The
Nigerian atmosphere reeks of a sort of self-centeredness. We skip queues
because we believe our time is most valuable, even more valuable than those of
the people who patiently wait on the queue. One person spends taxpayers’ money
with extravagance, while taxpayers slave away trying to pay their taxes. Also,
some of us enjoy amenities that other have paid for, in some cases we may even
misuse them without contributing our quota or managing them properly. All of
these acts of selfishness may cease to exist if we understood the philosophy of
Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is derived from the Zulu phrase "Umuntu
ngununtu ngabantu" which means a person is a person through another
person. Ubuntu is an African philosophy grounded on the fact no human can exist
in isolation.
Desmond tutu, a South African social rights activist and
former Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, said, "A person with Ubuntu is
open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened
that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that
comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished
when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or
oppressed."
The late Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa
also said about the philosophy, “Ubuntu does not mean that people should not
enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order
to enable the community around you to be able to improve?”
As corps members we don’t need to be told we are leaders of tomorrow because we are in fact in the "morrow". We are aware that the future lies in our hands. As a result, the task of ridding our society of its self-centeredness lies with us. In embracing Ubuntu, we revive and embrace our humanity.
The
Koppa's Diary team believes
that “we can be the change we wish to see in the world”. Let us embrace Ubuntu, recognize and respect other
humans irrespective of their different values and beliefs. Remember, we are, because you all are.
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