In a few days we will be celebrating 50 years of Nigeria's Independence. To many the reality of the times doesn't call for a celebration but a deep sense of reflection.
This is however the path many have gone through in their quiet private moments ending up with a sense of helplessness in that as much as they hate things the way they are, they feel the lack of power to produce that necessary change. They lack the power to build a world class infrastructure on a national scale, a public school system that works, an efficient healthcare system and an orderly modern society built on law and technology.
Hope about building a great country begins to fade somewhere deep within their consciousness and that desire is replaced by a determination among a few to pursue personal success against all odds and become that 'self-made man' idolised by entrepreneurial societies like Nigeria.
To others who don't possess such fierce individual drive, quitting the stage whichever way that is interpreted becomes their goal. This could be realised by either leaving the geographical space called Nigeria or remaining here while playing the victim, blaming the environment for personal woes and inability to produce.
To be honest this edition of the Platform is directed at the first category of people, the able men and women within our society. The class who have shown incredible courage and intelligence against all odds.
This Platform is for you to answer that new call. What can I do to shape the country I love and how I can go about it?
The call is to bridge the divide between seeking just to use your power to achieve your personal goals and protect yourself from the broken society around you, but also to release that power into your environment to rebuild it.
By answering this call, not only do you experience a quantum leap in the realisation of your personal goals but a sense of true citizenship and personal identity is discovered..Pastor Poju Oyemade
