COMMUNITY SPIRIT

A Moral Regeneration

By WPPraise
Onagbe.

“Community spirit finds expression in individual or group activities in which members of a community choose to engage for the benefit of that community. These activities may be locally organised, or informal and spontaneous.

According to Amitai Etzioni, community spirit is a unity of people in society who uphold and share similar values and resources. It is a prerequisite for community spirit that individuals are willing to a degree to sacrifice their own interests for the good of the community. Community spirit is associated with voluntary work, favours and gestures of goodwill by residents and local businesses. A dictionary definition of "community spirit" is "willingness and desire to participate in activities that promote a community".

I've been pondering on the said subject at hands for some time now, praying for divine guidance to deliver a clear message on the matter at hand, without antagonizing the antagonist but to provocateur a positive discussion and a moral regeneration. It’s a subject that I've table before my family too that I felt inspired to bring to ESAN Community and their admirer. The said subject is common hindrances to progressive ways among our people, a national problem that’s needs remedy.

Yesterday beget today and today beget tomorrow. Whatever you see in existence tomorrow depend on what is taking place TODAY.

Therefore, how did you get to today? If you have no idea of how you arrived at today then you don’t know where you are going. If you don’t know where you’re going you are prone to every doctrine, driving by every winds – you go wherever it leads you. You just cannot live like that and expect victories living. If gold or precious stones are common like sand there will not be much value for them. Until you make yourself valuable you can’t place a hectic prize on your wares. Men of skills attract men of substance. If you can’t attract men and women of substance is because you lack the right skill and character.

Height and muscles, certificates is not the ultimate definition of the worth of a real man. That, combine with virtues – personal principles raises men and women up from the dust and makes them honourable. Instead of living in other people’s shadow we should endeavour to find our true self, shine and let our work be a reflection of our true worth.

Until we all identify and improve on our faulty parts don't expect the body to be whole.

For us to mend broken fences we should first seeks for the main cause that make the fence fall in the first place. For us to deal with LACK and NEEDS - reduce poverty we must seek the source that create those lacks, needs and poverty.

Is it lack of

· Unemployment

· Is it ineffective application of one’s mental faculties

· Or plain laziness

“A Youngman need not to be afraid of the future except he chooses to be indolent and not to apply his brain correctly.” Yea, idle hands leads to scarcity. Proverbs 6:10-11. But until you are ready to confront your fear you won't gain major victory. Until you are ready to confront your weakness, don’t expect meaningful progress and improvement. Proverbs 9:7-12

· You owe it to yourself to apply all your mental faculties in pursuit of happiness.

· It’s your responsibility to make good with your life.

· It’s your responsibility to light the coal and boil the water.

· It’s your responsibility to plough the land and nurture your dream until your seeds are mature for harvest. Nobody can do for you what only you can do for yourself. God is not in the business of doing things for you, that you can do for yourself. Many of our “prayers for Nigeria” fall into this category.

You won't be free by embracing deceitfulness, laziness, dependency, incompetency, or making excuses, "nobody to help me". Until you help yourself nobody can help you. “Heaven help those who help themselves.” Benjamin Franklin. You are the handicap you must face. You must know what you want in live and be ready to pay the price to obtain the prize. If there’s short cut to success everybody will be wealthy and riches will be worthless. What is common has no value. Sense is not common.

Use Privilege To Empower Yourself Not To Abuse The Privilege

Instead of strengthening community spirit, today generation are actually abusing - destroying community spirit. It takes us to help us. We must build on what makes us strong and discard what makes us weak. We must resolve to work and fight for what is right and resist every attempt to divide and rule and weaken our bond.

Often times than not what religious fanatics call generational curses are simply fault line - a repetition of mistakes, ideas and method that never work that folks continue to repeat, recurrence of past issues, mistakes – problems that was sweep under the carpet that continue to resurface. Until we deal with the root source of our problems there will continue to be a manifestation of a bigger problems. Those who supplicate, “God, take away my problems” should understand its only death that separate mortals from problems. It is only in the grave there are no needs. Wherever there are needs there is bound to be numerous problems. Moreover, where there is a need there is provisions. Because “Where there is a will there is a way”.

· Deal with the root source of your family problems.

You will be amazed the root source of divisions in your family is the ABUSE OF SENIORITY POSITION. That's the cause of your family divisions and disorganization. Some people can’t lead but by the reason of them been the first born in their family, they think is their entitlement to lead their family yet they lack the criteria that makes a genuine leader. Leaders are not born they are made.

· They are spreading divisions among siblings. As such they let them self-down and lose their respect.

· Genuine leadership is not about position. It’s what you do with the position that matter. Duty before age.

· Of course, leadership is not a seat of comfort of abuse but it’s discharging responsibility and living up to responsibility. Folks won’t respect you because of your age. No. they will only respect you because you respect yourself. Respect is not by force. We must earn respect. Whatever you earn is more valuable than what you obtain forcefully.

· We all know in Nigeria leadership position has been abused. Because there is a wrong understanding of the true meaning of leadership in our country. This ought not to be so.

