnt new things and failed to refine with what we had. Now ignorance and weakness have been exposed and the gap between people are widening. The old performers knew that the purpose was for fun and enjoyment, the weak performers were not despised nor destroyed but are motivated to bounce back stronger. Stories in Chinua Achebe's "things fall apart" could help. We knew that we are one and need each other to survive. We have learnt new things and forgotten the good past.

We have learnt to kill and destroy heartlessly. We forgot that humans are sacred and each has the image of God. We forgot that the spirits of those killed can return to fight against the killer or evil doer. We once believed in reincarnation and in the village names of forefathers were given to the new born signifying the return of the great man. These stories help the young one to stay strong, focused and guided. We have learnt new things and forgotten where we started.

Our inability to reconcile the new with the old has earned us terrible attributes such as loneliness, depression, insensitivity to fellow humans and at extreme suicidal thoughts. Once one thinks of suicide, it is an indication that he/she cannot reconnect to his/her past - so, cannot see how people went through hard times and came out victorious. He/she has belittled his/herself to the current situation and do not hope to make things better for his/her community.

There is a cycle - for one to be better. To be better, one must reconcile the new with the previous.

Cheers!

Humans by Nature are Selfish!

Because you are doing something in a way which maybe quick does not mean any other approach is not appropriate. A man used machine and cultivated 1 ha of land and thought that another man who cultivated same with hoe and cutlass is not doing it right, fast or efficiently. The man who used machine thought the other man is poor, clueless or waste a lot of time. Both must ask questions to understand each other and find the best way to help each other.

Looking critically at things we feel other people are doing wrongly before we try to change it - will help us understand the best way to support them; else, we can escalate their situation unnecessarily. The things we want to change may include: their family lifestyle or marriage culture, their mode of worship, their farming system, their feeding habit, their dressing pattern, their housing or building styles, their communal or private lifestyle, their favourite sport(s) or forms of exercise, their view on timeliness or punctuality, their leadership or rulership type, and so many others.

The values, joy, peace, happiness, good health, care and love derived from these activities are different for different people. The man with hoe and cutlass was made to think that the man with a machine is better off and thought he could do same and move himself to a hypothetically “higher” level. He decided to steal one of the other man’s machine, produced so much, ate so much, stopped going to farm after thinking he has had more than enough, got lazy, obese, fell sick and died earlier than his fore-fathers. What he did not know was that the man with machine did not have a climate for all year production, has a good storage system, and sells to a wider market to earn money. He did not know that after sitting on the machine, the man will go for a walk-out or exercise, eat at specific times and at lesser quantity since he is not using hoe and cutlass. He did not know that he should not work everyday of the week or every time of the day even though the machine is not feeling tired but producing so much. He used all his time in this new-found wealth and lost time with family, friends, self and community. He could not join friends to run after wild animals after cultivation with hoes or go to swim in the nearby river to cool off after farm work. He did not have any reasons to pray again or join group worship or gatherings. He was too quick to follow only what he saw without asking or thinking to understand the implications. He must ask before he decides.

The man with a cutlass and hoe stole one of the machines of the other man. He could either learn or be taught how to build it or how to use it sustainably. If the man with cutlass and hoe asked, he may be taught and supported. He could learn and use the new good properly - if he listened carefully to know everything involved and what lifestyle changes are expected. The other man with a machine has some questions to answer. He needs to know how his activities influence the other person and the environment. He needs to curtail the negative influence or effect by acting on time. This will help all find an optimum point for a better world.

This applies to our world today, nations that used swords are going for guns without proper knowledge or guidance and those that used guns, are going for machine guns; those that used small bombs are going for nuclear bomb. They must all stop and answer the question of how all these changes will benefit human race.

Cheers.

Paying Evil for Good

Nsikan:
Have you ever considered why people seem to misunderstand you, hate you, or even payback evil for good? Often times, your good intentions are embraced, hugged and kissed with evil, unwarranted, unwanted and unwelcomed comments and actions.

And most times from the same people you are sacrificing your time and resources for.
What a world!!! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I lack better advice for you beloved, but I want to refer you to a big brother that faced worst situations. I strongly believe that if you follow his example you will bounce better and you will end up stronger.

Genesis 37:19-21.

I (Dennis) went further to look up Genesis 37:19-21 (New International Version (NIV)
It reads:

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 

I realised that if you are good even the evil intentions of people will turn out to be a blessing for you. So never stop to do good just as Joseph in the Bible who welcomed his brothers and gave them all they wanted even though they have treated him "badly".

Thanks Bro. Nsikan for the above.

Good morning beloved and have a beautiful day.

How we have refused to develop!

This message may only be relevant for most part of Africa.

Take a good look around you, your office or workplace, the streets, the major highways, the markets and marketing systems, the hospitals and their services, the community schools and their environment, most universities and their facilities, our airports, car parks, restaurants, our farms and farming systems, our health and health systems, our resources and its management system, our food and failing nutrition systems, etc . You may be tempted to ask – Why have we refused to develop?

On food alone, the World Bank world development report (WDR) of 2008 noted how food production in sub-saharan  Africa has failed to trend upwards for over 30 years. Our workplaces which include the farms, markets, hospitals, schools and tertiary institutions, federal establishments etc. are yet to encourage the desired productivity due to poor facilities and dearth of necessary services such as internet access, toilet, steady power etc. All these can be reluctantly dismissed as government failure but they are not! The truth is that “government failure” exonerates us from taking the blame and gives some relief to our rigidity to develop and everything remains unchanged.

