In a customary court in Ipaja, a thirty-two year old woman, Sikira Omolabi brought her husband, Sikiru Omolabi to the court, pleading with the judge to dissolve their three year old marriage The bone of contention was the body of … Continue reading
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This can’t be life This can’t be love This can’t be right There’s got to be more This can’t be us. (Jay-Z: This can’t be us. The Dynasty) This last friday, a friend showed me a picture that’s more than … Continue reading
Although the world is full of suffering, its also full of the overcoming of it Hellen Keller Do you feel fed up, and utterly dejected? Do things seem to be going against you? Is your problem failing an exam more … Continue reading
My religion is very simple, My religion is kindness
Dalai Lama
While watching 2012, the armageddon movie, and though not my kind of movie, I nonetheless still caught through the chaos and drama, a sentence that instantly got me thinking; “.. the moment we stop fighting for each other will be the moment we lose our humanity” Instantly my mind went to the famous Horace Mann saying that we must all be afraid to die before winning a battle for humanity. What battle, I thought. Many might think or view this conception based on a wide sphere of achievements like finding a cure for Aids, finding a solution to the threat that is global warming, eradicating famine in third world countries, or doing something great that will rewrite history, but rarely would it cross our minds we could be helping humanity by showing love to someone.
The statement made me think we could all fight for humanity in our own little ways. In fact, fighting for humanity should be what everyone should wake up ready to do. And when he said ‘fighting for each other’, he was not insisting on doing so with guns or fists, neither should it be through the use of knives, or foul language, rather, it should be leaving everyone we meet better than we met them. That is what humanity dictates, that is the humane thing to do. What he meant was quite simple; be nice and give a helping hand to everyone, because everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. I believe we can make a difference no matter the scale of our acts, as long as its for good, and not evil. A small act of kindness could create a chain reaction that can transcend humanity in a way we can’t even start to imagine. The door men at our favorite eatery would find their jobs easier, and less demeaning if every customer treats them with kindness and dignity, so too would a bus driver respect our opinion about his driving if we In turn would spice our words with love and respect, and would probably go home happier, making for a healthier, and saner home compared to them having a miserable day. Its a universal fact that we now live in an information and interrelated age, which means ours is a time of real interdependency. We go about in a car made in Japan, or Germany, wear Italian shoes, and American sunglasses, drink coffee with cocoa from Ivory Coast. A Yoruba boy can be best friends with an Igbo boy, and an Edo girl with an Hausa one. If all these are so, then we are obligated to see each other as one, and treat our neighbors as one.
We should never underestimate the power of a sensitive, and kind soul. There is a story about a girl (chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul) who was tired of life, and its problem and was about to leave home to commit suicide, but decided first to check the mails. On doing so, she discovered one was written to her, puzzled, she opened it only to discover it was from a stranger who was writing to tell her he understood her problems and would love to be her friend. That day, the strangers sensitivity saved a life. Let’s imagine this; if the girl later in life finds a cure for cancer or Aids, or gives birth to a child that would become president, and change the country, or even the world for the better, then that stranger would have advanced humanity in his own small but special way.
It is believed that the three universal problems facing every human in the world are relationship, health, and financial problems. Even if we can’t solve any of these problems, we can still make life easier for others having them. We all know how we feel after every failed relationship; used, and unworthy, but wouldn’t we be better off if we have a friend who keeps reminding us we are loved, worthy, and special. Believe me, nothing will kill a poor man faster than the loss of hope, something we should guide against, but instead spread hope. I once read that ninety percent of all diseases are caused by stress, so we actually are not helping anyone by spreading pessimism, snapping at others or creating a state of awaiting loss. Teenagers researches shows operate eighty percent from emotions, so the best way to treat them is through support, and love, and showing them kindness, love, and appreciation.
I know many will think they have enough of their own problems to watch out for others. Am quite aware that sometimes things may go wrong, and the shining sun may give way to the pouring rain, but then is the moment our religious values should kick in; then is the time to wrap ourselves in God’s love and promises of hope and remain in perfect peace. Instead of feeling downcast when things go wrong, we should cling to God’s hope and exhibit a character of faith, and cheerfulness, spending our days in God’s abiding glory, staying in a positive mood, and giving everyone around a piece of our love. So as you go out today, spare a thought for the needy, say hi to that shy neighbor of yours, be friendly to your co-worker, be the sun to brighten others, and smile in greeting when the doorman at the eatery opens the door for you. You might just make someone’s day.
