Nigeria: To a boy most things are forgiven, but to a man, more is expected

An education without history

As the Germans destroyed the assumed mythical status of Brazilian football with a 7 – 1 rout, we all took to Twitter, sharing wit, puns, jokes and memes, some funny, others not so, but the whole atmosphere was marred by a rather tasteless and ‘stupid’ tweet.

I do not intend to reproduce that tweet here because it reeks of odium unparalleled that words fail me.

Now, the perpetrator is a young and rising star in the Nigerian political system, many of us just between what might be the uncle to the parent age with reference to him have found reasons to commend and respect him for his achievements.

In many cases, we may not have been in agreement, but there has been no reason to be disagreeable, he has always held his official brief well and that is worthy of every recognition.

Looking for mitigating circumstances

Yet, having changed masters from a demur Sports and Youth Federal Minister to one who with the brief of Minister of State of Defence whose supposed education and political experience fails to reflect in his tactless and somewhat undiplomatic screeches on Twitter about terrorism in Nigeria, I fear that some of that doltishness has rubbed off on him.

In an unguarded moment, he tweeted what would not be heard in polite society in Europe for as far as the eye can see and this repugnant phrase has not been heralded in public settings since April 30^th 1945.

Ears are for listening

Immediately, those who cared called it out, and this is where you know a man; one with character, one with principle and dare I say, one with integrity. When a fault or wrong is pointed out, not as a voice of common antagonism, but one of clear reason and reasonableness, you reflect, review and gracefully regret error.

Sadly, he dug in, with obduracy, obstinacy and bewildering stupidity, flailing with bluster and braggadocio as a typical Nigerian politician blown adrift like a rainless cloud because it is not anchored in the realism of truth and facts.

Boy came out of the man

Maybe I am being overly harsh on the boy, because I as a boy, he can be excused many things, a lack of knowledge of history which in a man we would call ignorance, a lack of the ability to reflect, which in a man we would call arrogance, and the inability to say sorry, which in a boy would be a clear sign of immaturity.

Worst still, I would hate to extrapolate this event and suggest that many of the youth that I follow and engage with on many forums are prone to this absentmindedness of the powerful to realise that one does stoop to conquer, that one is wise to know that when in a hole you stop digging and that being regretful and sorry is hardly as sign of weakness, but one of strength, even if it is not obvious to the person involved.

One still hopes

Yet, one of the greater qualities of youthfulness is not one of aging but in the ability to learn, the presence of a teachable spirit and to know that one can change if a path to being better is found.

Yesterday, I tweeted extensively about A Man for All Seasons, the character analysis of Sir Thomas More contrasted with Richard Rich with the somewhat reactionary William Roper in the middle of some very insightful exchanges, the subject like one handed a rope to save himself has pulled towards Rich than towards More.

I close with one of the tweets I posted on the issue. “It is amazing what seemingly inconsequential things show the true integrity and character of a man and it can be so damaging.” It needn’t have needed much commentary; to a boy all is forgiven for out of him might grow a man of all seasons, but to a man, much more is expected lest he be judged a man of no season.

I recommend anyone entering politics or anyone and battling with issues of conscience, duty and allegiance consider watching A Man for All Seasons (Film), on Amazon (DVD) and (Streaming).

Thought Picnic: Coming to terms with my stupidity

My stupid scars

Sometimes I wonder about the stupid things that I have done that has left deep and enduring scars.

Stitched up and left to heal, I tinker with the freshness of the wounds preventing its prompt healing whilst enduring the pain and itch as if they have become comforts of my existence.

Then I come to myself. The scars will remain but they must become stories, having their own long tales of how I acquired them, but having my body recover, recuperate, regenerated and restored.

Constantly, I have to alert myself to what is good for me and what militates against my health and welfare.

Scars of beauty and hope

Time to nurse my scars to health and deal with the things that so easily distract me, the quest to please myself, the need for approbation in attempting to please people and understanding that from a spiritual standpoint, my God is pleased with me; I just need to understand, honour and become more aware of that truth.

Loved, blessed and favoured beyond what I can find words to express, a rediscovery of spirituality brings grounding without which one is distracted, uninspired and listless.

I am learning new things, and this is offering opportunity and expectations. The story continues; we are on the up.

Obama vs. Stupid is as stupid does

Generally, I welcome all comments that are made regardling anything I have written in my blog. I have only had occasion to specifically delete two comments because basically the wording was just completely off topic and unacceptable.