With particular emphasis on most parts of Africa, I have the notion that we have refused to develop because as individuals most people are modelled to be selfish and most times very aggressive. Many were taught to clinch on any “opportunity” and escape poverty faster than their closest neighbor. By so doing, we become selfish and most times very aggressive.  By been selfish we focus on personal interest at the expense of public interest and by been aggressive we pull others down intentionally or sometimes unconsciously. We pull others down intentionally by: not letting certain information/knowledge get to them; by blackmail; by exclusion or by incapacitating them. Sometimes unconsciously by: justifying our private intentions with rational, emotional, religious, ethnic or racial prejudice.

At Indonesia, I had several opportunities to have classroom discussion/sharing with elementary and high school students. In one occasion, I brought a gift to be presented to whoever answered the most questions in that discussion. It marveled me that the best students were not struggling to answer the questions. They even waited for the “weakest students” to attempt after which if no one got the answer, they would then respond. At the end, about four students answered equal number of questions and I had to provide more gifts for them. In most parts of Africa, the situation may be different even among matured people. They want people to hear them and know how powerful they are. They do not wait for turn to talk and would not listen to others. So, most times the discussions end with little public interest met because people came with a determined personal interest to protect, shown through anger or aggression.  With selfishness and anger we may provide good workplaces, facilities, services for ourselves alone and assume others are lazy. By so doing, we make the less privileged to worship or destroy everything.

We will develop by killing the excessive selfish desires and work for the well-being of everyone.

Thanks for your birthday wishes and remain blessed.

Onuigbo D.M , 16/08/2018

Losing Our Culture will make us Sick!

Dance Africa

We dance, we wrestle, we farm, we meet and socialise or have certain ceremonies and festivals, we cook for the community to have a feel of our creativity in cooking and dress in different colours and styles. This is the uniqueness of every nation. Africans do the above in unique ways, we have a mode of worship and prayers (not evil or causing harm), we agree on acceptable norms in our villages and model our children to grow healthy, honest, brave with good and strong morals. If we lose all these, we may fall sick. Been sick is not limited to bodily disease, it includes the inability to understand ourselves anymore, the inability to understand our relations and community; and this is the beginning of the end for many. If we lose this togetherness that culture brings, we gradually lose trust in ourselves and in our relations or community. With time, life will have little or no meaning - but for the wanton chase of money and material gains. Many nations will lose this values and humans will seem like mere machines. Should we lose our spirituality, togetherness and uniqueness, we would lose ourselves, relations and community in this wanton chase. Everyday, we think we just need to make one more effort to be there, whereas, been at that place (maybe at the top) does not make us any bit happier when our relations and community is in despair. Our culture has a way of bringing everyone together regardless of status; make people understand basic morals and respect for constituted authorities and norms of the land; and create a deep sense of belonging and security in our communities. We could take advantage of the good modern technologies and lifestyles to better our good cultures. Cultures that unite and not divide, cultures that builds love among relations and community and not hate, cultures that prevents evil, cultures that protects and not destroy, that promotes and not demote, that forgives and not condemn in perpetuity, cultures that brings joy - are desirable. This we must protect. We should dance in our usual fashion, wrestle in community squares for entertainment, have ceremonies and festivals, cook for all, dress our styles, trust each other and be proud of ourselves. We want money, but we need people, our relations and community.

Onuigbo D.M, 28/05/2019

Gorrilla - 7million, Monkey - 70 million, Snake - 36 million; How money should disappear?

Some people in public offices in Nigeria and most parts of Africa are tempted by the amount of money they come across each day, week, or months. They may ask - how best can I take this money since it does not belong to anyone? - if others are doing it, why not me? - is life not a risk? - what if I take it and blame an animal that can not speak for itself? and so on. This is the point where all great ideas of "how money should disappear?" comes.

I am not against the thought process, I am worried that it is misplaced. People could be so smart if they think; however, how many are thinking of not letting money disappear in offices. Assume the public officer ask in reverse - how best can I save or spend this money to benefit everyone? - If others are abusing public funds, why should I join them? - should life not be simple? - why take a risk to create hardship for people who contributed this money? - What if I take it and die the next day?

The Vanguard Online news Nigeria reported on the 13th of February, 2018 - how snake allegedly swallowed N36 million in JAMB office; on 21st February, 2018 - how monkey swallowed N70 million belonging to Northern senators forum; and on the 14th June, 2019 - how Gorrilla swallowed N 7 million in Kano zoo. This is not how money should disappear.

Money for those who understand it - is a means of exchange and does not have any value if not exchanged for something productive or support life. This is how we make ourselves poor by few people carrying papers in their pocket and exchanging it for things that are not productive. Example of things not productive include and not limited to keeping the papers or coin in your underground bunker, on the ceiling or even under your pillow or anywhere in your house for a long time. Using money for bribery is counter productive too. Money should provide either tangible benefits (goods: equipment, machines, software, infrastructure, books, etc.) or intangible benefits (services: good health care, hospitality, tourism, proper education, national ceremonies / cultural festivals etc.). Money is valuable when it benefits many.

Money should add social value which includes making people happy and reducing their suffering. when one public officer takes this huge money and "keeps in the belly of an animal", he prevents the creation of this social value and makes majority to suffer unnecessarily from low pay for hard work, and less money for buying their needs.

70 + 36 + 7 million could provide full or partial scholarship for over 126 million undergraduate students in Nigerian federal universities. Each with about N500,000 each to cover tuition and some living stipend. Now, imagine how many people are out of school because they cannot pay? or are suffering for inability to afford food in school.

When we start putting money in the right places, then we have succeeded in defining how money can create better well-being and not "disappear".

Dennis Mark Onuigbo, 15th June, 2019