Let me leave you with the starfish parable.
A girl walks along a beach, throwing starfish back into the sea, when she meets an old man. The man asks the girl why she is throwing starfish into the ocean. She says: “The sun is up, and the tide is going out, if I don’t throw them back, they will all die”. The old man says, “But there’s a whole beach and it runs for miles. You can’t possibly make a difference”. The girl picks up a starfish and throws it back in the sea “It made a difference to that one”
“A people deserve the leader they get” is a saying I’ve heard hundreds of time but disregard in the excuse of making a life until one fateful day. I was on a bus going to ikeja from iyana ipaja, and was seated at the third row, directly behind a man in faded ankara, from which was emanating the distinct unpalatable smell of a typical Nigerian mechanic. The bus was quiet as we had been moving unhindered for around quarter of an hour before we suddenly got stuck in traffic, obviously congestion on a bad road. It was at this point the man in faded ankara thought it time to speak, well more of name calling than anything else. At who? The politicians. Why? The current sour state of things in the country. He seemed sure politicians rerouted money meant for road constructions and reparations into private coffers. He came up with enough conspiracy theories to keep most in the bus amused and interested, but not me. His was a recurring speech I’ve heard aplenty, and which now seems like an old out of fashion cloth that doesn’t interest me again, and besides, the heat was getting to me. He was in the middle of a sentence, one no doubt targeted at politicians when his phone rang. He picked it and yelled “hello”
He listened for some seconds and replied “I hope you have not informed the man we bought that thing for six thousand naira, because I already told him we got it for twelve thousand”
He listened a little before adding “don’t worry, you’ll surely get your share
He finished and pocketed his phone, a grin as big as the old Oyo empire plastered on his face; he was six thousand naira richer. I sat back and wondered; what is the difference between him an the politicians he was so quick to abuse and criticize?; is he there not an alignment of values between them?; if he had the opportunity they have, would he not do the same, or worse even.
Transparency international defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”, therefore corruption in my opinion is not exclusive to politicians alone. In fact, corruption in Nigeria is more of a societal and cultural problem than anything else. A society in love with exhibitionism, and materialism will grow a perversion for degeneracy. Ours is a mutated sense of right and wrong, where we as a people tend to disrespect or disregard morally just individuals and respect depraved ones, not for their industriousness, but rather for their wealth. In a nation of moral deficiency, and high corruption immortality, where virtue is replaced with greed, it shouldn’t be rocket science to decipher the reasons for its progressive retrogressions; leadership. I believe everyone agrees our problems lies with our leaders, but we should also note that a society produces a leader from within, so it only makes sense for a corrupt environment to ultimately produce a corrupt leader. It can be that simple.
A good friend of mine who is an upcoming rapper tells of radio djs demanding as much as twenty thousand before they play his songs. Admission into most, if not all our universities these days are on a financial basis, or what we call ‘padi padi’ basis. A respected retired supreme court judge once said he knew some judges who were poor before proceeding over election petitions cases but came out of such cases rich. Almost every self employed person seems fixated on maximizing profit at the expense of both quality, and their customers. It is now almost socially acceptable to be a ‘yahoo boy’. Sanusi Lamido’s emergence as CBN governor exposed the grand corruption in the banking sector (caused by ordinary Nigerians occupying leadership positions at these banks, and not politicians). Almost everyone now takes pride in being ‘smart’, which rarely implies innovativeness nor the ability to find creative solutions to problems, but rather conotes the ability the ability to short change another. Stories abound of bureaucratic corruption in our schools, hospitals, and ministries where you have to cut corners to get things moving. Files can be lost and then found depending on the money exchanging hands. I remember not too long ago, around five-thirty in the morning, while on my way to the park, I saw a man park his car, open his booth, bring out a polythene bag; obviously full with waste, and shamelessly proceeded throwing it inside a nearby gutter. It was disgusting, as well as disheartening to see obviously an elite, both in age, stature, and education walk such lower grounds, and yet still have the effrontery to maul politicians for being selfish.
