Nigerian Youths: Brainstorm, Don’t Blamestorm – Don’t Be A Fault-Finder; Be A Path-Finder

Nigerian Youths: Brainstorm, Don’t Blamestorm – Don’t Be A Fault-Finder; Be A Path-Finder 

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world”- Mahatma Gandhi

There is something psychologically wrong with the way the Nigerian youths find fault in the Nigerian system. We find fault like there is a reward for it! We criticize without creating anything. Anybody can criticize; what distinguishes you from others is what you are creating.

I have observed that many expatriates come into Nigeria and thrive in the Nigerian environment-the same environment we are all complaining that is inferior and unworkable! Indomie is a brand from Indonesia, but today it has found its way into the Indian and Nigerian markets.

There are many international and multilateral brands that now thrive so well in the Nigerian environment. Companies and organizations like MTN, SUMAL FOODS, DUFIL PRIMA FOODS etc are foreign brands that now thrive in the Nigeria environment.

These expatriates come into Nigeria with eyes only to see opportunities in the Nigerian environment, and that is the secret why they thrive.

The African Action Congress (AAC) and its presidential candidate in the last general election, Omoleye Sowore, have set Monday, August 5, for the commencement of a massive nationwide protest targeted at seeking “for a better Nigeria.” Making the disclosure on Saturday, July 27, in Abuja, Sowore said the revolutionary protest becomes inevitable considering the present situation of the country under the current administration.

Sowore is mobilizing an army of Nigerian youths to shut down Nigeria come August 5. My own angle to this clarion call is that we need more innovations from the youths than protest. Why can’t a youth develop an App that will solve the problem of kidnapping and herdsmen attack? Though, I admire Sowore and his tenacity in advocating for a new Nigeria, but I believe strongly that the youths can achieve more by being a problem-solver in their circumference of influence.

We should channel our energies into solving problems and evolving ideas that can drive Nigeria forward.

Why do we keep complaining about the Nigerian system while everyone else outside the country see it as the land of opportunity? Though, situations and environment can stop us temporarily, but we are the only one that can stop “us” permanently.

No situation must be the reason why you fail in life; rise above the challenges. I have come to realize that until we cultivate the habit of living above our excuses, we will continue to live an inferior life. Youths must do away with their victim’s mentality. Youths with victim’s mentality always believe that their problems are not their fault, and always see themselves as victims of life’s situations.

They believe strongly that someone, something, or a government is responsible for their predicament. They are not capable of being honest with themselves and accepting responsibility for their lives. They are unable to see how their own steps, actions, inactions and negligence have brought them to where they are presently. We must all take responsibilities for the level of deterioration presently in the country.

Marcus Cicero once said, “I criticize by creation, not by finding fault.” If you have to criticize, let it be through creating something new!.

Brainstorming attacks the problem by evolving viable solution while blaming others evades the problem and attacks the person. Blame-storming kills initiative and reduces people’s morale. I have come to realize that when we truly brainstorm, we will have less time to blamestorm.

Steven Covey said, “Be part of the solution, not the problem”.

When the only thing one can see is problem, then one cannot see the solution. You can’t be part of the problem and still be part of the solution.

In life, you are either part of the solution or part of the problem. Don’t find fault, find remedy! Youths that cannot create something new to solve problems are liabilities.

Don’t be a fault-finder; be a path-finder. Try to always create and stop criticizing.

Criticizing can create an awareness about a problem, but it doesn’t get it solved.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to predict the future is to design it”.

Instead of complaining about your situation, why don’t you create one?.

See opportunities instead complaining.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.”

Personally, I don’t see problems in Nigeria, I only see opportunities!.

What keep people ahead in life is simply the opportunity that they seized. The real genius of the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, is in his ability to transform challenges into opportunities and opportunities into wealth. When other entrepreneurs termed the Nigerian environment unfavourable and uneconomical, Dangote surmounted the hurdle to open economical doors where hitherto there were walls.

Do you really know why Dangote is the richest in Nigeria? It is because he is the one that least complain in Nigeria. Have you ever see Aliko Dangote complain about the Nigerian situation?.

The guy is so busy looking for solutions that he forgot to complain! And you sit there every day complaining, no wonder why you are so poor! He just listen to people’s complain and look out for how to solve it-this is the secret of his wealth. Your complaints actually are his own inspiration! Excuses and complaints will always be there for you; opportunity won’t.

Barrack Obama once said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

We are in serious need of youths that can think differently. Youths that will proffer solutions to the avalanche of problems that have beleaguered the nation.

I want to emphatically encourage the Nigerian youths to have a major shift in their approach to national problems; the problems that abound around us are an invitation for us to be creative, dynamic and impactful.

As we approach August 5, I want to charge the Nigerian youths to take responsibility for their actions.

Nigeria has become a country where everybody is desirous of change but nobody wants to be responsible for that change.

e must be responsible and guided in our actions because what will solve Nigerian problem is not just protest but the emergence of youths with renewed perspectives.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion”- Paulo Coelho