My old shoes and the old Nigeria – Part 2

It is important for us to realise that the New Nigeria will come at a price. The New Nigeria will cost us. The New Nigeria will cause us to sacrifice many of our old beliefs for a new set of beliefs. The New Nigeria will cause us to come out of our comfort zone of complaining and grumbling about the Old Nigeria. Prinyanka Poddar once said “New shoes always gives us blisters. Old shoes always gives us comfort. Choice is ours….. Old comforts sometimes prevents us to explore new.” Great and amazing things can never come from our comfort zone of the Old Nigeria. It is just not possible! The Old Nigeria is preventing us from exploring, planning and building the New Nigeria of our dreams. We must not allow the old comfort of the Old Nigeria to prevent us from experiencing the New Nigeria. We must not allow that to happen.

So, what must we do to create the New Nigeria?
For us to have a New Nigeria we must get rid of the Old Nigeria. We must displace the Old Nigeria mind set with the New Nigeria mind set. We must replace the Old Nigeria ideology with the New Nigeria ideology. We must first dream and envision the New Nigeria into being. We must create the New Nigeria first in our hearts and minds and then with our hands. We must create the New Nigerian attitude and mind set.

So what is the difference in mind-set between the Old Nigerians and the New Nigerians? The Old Nigerians complain and grumble endlessly. The New Nigerians are always doing something about it. The Old Nigerians are passive. The New Nigerians are active. The Old Nigerians have the “siddon dey look attitude” and the New Nigerians are taking responsibility in any and every little way they can? The Old Nigerians have the habit of being problem oriented. The New Nigerians are extremely solution oriented in their thinking.The Old Nigerians are interested in changing everybody but themselves. The New Nigerians work hard daily to become the change they desire to see. The Old Nigerian makes excuses. The New Nigerian demands only results from himself and others.

The New Nigerian works harder on himself than he does on others. The New Nigerian tries to always set the right example. The New Nigerian is an exceptional role model. The New Nigerian is constantly working on his leadership skills. The New Nigerian is an everyday leader. The New Nigerian is a reader. The New Nigerian thinks out-of-the-box. The New Nigerian is constantly asking questions and looking for solutions. The New Nigerian is always asking “What can I do to make a positive difference?” The New Nigerian takes control of that which he can take control of and he works and builds on that. The New Nigerian puts his time, money and energy into nation building activities, he walks his talk.The New Nigerian is committed to positive change. The New Nigerian is a man of goodwill (or woman of goodwill) who energetically and actively engages in creating the New Nigeria. The New Nigerian understands this statement made many years ago by an American advertising creative director named William Bernbach. He said that “In this very real world, good doesn’t drive out evil. Evil doesn’t drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive.”

Vinayaka Iye also states: “The difference between old shoes and new shoes, old shoes signify the end of the journey. New shoes mark the beginning of a journey.” So which will it be fellow Nigerians? Will we continue to walk in our old shoes of “comfort and familiarity” and hold on for dear life to the Old Nigeria hoping and praying it won’t fall apart? Or will we pay the price and put on our new running shoes and start a new journey running towards greatness and the New Nigeria of our dreams. Dear Nigerians, which will it be? Which will it be….
Concluded.