In 1996, Nigeria was ranked the most corrupt country in the world, and fifteen years after, corruption still remains a misnormal phenomenon eating at our progress. Corruption hs been and still remains a portentous cause of our poor living conditions. Causes of corruption can be inequality in the distribution of wealth, changing moral code, ‘the curse of natural resources’, and a fanciness for instant gratifications, all societal issues I think should be tackled first, because for every public office holder we prosecute and ultimately disgrace, there are more than a couple others more than willing to replace him and stuff their private coffers too.
Tackling corruption I deem should start at the grass roots, as cutting it at its roots could be the best solution yet. For this to happen, we need government and private/individual participation. Jimmy Carter once noted, rightly too, that people earning little will always find creative ways to increase their income. Mind you, these creative ways doesn’t always mean legal way. So I think the government should go a long way in reducing poverty and increasing the standard of living of the citizens which would help reduce corruption, because as noted, poverty is a prevailing cause of corruption. There is a proven relationship between societal values, upbringing and corruption. According to the Scientific American inc (1999), in a study of three hundred and eleven adolescents from ten different American towns and cities, there was noticed, high degrees of altruistic behaviors and low degrees of anti-social behaviors from those who came from homes or communities that agrees and views honesty as a fundamental value; where teachers do not tolerate cheating and the parents do not let their children get away with lying. This noted, parents can go a long way in deciding the fate and social behaviors of their wards by the kind of principle and convictions they inculcate in them and not bring them up in a way that would ignite an unreasonable passion for physical pleasures, tribal fanaticism or religious intolerance.
Culture most times determine our collective success, or otherwise. The type of culture we are exposed to have a direct or indirect impact on our train of thoughts and actions. It is noteworthy to say that in the past decades, we have moved from our traditional culture and believes to a more foreign and rather materialistic one, a situation not unconnected to technology and the ease with which foreign ideologies stream into our subconciousness, something we need get a solution to. These cultures mostly are dictated by mass media, and mass media practitioners as a fact would do anything to keep us watching, including showing things not necessarily of moral convictions, but things appealing to our senses. This unfortunately I doubt we can do anything about, except desist from watching television altogether. It is believed that a child’s personality is shaped in the first five years, and with the bombardment o their senses with erroneous contents that glorifies sex, instant gratification and materialism, they have no chance, with parents only left with the sole option of monitoring what their children watches, something hard to do.
Advertising can also have a wide ranging repercussions on society. Some critics suggest advertising promotes a materialistic way of life by leading people to believe that happiness is achieved by purchasing products, Brett (2009). Some are already claiming for government regulations on the kind of programmes being shown by television stations,and in as much as I think that is not feasible, I still think though that the govornment should make certain programmes only at night, a time you would expect children to be in bed.
Another way to curb the menace of corruption would be for the government to invest rigorously in education, especially science, research, technology, and entrepreneurial educations. All these can lead to innovations, which will in turn start an industry thereby creating jobs. Also of note is the fact that government can fight corruption from the top down, and not just punishing the goat, and maggi stealers. They can do so by going the Chinese way of making corruption expensive; making the price to pay for being corrupt not worth the risk.
Finally, let’s take this scenario: A secondary boy cheats to pass WAEC, passes Jamb through the use of special center, manages to pay his way out of four years of not studying in the university and one day finds himself in a leadership position he is ill prepared for, it should be of little surprise to find him making the wrong decisions. Why? Because his has being a history of cheating to move forward, an advancement of mediocrity, greed, and lack of real character. And if he breeds corruption the way pigs breed children, the larger environment is at fault; the education system that manages to graduate such half baked goods; the parents who encourages, and even pays for their children’s cheating, and every student that sees cheting as a way of life. If he possesses little leadership qualities, and makes unprincipled and unworthy decisions, deserving is the Jamb invigilator who took little stipends, and turned a deaf ear to his malpractices in the hall, deserving is eevery lecturer in all tertiary institution who collects bribes to pass students.
Like Plato once said “the life which is unexamined is not worth living” so let us all examine our lives to find the things we do that isn’t in any way working, correct them first, before we dare to throw stones at others.
