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25910 Posts in 9966 Topics by 982 Members Latest Member: - Ferguson Most online today: 75 (July 03, 2005, 06:25:30 PM)
+  Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum
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| |-+  Essays and Reasonings (Moderators: Tyehimba, leslie)
| | |-+  Enemies Of The Ordinary
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Author Topic: Enemies Of The Ordinary  (Read 11161 times)
ausartoamen
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« on: April 10, 2007, 10:22:55 AM »

 
“CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO; THE PLACE OF THE YOUNG NIGERIAN PROFESSIONAL IN THE 21ST CENTURY”

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn”. Alvin Toffler

In today’s world, too much is changing for anyone to be complacent (Peters, 1987). The new paradigm thinking is to get people, management as well as the entire organization comfortable with change. Organizations must find ways of embracing the twenty-first century paradox of keeping everything running while at the same time changing everything (Huey, 1993). For organizations to thrive in today’s highly globalised, dynamic and competitive world, they must become learning organizations. That is, they must create the capacity for continuous change, learning and improvement.

The implication for the young Nigerian Business Professional therefore is that he must be open minded, have keen foresight and be adept at taking constructive advantage of the opportunity for change and be able to use these abilities to define a “Naija” Business Culture in harmony with the wider Business environment and times. Nigeria is currently experiencing a renewed sense of patriotism and a unique opportunity has been presented to us to re-define ourselves and our approach to development in the twenty-first century.

In my opinion it is a battle to be fought on two fronts. First, the young Nigerian Professional must fight dogma and be unafraid to “step out of the box” and explore (new?) indigenous approaches to business and development. One of the key strategies of the NEEDS policy is “Value Re-orientation” and in line with this, it is time for the young Nigerian Professional to innovate and re-create a uniquely Nigerian system of Business Practice that skillfully and successfully balances the achievement of set goals/objectives with the preservation of human dignity, setting standards of Best Practice for the world to follow rather than vice-versa. Perhaps the reason we have so slavishly followed in the footsteps of the West is that we have not critically considered the possibility that our own cultures contain the seeds of another way to approach revitalization and modernization. (Asante, 2004)

Second, the young Nigerian Professional must also express his “ENMITY FOR THE ORDINARY” by challenging daily, the (in my opinion) totally unacceptable current status quo that seeks to explain away incompetence and/or poor service delivery by the well worn cliché that goes “oh, I’m only human” or “that’s the Naija/African Factor”.

This challenge goes down to our very basest nature where we must critically begin to ask ourselves what we truly are, especially in the context of our African Heritage. Each individual must continuously inquire from their self if their current state of being is the best that they can truly be? If truly we are made in his image and likeness then we, by implication, share in his spiritual attributes of Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence and are therefore capable of expressing these attributes daily, in every sphere of human activity, from business to raising a family, albeit to a far lesser extent than the almighty.

I personally am uncomfortable with the comfortable and express this daily by striving for perfection in every aspect of my life. This is how our ancestors were able to build the great Kemetic civilisation! To do any less would be a crime against your spirit. I thank you.
[email]ausartoamen@yahoo.com
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siger
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« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2007, 05:36:02 PM »

Intriguing.....

Would u please explain more the NEEDS policy?
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We look neither left nor right, but forward.
ausartoamen
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« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2007, 10:55:11 AM »

Greetings Siger, The NEEDS policy is the Federal Government of Nigeria's program to set Nigeria on the course for sustainable "economic" development. To see the complete document, visit www.nigerianeconomy.com. While I may have my reservations about the "sustainability" of the general policy thrust of the program, I am thankful that its authors were thoughtful enough to highlight the key goal of Value Re-orientation as one of the key strategies of the program. The Value Re-orientation strategy is an attempt to reconnect Nigerians, especially her youth, with the higher African Moral and Ethical Values. That is it is an attempt to re-Africanize Nigerians on one hand, and to re-brand the country on the other due to the the massive negative image the country has in the international community. For more on this angle of the NEEDS program, visit www.heartofafrica.com. You and I are well aware of the way Western Media brands Africans as a backward and corrupt people who live on trees and how the best thing that has happened to us is contact with the West. We know better.

I and some colleagues of mine got together to start an organisation to facilitate fruitful dialogue of Nigerians/Africans with their historical and cultural heritage.You can visit our blog at www.seli4africa.blogspot.com. We have been greatly inspired by the work that we see on Africaspeaks and her sister sites and you will see as much from the name of our organisation. We look forward to working with you on several projects we are planning in the future.The essay I posted is one of several attempts I am making personally to get the message out there. It has to be broken down bit by bit because a lot of people in Nigeria are ignorant of our true common cultural heritage as Africans and the source of our common misfortune and react very poorly when you challenge their dogmatic beliefs. Unfortunately, many are still caught up in the mental traps of Christianity and Islam, no offence intended.

I beg to end here for now. Look forward to reading your reply.
Peace and Blessings.
Ausar - to -Amen
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