Take it back! by Ken Ibe

It's been a while since I read some real hard talk and analysis like this and I urge you to read carefully as I bring you this passion-filled wake-up call by a wonderful writer.

Always @ moi frequency...Enjoy!

The youths of today have no option but to become transformation minded or else we stand on the brink of extinction as a nation. It’s a pity that the older generations have run this nation, ruled it and ruined it yet they’ve refused to hand over the affairs of this nation to the next generation. They sit there like it’s their birth right. They’ve titled the youths, “the leaders of tomorrow” hence keeping us in a state of perpetual waiting for a tomorrow that will never come.

Fifty years ago, youths were called by this title, twenty years ago the same thing, a decade later they were still known by the same title and today the youths are still the leaders of tomorrow. My questions are which tomorrow are they even talking about? When this tomorrow will ever come and if it will ever come will the youths be ready to take over and by that I mean if we will have the capacity to change the state of things.

My fellow youths, my message to you this Lord’s Day is that wherever you find yourself;
Be the change you want to see
Be the transformation you want
Trigger the revolution you want to see
Lead a life that will affect posterity positively.
Be that leader you want to see

Start from where you are and what is under your control. I know the nation is not under your control but your family is under your control, your business is under your control, yourself is under your control, your staff is under your control, your department is under your control, your team is under your control, your class is under your control, your hospital is under your control, your school is under your control and your office is definitely under your control.

Activate that change you want to see in the nation in what you control.

If you are an entrepreneur; be a leading entrepreneur.
If you are a manager; be a leading manager.
If you are an engineer; be a leading engineer.
If you are a secretary; be a leading secretary.
If you are a law enforcement officer; be a leading law enforcement officer.
If you are a preacher; be a leading preacher.
If you are an artist; be a leading artist.
If you are an actor/actress; be a leading actor/actress.
If you are a driver; be a leading driver.
If you are a barber; be leading barber.
If you are a doctor, producer, tailor writer or CEO; be a leading leader in your field.

Do it until people know you and call you by what you do.
You need to preach till folks know you and call you the preacher.
Write until they know you and call you the writer.
Manage until they know you and call you the manager.
Fly until they know you and call you the pilot.

Do you work until you become the best in what you do? Work towards becoming a reference in your field. If all youths or at least most youths become leading youths in their sectors; then there is truly hope for our nation.
Pursue a career and not a job. Don’t just jump from one job to another just because of a better pay check rather also seek an environment where you can progress and grow, climbing the ladder of your field with an intention of getting to the top.
When your field is mentioned anywhere in the world let your name come to mind. Become the most sought after person in your field.
The most sought after networking engineer.
The most sought after pilot.
The most sought after soldier.
The most sought after police man.
The most sought after trader.

If all youths in Nigeria can become the best in their fields of endeavour thereby making themselves indispensable, very relevant and the most sought after in their respective fields; imagine what the future holds for our great nation.

We have to strategically take back our nation because the enemies have tagged us leaders of tomorrow – a false hope of a tomorrow that will never come; indirectly pointing to how irrelevant we are and by implication have relegated us to the background.
If rescuing our nation from this strong hold is paramount then we have only one option; we must build our capacity to a level where we cannot be displaced.

We must work to take back our nation!

I know it’s in ruin; yes, the society is a wreck; the economy is fast deteriorating, the banking sector is a disaster, the roads are in shambles but we have to take back our nation.
The nation might be disjointed, dislocated and discombobulated but we have to take it back!

We cannot afford to be spectators and onlookers anymore; we must do what it takes. The spectator profession and that of the onlookers and the bystanders are unpaid employments we must resign from and never return. Haven’t you realized that it cost more to be a spectator? In a football stadium you pay to be a spectator and at the end of the day the participants take the trophy and are rewarded with your money. Participation in nation building and social restructuring are professions we must take up by default if we must take our nation back.

Also, we must not contribute to the ruin and decay in the nation, we must not join them because the destiny of this nation lies in our hands and we cannot afford to toy with the lives of men. If we decide to join them we mortgage the lives of our children and quite frankly there will be no nation that our children can call theirs.

Youths, we are very significant at this moment in time because we alone can determine the future of this nation- do we want a standing nation in the next 50 years or no nation at all? We must hand over an organized nation to the generation after ours. We must relief our children from the duty of having to rebuild a dead nation. Where our generation is that of builders, theirs must be that of manager administrators. They must inherit an organized, structured and systemized nation to manage.
We must wake up to our responsibility as builders because God always sends the deliverer a people need per time. Literally, the deliverance of today is not that of leaving Egypt for Canaan or crossing the red sea which God sent Moses to do. It is not that of prophecy which He ordained Jeremiah for; the deliverance of today is that of nation building; somewhat like Nehemiah’s mission to Jerusalem.
The deliverance you’ve been praying for is in you! You are the deliverer! We must take back our nation. We must be involved in national development and societal transformation.

It is your passion for a nation that will determine your position in that nation.

Nehemiah’s passion for Jerusalem led to the king giving him letters to the governors for his safe passage and for all he’ll require for his building project. The king also gave him a royal escort. Nehemiah was granted diplomatic immunity. Psalm 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee”. Ladies and gentlemen, your prosperity and security in any nation is tied to your love for that nation.

Practical steps we must start taking.
• We must strive for excellence because excellence sells. The world always moves towards the direction of excellence. The world will always go for excellence.

• Be value driven. Don’t just be a consumer but seek to contribute and add value wherever you are.

• Always improve yourself. Build your capacity. Seek to always advance. Forbid stagnation and hate mediocrity. Only people that build capacity will be relevant in the New Nigeria.

Today, I’m not asking you to challenge your governor or local government chairman but to challenge yourself. We must use a change of approach to end the reproach. We must challenge ourselves to become the best in what we do and where we are because it is people that make up a nation and better people can only make a better nation. We must take the lead in our fields and make ourselves too relevant to be ignored. Become a leading leader.

Joseph was too good in dream interpretation that he was appointed prime minister.
Daniel was too good in administration that four different kings required him to remain in office.
David the Shepherd boy over sheep became the shepherd king over Israel.
Don’t wait for tomorrow; be a Leader today.
Let’s take our nation back!