· You can be wise and not be old and you can be old not and be wise. Wisdom and understanding is not the privilege of the rich it comes from Osanobua – God. It is what money cannot buy that when you find it, you will have everything.

· IF THE PERSON THAT GIVES YOU MONEY is the only person you love, and respect, speak to in your family, those who don't have money to give, you look down on them and speak negative of them you are not genuine.

· IF YOU RESENT YOUR BROTHER, SISTER OR RELATIVES because God has elevated and using them to bring resources and development into the family, your love is not genuine and you’re not a progressive person. Remember, you can’t put a good man down.

Those who are not grace to do such obligation should not resent those who do or try to glory where others have laboured. Let us learn to celebrate excellence and resist mediocrity, clap for those who are rising so others can clap for us when we rise.

Let us find who are, what we love doing best, and be star there. Every man and woman has their stage to occupy act and play and be a star in their stage. Until you occupied your stage, it’ll remain vacant. The stage is big enough to contain us all. Let us endeavours to live our lives purposefully. If we fully depend on Osanobua – God he will grace us to fulfil our collective dream.

· UNTIL YOU GET ORGANIZE YOUR REALITY WILL NEVER CHANGE.

Let us discourage and stop altitude of consumption. Give me money today, you get it spent it, two months down the line; you come back asking for another money. The day the brother or sister doesn’t have to give we label them as bad person- forgets all they have given before. Hence, we must root this out of our hearts and family. Let us hold our people accountable and discourage this behaviour because:

1. It creates animosity, tension and drives potential investors away from human capital development.

2. It discourages those with resources to give and invest in meaningful development because the motive of asking is wrong, is based on consumption instead of production.

3. It builds a wall and fences instead of merging bridges.

Consumption is not sustainable because you can't donate a people out of poverty. PRODUCTION, INDUSTRY leads to greater prosperity. That's what we all must encourage and pursue. The pursuit of happiness is everyone civil right but it comes with a great prize.

Friends, let us examine ourselves, if we’re serious about leaving an honourable legacy we must address this issues. Let us channel our energy in encouraging one another in righteous endeavours, channel our resources, and time establishing our self in a nation that is paused to become the industrial hub of Africa, and let’s not be distracted by Yoruba, Igbo Hausa cat and dog tribal fight.

· Until we organize the family - a nation don't expect meaning change or development. Unorganized people breed and nurture mediocrity.

· Mediocrity is the enemy of excellence.

· Mediocrity says; if you can’t beat them join them. But the extraordinary and higher life says if you can't beat them change them. If your friends aren’t inspiring you to be the best change your friends. God did not fashion you to be a mediocre, busy bodies and spreading petty jealous are low live.

We must improve on what is working and discard whatever is not working.

For there to be meaning development, we must be willing to confront our fear, look our self in the mirror and deal with our pride, remove the log in our eyes first before looking at other people’s eyes and address serious issues. Sweeping matter under the carpet thinking it will just go away is an illusion, unrealistic state of mind breeds false hood. There can never be a change or development except you and I wake up and form that change. That's the truth.

There’s so much indiscipline, anarchy and chaos in Nigeria, abnormality has been accepted as normal. We must dredge the river so the water can flow freely.

· A man must do what he has to do to make an honest living. Because, “Truth create wealth lies destroy it.” Suze Orman. Lies retrogress but truth elevates.

· The end of dishonest gain is woe.

· No mortal built destiny on lies and expect honourable exist. Rather, truth will laud your endeavours than jeer at your history.

We have a culture of sweeping issues under the carpet, hoping it will just go away. It keeps resurfacing and becomes the norm and creates bigger problems. That's why in our nation there’s so much:

· Abnormalities

· Indiscipline without proper structures

· Unrealistic expectations that breed falsehood

· Religious fanaticism perpetuated by fake pastors, prophets, imams and their fake – kalokalo doctrine– “give god a dollar get 10 dollar.” Lazy pastors parading themselves as holy men and women. 2 Timothy 3.

· Places of worship where men of god accept brides from corrupt politicians and sings their praises from the pulpit.

Unnecessary binding and losing, chasing Satan from pillar to post, yet situation remains the same. It’s only in Nigeria chicken once wear suit, him don be pastor be dat. It’s a pathetic situation that needs urgent cleansing. Whereas, we need to be organized and sanitized disorganized system, confront our fears which are orchestrated by superstitions, which work against genuine principles of true success and development.

Most Nigerians are very religious but spiritually bankrupt.

Over spiritualization leads to mental fatigue and handicap, laziness and physical deformities, mental reluctance and spiritual bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, religion is madness of the highest order. Men are naturally mad on the subject of religion, and “the revival, restore them rather than make them mad.” Charles Finney. Until there is an organized structures there will never be meaningful developments. Is it not FOUNDATION and PILLARS that holds a house together?

In respect to enhancing community spirit, every effort should be made to check and address issues than bottling them up on our minds. Until we purge our minds and hearts from negativity, unacceptable behaviours, incompetency, tribal prejudices, unorganized ways, lack of discipline, abuse of community spirit, idleness, thinking as a result of been part of a family everyone owe you – dependency spirit, don't expect outright victory. Nobody owns anyone anything except love first.

