By O’seun Ogunseitan
The image below is the result of the 2023 Presidential election. But the suggestion it has is not a fluke, that those who today, call everybody else in Nigeria tribalists and bigots, did not tolerate any alternative opinions and did not welcome any other candidates in their part of the country. Yet they claim others are tribalists and bigots, titles which only they qualify for.
We can campaign for election but it is the height of all that is stupid for anybody to assume only they are right or that their candidate is the Holy Spirit itself in purity despite manifest proof that their candidate is no different from others in warts, but definitely not among the best five in proven management capacity and capability
A group of Nigerians who insisted that no secession clause should be in the Nigerian Constitution but were the first to wage a war to secede, yet blame everybody else for the war, except themselves, cannot honestly expect the majority of Nigerians to trust them. They need to do even more than all other Nigerians to rebuild trust.
Their short-sighted leaders during the writing of the Nigerian Constitution, even wanted other Nigerian leaders jailed because those other leaders suggested that any group of Nigerians who wanted to opt out of the federation should be allowed to opt out in a secession once they can record a simple majority in a referendum.
It makes a lot of sense for every human being to review their lives every once in a while, including their opinions, relationships and generally all interactions with other human beings to recognise where there seem to be a pattern and if the pattern is for good or for bad and what image it promotes about us.
I, O’seun Ogunseitan insist that all Nigerians must check our habits for any traces of double standards, lies and untruths in defence of our interests or interests of those we know. Do we criticise others for what we do? Are we as tolerant of others as they are tolerant of us? As Christians and Muslims, will God be proud of everything we do, but condemn others for doing? Can we take what we are asking others to take and fight them for not taking?
At my age, I have nothing to gain by doing anything I cannot defend before my God. The truth is that we round up fractions to the next whole number after 50%. Once any human being is over 60, he has no reason to be timid instead of boldly speaking what he believes and can justify as right. You no longer seek unmerited appointments or wealth at that age. Your preoccupation is no longer you but a better country for your children and grand and great grandchildren even yet unborn.
Young people should stop assuming older ones are like them in the use of guile for selfish reasons. The truth is no one who is not already a billionaire at 60 years of age, will ever become one on account of lying or trying to mislead people at that age. If he was that proficient in the use of guile, he possibly would have been rich from it at an earlier age. The young ones should therefore look for people using guile for profit more from among them.
Only if you were destined to be super rich would you be once you are over 60, like KFC’s, Col Sanders. It will never be because of any lies or praise singing that you were not known for in the past 60 years. Incidentally, science has proven that barring illness, the age between 55 and 75 is the age a man or woman is most effective in his deliveries apparently because that is the age that offers an opportunity to deploy knowledge from all experiences.