In maybe three circumstances, I have taken the comments and created another blog on the content for reasons that people eventually read of in the blog.

It is clear and important to each person that places a comment that they see this notice - Dear Reader, You are welcome to leave comments which might be used in other blogs. All SPAM reported.

However, today I have a comment on my blog that reads like a reasoned opinion but is crass to the extreme and inane bordering on the contemptible it is a display of ignorance most dark, that one may sympathise, at which point it is beginning to sound like praise. Stop!

I had written a piece last month about CNN's typographic error in captioning a picture of Osama bin Laden with Where's Obama - probably an honest mistake by CNN, like the commenter says; the rest just reads like foul effluent.

The comment - unedited

"sorry but obama's name sounds too much like osama. i am black and i would never want anyone named obama to be elected to the highest office of the US. that name, osama, obama instills terror in people. obama is finished because of his name. sorry obama, but that name is your Achilles' heel. and cnn made an honest mistake which will be made often because the names are just too much damn alike. stop playing the race card, brotha."

Associating names with others

When people go to great lengths to think up such stuff, one has to go to greater lengths to debunk such views. Barack Hussein Obama announced only on Saturday that he is in the race for the Presidency of the United States, he made that announcement in Springfield, Illinois on a cold day where a good 15,000 people had gathered to hear his message of hope.

For a while people have been obsessed with his name, but if we did take it apart, this man is 45 years old, his name in 1962 would have meant nothing than the joy of the parents at his birth and that is now his Achilles' heel as the writer says.

Over the years, Barack could now be associated with Hosni Mubarak, the President of Egypt or Ehud Barak, once the Prime Minister of Israel. Hussein could be associated with the late King Hussein of Jordan who many would remember fondly or Saddam Hussein of Iraq who the Americans supported through many atrocities before they pulled the rug from under him and sanctioned his judicial murder.

Then obviously, CNN has helped to associate Osama with Obama, note that one name is a first name and the other is a surname and let us not forget that once Osama and America were good friends when America aided Osama in getting the Russians out of Afghanistan.

These were names that were once sounded in the corridors of power and received taxpayers funding to perpetrate their deeds on behalf of America.

Stupid is as stupid does

"Sorry, but Obama's name sounds too much like Osama" - That is plausible, but are you so hard of hearing not to note the difference? Come on, if those names were used in any context where they were misplaced, dumb people would almost certainly know that terrorism is about bin Laden and the hope of Presidency is about Obama.

"I am black and I would never want anyone named Obama to be elected to the highest office of the US" - Hopefully, America is populated with people who are smarter, this probably feeds into something else that Chxta raised about Barack Obama, some Americans think he is not black enough, that country is rankled with the politics of race it is unbelievable and then I am accused of playing the race card.

"That name, Osama, Obama instils terror in people" - No doubt, it instils terror in stupid people who cannot see beyond their noses, even I would pray that a greater terror come upon them, we cannot have such people walking our streets; their judgment is impaired, their values are corrupt, their lives reprobate, they are beyond therapy and almost beyond redemption.

"Obama is finished because of his name. Sorry Obama, but that name is your Achilles' heel" - I remember many saying the same thing when he was running for the Senate and he won. Does the name of the commenter mean something like fool or idiot? What if he donned a Klu Klux Klan white hood and called himself Nixon - would he be more electable?

"and CNN made an honest mistake which will be made often because the names are just too much damn alike" - CNN probably did make an honest mistake, a mistake that was carried on newswires around the world despite their apology; having denigrated the man as you do now, it is convenient to paint him as a hate symbol and plead innocence. As for likeness, I made my point earlier. Do I allow the use of D*mn on my blog?

"Stop playing the race card, brotha" - On balance, I would prefer to play the race card than the fool's card, but whoever mentioned race anywhere? This so called honest mistake would have been highlighted for any other person regardless of colour. I think you are suffering from delusions of grandeur to address me as Brotha, we do not think alike and we are definitely not of the same stock. The greater disappointment is in how you highlighted our differences by what is atrocious commentary predicated on ignorance.

Surely, Barack Hussein Obama would be attacked from all fronts, but I hope would be at the higher level of principles, values, ideas, policies and motivation rather than tabloid sensationalism masquerading as informed judgment, it is really beginning to annoy me.