THERE IS NO HOPE OF A PERFECT RESEARCH
Research can be defined as a quest for new knowledge pertinent to an identified area of interest or problem through the application of the scientific approach or process of investigation. (Ican study pack, business Communications and research methodology.2010). it is very important for advancing knowledge and achieving progress. It is carried out to find answers to problem and for the prediction of future events. Research is very important to review existing knowledge and form a report on the subject, mostly to inform and persuade the reader of the research paper or thesis. The Longman dictionary of contemporary English defines perfect as not lacking any mistake, faults or damage.
So, is there hope for a perfect research? The easier answer by most would be no. but to answer the question, we need to know what a perfect research entails. Research as a word is the combination of re, which means once again and search, meaning investigation, so it is pivotal to note that research is not about finding perfection, it is the relentless pursuit of knowledge and truth. It is working on a limited view and expanding its frontiers, so assessing its perfection or otherwise is hard and complex. Two people may research the same topic and come out with different opinion or thesis that both enhances and add to the knowledge of the subject matter. How does one form an opinion regarding the perfectness or imperfectness of any of them? A good example of such divergence was between Alfred Russell Wallas and Charles Darwin, two of the leading thinkers of their time. Wallas proposed a theory of evolution due to natural selection while Darwin emphasized competition between individuals of the same species to survive and reproduce. They both spent a huge chunk of their lives researching the theory of evolution, and even collaborated and corresponded many times, but still failed to come out with the same thesis and theory. This shows a perfect research is almost impossible because for a research to be perfect, I think it has to yield the same results every time and everywhere it is applied and by whoever.
A research can be limited by available technology, infrastructure, culture and beliefs of the time and also by ethical issues such as misconduct, fabrication, falsification, poor research records, and questionable research practices. An accepted theory or norm today can be rendered baseless tomorrow. As a matter of fact, history is filled with theories based on research that was later proved wrong. Let’s take a look at few.
Albert Einstein’s static generation; Albert Einstein came out with a theory that the universe was an unchanging one, always was the size it was, and always would be. This was later proven wrong and shows even the extremely meticulous and inimitably brilliant Einstein can be wrong on his thesis. He later accepted he was wrong and called it the biggest mistake of his career.
Spontaneous Generation by Aristotle; Aristotle believed after researching the maggot and also reviewing previous literature on the matter that life could somehow come out of inanimate matters like mud, slim, and earth. This thesis was believed and accepted to be perfect by most of his days. It was later refuted by Louis Pasteur who was to prove through the use of microscope (something unavailable during Aristotle’s time) that the maggot wont appear on meat kept in a sealed container and that maggot were not formed by slim, mud, or any other inanimate object for that matter but by airborne microorganisms. Aristotle theory was limited because of the unavailability of needed technology to aid in the research of the subject matter, and although thought to be the ‘truth’ by his generation, has now been proven imperfect.
Another important thing to note is that research can be strongly refuted or deem inappropriate or imperfect or otherwise based on the cultural or ideological positions or beliefs of individuals. For generations, science and religion have been at loggerheads regarding the theory of evolution. Religious individuals have repeatedly opposed the theory of evolution propounded by scientists no matter the plethora of evidences in support of the theory or the ‘assumed’ perfection of its research. It is simply against their held belief that they are the replica of their God.
A lot of people have also questioned the appropriateness of using animal for research purposes, continually insisting it is wrong. It is against their ideology and so is imperfect and unworthy no matter the problem such research solves.
Research thesis changes with how things change and evolve, and research itself is an improvement of past knowledge, thesis or beliefs. Even great inventions have been a little improvement on previous knowledge. It is fair to say no hope for a perfect research, because even the researched beliefs and accepted norms of today would only be a stepping stone for future enlightenment and not the height of human knowledge.
REFERENCES
Rajesh.G,K. (2010) Is perfect research possible. The Silkworm. October 25th, 2011 form http://www.silkwormori.blogspot.com
Swazey.A., Anderson,M., Louis.K. (2010) Ethical Problems in Academic Research. The American Scientist, 1. Retrieved on October 25th , 2011 from http://www.americanscientist.org
Top 10 most famous scientific theories (that turned to be wrong). (2010) retrieved October 25th,2011 from http://www.toptenz.net.
Business Communication and Research Methodology. Ican Study pack. (2010). Lagos: VI Publishers.
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