…In all civilization, there is a fundamental belief in supreme deity who guides and protects the people as they match along the road to success. But above all, there is an unshaken belief in self-reliance. This is the guiding principle.
Self-reliance result in self approval anytime a little success is gained. This, in turn increases the belief and dependence on the self. The more you conquer odds, the more you trust on your judgment, the more proud you become of your effort. Self reliance is an integral virtue without which the mountaineer is left at the bottom of the valley, helplessly gazing up at the height he could have conquered. This is true for the individual as it is for a nation; the former being a unit of the later.
A nation that is seeking a golden age must have entrenched in its nationals these two qualities – a deep, deep belief in God and an attitude of self reliance. The former replenish spiritual strength while the later is the inevitable tool that carves out a sure path in the material jungle.
Once the majority can develop and put to use the attitude of self reliance, the nation is planted on the path to its golden age!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Man and Conspiracy
Life is a paradox where the chain of events often defies logic. A lot of ironies play out in this curious age of reasons. Quite often, man is ruled by a number of irrational variables which add to the mystery and paradox that shape humanity and events.
Events are not quite what they seem on the surface. But man often wades through the imponderables of life to make a sense out of the labyrinth of existence. Through such efforts, dreams are transformed into reality. There is always a constant struggle to capture the seemingly endless mirage. Man in his push to conquer has remained essentially restless. Always pushing ahead, beyond barriers, behind the scenes; to build and to destroy all toward a goal. Indeed, survival and conquest have presented man with daily challenges.
In a world ruled by ideas however, surviving the endless hurdles has been Herculean. From the individual to the group levels, and even among nations, Darwinian dynamics rule the roost. The fittest often survives. The unfit becomes extinct. It is a refrain that liberal minded philosophers find difficult to accept. But even among the very powerful, plots and conspiracy against each other reign supreme. There is perfidy, disloyalty and faithlessness. Treachery is an act, perhaps a defining goal in the road to conquest. Simply put, men conspire in a group to out-maneuver one another.
In Hobbesian state, the picture of life being short, brutish and nasty is a recurring decimal. Perhaps also, these features are the driving force behind the series of conspiracy to achieve or play ones’ part within the available stretch of time. Little wonder, men plots against the grain of reason. The painful part of conspiracy is its furtive nature. That is why conspirators at work are always difficult to expose: often, they pretend to be loyal. There is always no art to read the minds construction on the face – apology to William Shakespeare. Watch out, that friend, political acolyte or even your crony could be among the conspirators. Like the great reggae musician Bob Marley noted in his music “your best friend could be your worst enemy”.
Make no mistake about it, aside from men who plot against one another, children also plot against their parent. Group conspires against others. Nations are constantly in conspiracy to acquire, steal or to spy. The bottom-line at times is to attain leverage, an advantage over the other. Destruction is the goal at other times. From individual to family and other groups, the quests for wealth and power have given vent to endless conspiracies. So also have the attempts to settle scores spawn conspiracies against the unsuspecting.
But human needs like basic economic principles reveals are essentially insatiable. As soon as one need is met, it is in the nature of man to push for more. That is why after the tough battle to cement a marriage, tales of struggles for control between husband and wife take roots. Such battles are silently conspiratorial. Business partners are always at dagger drawn for control. They too conspire just as nations plot against nations. Conspirators seek to wear down the opponent, the target. But at the end of the day, conspiracy is destructive.
In all quest, self-preservation is the primary law. And to succeed, economic, social, cultural, military and intellectual battles are waged. The quest for political power and its reward has given birth to conspiracies of various shades. Political power may in fact be the ultimate goal of the most celebrated conspiracies.
It is no exaggeration that in the search for power, man has perfected the art of subversion. Conspiracies are often times a fore play to acquire power, to oust the incumbent or to establish a foothold for strategic purpose. In all, these are cold calculation towards tilting the apple-cart. Coups, counter coups, assassination; or even a palace coups and on many occasions, blood bath occur, as the deadly aftermath of conspiracies.
Just like men plot, cabals plot too. Americans are yet to overcome or even understand the conspiracy behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The death of General Murtala Mohammed remains a lingering consequence of a bloody conspiracy. Moshood Abiola won a presidential election in 1993. Men conspired to/and deny him his presidency. Its consequence ousted General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. General Sani Abacha, a beneficiary of the 1993 general election annulment, came; arrested Abiola, jailed General Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua for allege conspiracy to oust him (Abacha). Shehu Yar’Adua was killed out of conspiracy by the Abacha junta in a bid to checkmate Yar’Adua’s political profile. But conspiracies often produce series of reaction which consumes the initiators. In the end, even Abacha, in spite of his goons had no armor against conspirator. He died like a chicken in 1998.