The mind is the vehicle that drives our lives.

Whatever is embellishing in our mind determines what we become. Those who plant idleness will reap scarcity and hunger. Those who invest their time, love industry and frugality reap abundances of resources. Idleness is not a friend of success but labour industry certainly is. Proverbs 6:6-11.

We must not be afraid to address or speak out against wrongs.

· No wrong will address itself except we address it. Problems won't solve it except we confront it head on and find solution.

· No nation will build itself except we built it.

· No family will organise itself except the members of that family members look themselves in the mirror of their hearts, get rid of pride, envy and jealousy, confront wrongs, unacceptable behaviours then chat and embrace progressives ways.

Now that the boat has finally landed at shore, let dig deep into the matter at hand.

Community Spirit is to:

1) Help one another grow and prosper together and strengthen and built community bond. It’s not to take advantage of people benevolent heart.

2) LET US STOP THE ABUSE OF FAMILY MEMBERS.

Majority of you reading this piece has one or two member in the Diaspora. Many Nigerians in the Diaspora are victim of family abuses at home. Money does not grow on trees in Europe or America. Even if, is not everyday trees bears fruit. Folks at home should be complimenting the effort of family members in the Diaspora. Your family member ship you goods to sale and return the money to him or her for reinvestment, you sols the goods, pocket the money. They come home to Nigeria set up business; put you in charge to manage the business, you run the business down. Money is sent to you to built a house, you use the money to marry a second wife – build your own house and keep sending your family member a photos of house that does not exist, the day he returns home to Nigeria, lo and behold, he realized he has been dumped. No home exists in his or her name.

They ship you truck for transport business you run the business down. When the labourer demands for accounts, he or she is called names and abused. Many of you who are guilty of this evil deed need to pay restitution.

· Because you are the obstacle standing in the way of what God wants to do in your family.

· Stop cursing the devil because you are the devil in the house.

· You are the enemy of progress in the house.

· You are the source of hindrance to what God wants to do in your family. You are the one standing in the way of prosperity and peace in your family.

If you are reading this piece right now and guilty of this, you need to make restitution because you have a cloud of uncertainties hanging over your destiny, many of you need to make restitutions to your family members and friends you have stolen from.

The abuse of community spirit is so common in Nigeria. We need to make concerted effort to correct it so the water can freely.

Community spirit is to help built together in genuineness of heart, that’s community spirit.

3) Community Spirit is what Europeans copy from Africa and called it charity- NGO (Non-Governmental organization or Not for Profit Organisation)

4) The main purpose is to work for collective progress for all. With integrity transparency and accountability. It is not to take advantage of anyone but to help the disadvantage and when the disadvantage become stable he or she can also contribute to meet needs in the community.

How To caught the abuse of COMMUNITY SPIRIT

1) Do good to those who knows the value. When folks get things too cheap they don’t value it. What you get too cheaply you esteem too lightly.

2) Teach the man to fish and stop giving away free fish. You can’t donate a people out of poverty.

3) Resources are scarce. So, encourage industry and frugality. Why should you be funding CONSUMPTION instead of PRODUCTION? We cannot donate a people out of poverty. It’s each family member responsibility to contribute to the family. In a family where one man or woman is rich he or she is poor. The day he is bankrupt, poor he will has nothing to fall back to -nobody to lift him or her up.

In a family where everybody drinks from one well they are not wise. When that well dries up because it will, everybody become thirsty, back to square one. That isn’t right.

You can’t just be giving scarce resource away then you wonder why you look rich but broke.

Every year you got to have a budget. How much you want to spend on charity, in helping people. God wants us to continue to support charity but we must learn to give without getting hurt -allowing folks to take advantage of our kind heart. So do good to those who knows the value. Don’t give because they think you owe them give because they know the value and they are ready to add value to your given. Family members must be hold accountable.

Nigeria will be a great and stable nation in our time. It’s only those who are organized – pushing their plans now, that will reap greater stability, prosperity and successes of a greater stabilized Nigeria.

We must demand hard work, integrity and accountability from our people – those we have assign duties, they should be ready to light the coal and boil the water, industrious, with a clear cut vision –a clear working plan, doing something meaningful with their life’s under any circumstances, and is engaging their mental faculty to get their plan off the ground. We want to see determination, an undying will – hunger to work hard and succeed. If you want to get to the top, you have to outwork everybody else.

We must get organize to be leaders in our field in Nigeria. This will not be given on a platter of gold. There is a price to pay to obtain the prize. Each one of us must be able to define who are by what we do. Not just talking, let your works speaks for you.

Our people need to seat up.

Hence, we must demand accountability from family members, discourage laziness, petty and silly talk, tell each other the truth. It’s time to get organize enhanced and foster relationship that’s genuine and both refreshing to each other. For that to happen we must be willing to address issues, be accountable to each other at all times.

I know many of us are passionate about doing our best now so the next generation can have a more conducive environment, where intellectual capability, skill and talent, hard work - industry and frugality is celebrated and encourage. While idleness, mediocrity, incompetency, envy, and small small talk, petty jealousy is frown at - not allowed in family and our nation.