Corruption- Africa’s cancer

Can you imagine a peaceful and orderly continent with healthy people? This is what Africa ought to be. God has immensely blessed us (Africans) with all the natural resources needed for a good healthy living.

We have abundant sunshine, great rivers, expansive farmland and of course a huge human resource yet most Africans continue to live below the poverty line due to bad leaders- leaders who only care about creating wealth for themselves and their families.

There are loads of problems (poverty, diseases, unemployment, illiteracy, hunger) affecting growth and development in Africa but the mother of them all is CORRUPTION.

As a matter of fact, all the problems bedeviling the continent stem from corruption. Corruption as we know takes different forms from “rigging of elections”, “looting of state treasury”, “injustice”, “nepotism” and much more.

If there were no corruption, money would be distributed equally, government officials will not steal from public coffers, jobs will be created, contracts will be awarded on merits, elections will always be free, fair and credible and there will be development all over the continent.

When it comes to world ratings, African countries are rated first in corruption but last in development- why? Because wherever there is corruption, there is hardly any development. No society can make progress when corruption is rife.

If this continent is ever going to have real developments in terms of infrastructure and in the standing of living of her people, then the cancer called CORRUPTION must be done away with or else development will continue to be a dream.

My personal experiences and observations have proved to me that nothing is eating up growth and development in the continent like corruption. This is why I can’t help but talk about it.

What would you call a situation where people have to pay bribe to see a doctor or pay bribe to get admission (into school) or pay bribe to get a job that doesn’t exist- is that not corruption? Corruption whether we like to talk about it or not sure exist.

It will do us more harm than good if we choose to keep quit over issues such as this. George Washington said “The day we start keeping quit about what matter, we start dying”. Well I sure don’t want to start dying that is why I write stuff like this.

The issue of corruption trust me is one very big issue that cannot be treated in one piece of writing or essay but I hope my thought was worthwhile.

For the sake of the younger generation and generations yet unborn, let’s stand up and speak up against CORRUPTION. CORRUPTION is a CANCER that can be CURED and must be CURED.

Refuse to be corrupt and say no to corruption…

Just Sharing My Thought
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Read and You shall Know

Much have been said and written about reading yet many still don’t read. We live in a world where so much knowledge abounds yet many of us (youth) still live and act in ignorance.

In a world where designer clothes, designer shoes, designer perfume, expensive phones and a lavish lifestyle is the other of the day, it is not surprising that young people pay more attention to clothes, shoes, phones and looks than they do to READING, good morals and of course character formation.

I’m not implying that designer clothes, shoes and perfumes are not good and I’m not saying looking good is bad- far from it. It’s ok if we paint our faces, get a funky haircut and the rest but aside looking good, there other cool stuff we should do like READ.

In today’s world where everything is moving at the speed of light, knowledge is very imperative. Our concentration should be on knowledge as we can only make sense of our world if and only if we are well informed about it.

READING for so long has been sidelined and this has cost us greatly. We have a generation that knows so much of the things that don’t matter and so little of things that do matter.

For many of us (youths) the place of knowledge is zero. We’d rather chat with friends, watch movies, listen to music, and listen to entertainment gist than READ. Of course it’s cool to be entertained but so also is it cool to open a book and this is of great concern to me.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu said, “No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.”

Too much chat (gossip), too much movies, too much music has made us less informed about our world and everything in between so time and again, we find ourselves doing silly stuff that if we were informed about wouldn’t do.

Most of our problems stems from lack of knowledge. The increasing rate of intolerance amongst the human race is a clear sign of ignorance. Knowledge of what tolerance implies is thus very pertinent.
Lyndon Baines Johnson said “A book is the most effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance.”

Some people will lie, cheat, steal and back-stab to get ahead when all they have to do to get ahead is READ. Margaret Fuller was right on the spot when she said, “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”

The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more you understand. The more you understand, the better you handle situations and issues. The better you hander issues and situations, the better a person you become.

As young people, we are encouraged to give topmost priority to READING. “Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.” (Mortimer J. Adler)

Books also make great companion and that is why I agree with Charles W. Eliot when he said “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends: they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Walt Disney tells us that “There is more treasure in books than in the entire pirate's loot on Treasure Island.” “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest” Benjamin Franklin also said.

No matter how busy we may think we are, we must find time for reading. The importance of reading cannot and will never be over emphasized. As for me, I have resolved to read (don’t know about you) and nothing will stop me from reading.

Let me end this note by saying that what you know is not as important as what you do with what you know so don’t only get knowledge do something with it.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding. - Proverbs 4:7”.

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Leave Your Past in the Past

I once knew a guy who spent most of his time lamenting about the things he did but did wrong. He never stopped talking about how he had disappointed and hurt his parent (his mother especially) and how he regrets all of the things he did.

He kept going back and forth about is woes and mistakes all of which were in the past. Time and again, I tried to talk him about letting go of his past but he wouldn’t bulge out of them. He kept feeling like his past was hunting him whereas he was the one holding on to his (ugly) past.

Every human being has a history some of which we are not so very proud of but even though we regret some of our past mistakes, we don’t perpetually dwell on them- do we?

Although the mistakes we make often have a profound effect on each of us, we do have to live our lives as if we are defined by our mistakes.
A lot of people often struggle with their past not realizing that “REFUSING TO LET GO OF THE PAST IS REFUSING TO EMBRACE THE FUTURE.”

The mistakes or size of the mistakes we made in the past really don’t matter as the lessons we learn from them. So then past mistakes are no big deals as long as we take the time to learn from them.
Failures, mistakes or errors of that past are always in the past and must be left there. Don’t be like the guy who perpetually dwelled on his past woes.

In one of my blog notes titled “failure is necessary” I talked extensively on the fact that failures are not entirely a bad thing. Perhaps you should see it.

For some of us, it is when we fall that we learn the lesson of “look before you leap” and like I earlier stated, what matters is not ‘what happened to us’ (it is always in the past); what matters is how we react to ‘what happened to us’ and the lesson learnt from them.

Personal I always say I don’t have regrets because all of the things I have regrets for are in the past and my past is one place I don’t want to visit. Of course I did some things in the past that I’m not proud of but they only made me a better person.

Most people everyday blame themselves for their past they have no control over. Don’t be one of such people. Don’t spend time tormenting yourself over mistakes that has already happened.
For me, the wrong we do, we can’t undo but we can redo. So if you disobeyed your parent in the past, truth is you can’t undo it but you can begin to obey them.
Someone said “no one is rich enough to buy back his past” so do yourself some good by leaving your past in the past. No matter how terrible you feel about the things you’ve done in the past never allow it slow your progress nor stop you from making something out of life.

A lot of people began from failure to become successful individuals. If others could move on from failure, we too can do same. The fact that you have an ugly past doesn’t mean you should have an ugly future so take your mind off your past failures.

LEAVE YOUR PAST IN THE PAST.

Just Sharing My Thought ™
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