What more shall I say? For time will fail me to mention the first PDP rally in Jos in the 1999 and of course the most recent, the April 2007 PDP Primaries that produced Umar Musa Yar’Adua as the parties presidential flag bearer and today the president of the leaping nation, Nigeria, falsely called the giant of Africa. It will also be a great oversight on my part to ignore or disregard the must recent (2007) coup in the PDP that ousted the erstwhile Chairman BOT (Board of Trustee) of the ( most acclaimed largest) party (in Africa) in the person of Anthony Annenih and his replacement by Olusegun Obasanjo. Annenih was himself a foot soldier of Obasanjo. He described his replacement as a betrayal by his former boss.Conspiracy and its act have not ended. It will never be.
Now when it comes to conspiracy: WHAT IS ONE TO THINK?
In a world ruled by ideas however, surviving the endless hurdles has been Herculean. From the individual to the group levels, and even among nations, Darwinian dynamics rule the roost. The fittest often survives. The unfit becomes extinct. It is a refrain that liberal minded philosophers find difficult to accept. But even among the very powerful, plots and conspiracy against each other reign supreme. There is perfidy, disloyalty and faithlessness. Treachery is an act, perhaps a defining goal in the road to conquest. Simply put, men conspire in a group to out-maneuver one another.
In Hobbesian state, the picture of life being short, brutish and nasty is a recurring decimal. Perhaps also, these features are the driving force behind the series of conspiracy to achieve or play ones’ part within the available stretch of time. Little wonder, men plots against the grain of reason. The painful part of conspiracy is its furtive nature. That is why conspirators at work are always difficult to expose: often, they pretend to be loyal. There is always no art to read the minds construction on the face – apology to William Shakespeare. Watch out, that friend, political acolyte or even your crony could be among the conspirators. Like the great reggae musician Bob Marley noted in his music “your best friend could be your worst enemy”.
Make no mistake about it, aside from men who plot against one another, children also plot against their parent. Group conspires against others. Nations are constantly in conspiracy to acquire, steal or to spy. The bottom-line at times is to attain leverage, an advantage over the other. Destruction is the goal at other times. From individual to family and other groups, the quests for wealth and power have given vent to endless conspiracies. So also have the attempts to settle scores spawn conspiracies against the unsuspecting.
But human needs like basic economic principles reveals are essentially insatiable. As soon as one need is met, it is in the nature of man to push for more. That is why after the tough battle to cement a marriage, tales of struggles for control between husband and wife take roots. Such battles are silently conspiratorial. Business partners are always at dagger drawn for control. They too conspire just as nations plot against nations. Conspirators seek to wear down the opponent, the target. But at the end of the day, conspiracy is destructive.
In all quest, self-preservation is the primary law. And to succeed, economic, social, cultural, military and intellectual battles are waged. The quest for political power and its reward has given birth to conspiracies of various shades. Political power may in fact be the ultimate goal of the most celebrated conspiracies.
It is no exaggeration that in the search for power, man has perfected the art of subversion. Conspiracies are often times a fore play to acquire power, to oust the incumbent or to establish a foothold for strategic purpose. In all, these are cold calculation towards tilting the apple-cart. Coups, counter coups, assassination; or even a palace coups and on many occasions, blood bath occur, as the deadly aftermath of conspiracies.
Just like men plot, cabals plot too. Americans are yet to overcome or even understand the conspiracy behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The death of General Murtala Mohammed remains a lingering consequence of a bloody conspiracy. Moshood Abiola won a presidential election in 1993. Men conspired to/and deny him his presidency. Its consequence ousted General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. General Sani Abacha, a beneficiary of the 1993 general election annulment, came; arrested Abiola, jailed General Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Musa Yar’Adua for allege conspiracy to oust him (Abacha). Shehu Yar’Adua was killed out of conspiracy by the Abacha junta in a bid to checkmate Yar’Adua’s political profile. But conspiracies often produce series of reaction which consumes the initiators. In the end, even Abacha, in spite of his goons had no armor against conspirator. He died like a chicken in 1998.
What more shall I say? For time will fail me to mention the first PDP rally in Jos in the 1999 and of course the most recent, the April 2007 PDP Primaries that produced Umar Musa Yar’Adua as the parties presidential flag bearer and today the president of the leaping nation, Nigeria, falsely called the giant of Africa. It will also be a great oversight on my part to ignore or disregard the must recent (2007) coup in the PDP that ousted the erstwhile Chairman BOT (Board of Trustee) of the ( most acclaimed largest) party (in Africa) in the person of Anthony Annenih and his replacement by Olusegun Obasanjo. Annenih was himself a foot soldier of Obasanjo. He described his replacement as a betrayal by his former boss.Conspiracy and its act have not ended. It will never be.
Now when it comes to conspiracy: WHAT IS ONE TO THINK?
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