Who is Nigeria's Savior? We All Are!

Theme: Teamwork
[Naija Mondays Series]

Who is Nigeria’s Savior? We All Are!

When I think of ‘Teamwork’, I think of my intramural soccer team in college, the N4C group, my work group, my support system, and many more basic life dimensions. Basically, almost everything we do relies on some level of teamwork. Tiger Woods plays a so-called individual game, but he has a team in his caddy, his trainers, and his coach. In some sense, even a combination of Tiger and his competitors form a team because that is where we get our entertainment from. I am not sure I want to watch only Tiger Woods swing a golf club for an entire weekend, but add some rivalry, and a bunch of other characters, and you now have an audience. Even the human body functions as a team of parts.

Some people are very impressed with the job Governor Fashola’s administration is doing in Lagos, Nigeria. I hear some people say they are “impressed with the job Fashola is doing.” While this is not a false statement, Fashola cannot get anything accomplished alone! In fact, his most difficult task is to surround himself with people that share his vision and are competent enough to hit their goals.

I joined a team of individuals that started a Foundation to empower indigent youth through education. The group is called Merry Hearts Foundation. I have come to appreciate the importance of teamwork and the need for trust because no one individual can do it all. When a team sets forth to achieve a worthy goal, the results are a joy to watch. While I could probably have helped a few students if I embarked on the journey alone, collectively we have helped over 50 students and orphans, and provided infrastructure worth about $10,000 within 2 years.

When I read through the N4C blogs, I realize that each writer brings a unique style that sort of defines their writing. By combining the different styles, we leverage each other’s strengths and appeal to a broader audience. The N4C group is a lot more than our blog! So even as we strive to accomplish greater things for Nigeria, we will need to leverage the strengths of people other than the group administrators. We need to tap into the ideas, experiences, intellect, courage, network, and personalities of the greater Nigerian community – especially N4C members.

But it is very important to note that the idea of creating a team is a subset of the bigger picture when discussing ‘Teamwork’. More important is the ability to create a functional team that draws on individual strengths to elevate the performance of the team as an entity. In fact, my favorite teams are ones that bring together diversity of ideas, thought, background, experience, skills, approach, and ideologies. Diversity brings forth more holistic results when the diverse team members contribute to the end product because there is less likelihood of pigeon-holing team ideas and actions to restrictive paths. Obviously, this depends on the team dynamics.

This brings me to another important point: selflessness of team members for the greater good. Assume I were elected leader of ‘N’ state and you were elected leader of neighboring ‘M’ state. If your state is prospering and mine is floundering, it is probably easier for you than any other state to provide some level of support because we are part of a neighboring team of states that form a country. Unfortunately, many people will rather beat the other party (or state) down to selfishly benefit their party. The problem arises when you do nothing and my state’s economic turmoil starts affecting the national economy. Imagine bitter, jobless people from my state crossing over into your state and partaking of criminal activities to sustain their families. While no one justifies such, you will probably spend more resources trying to secure your citizens when you could have shown a worthy gesture by providing support. Selflessness also means that the individuals that make up the team do away with their egos/personal agendas and welcome strategies that benefit the team.

When I think of Nigeria, I think of a team of capable and courageous individuals that will stand together to fight the tides of failure, beat down the culture of corruption, and raise the hopes of a nation. Nigeria’s success is not a ‘1-man’ job so do not wait for a savior – it requires a collection of productive individual efforts. I envision a leadership team that is void of ethnic prejudice and embraces a balance that protects the interests of the nation as a whole. I pray for a government that includes people from every corner of Nigeria. How can you design a car for pregnant women without women (preferably women drivers that have been through pregnancy) having an input in the design? How can we resolve the issues of the Niger Delta if we don’t have people in leadership who share the vision of finding a resolution? Imagine going into the Nigerian government and trying to curb corruption all by yourself – it is impossible! You need a team of individuals that share your vision and are up to the task.

We urge you to be ‘functioning’ team members of Nigerians4Change (N4C). We will be rolling out some projects in the near future and your uniqueness is all we seek! Small team member contributions add up to great team successes. We welcome your participation, ideas, and action as we trudge forward as a TEAM of Nigerians (or otherwise) thirsty for groundbreaking successes for the great nation of Nigeria!!!

Humbly written by Tomiwa Igun

Naija Mondays (Theme: Teamwork)

Title: Who Will Bell The Cat?

For about seven weeks, different individuals have written from various perspectives of what being Nigerian entails as well as the outlook of Nigeria from the present political facet, to what we hope it would be. Going back through these passionate and well written opinions and hopes, one major condiment was salient. Everyone in one way or another made mention of this very important attribute, a must have if we look forward to a developed and efficiently habitable Nigeria: Teamwork.

The Merriam Webster’s Dictionary’s definition of the term did do justice to what I was thinking in my head: Work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole. Isn’t that what being a part of building a country that works is all about? This is what N4C is about, and I can just see President Barack Obama’s face as he persistently employed every American to join in the effort to rebuild America. I carry such hope for Nigeria, where the citizens would be apt to asking questions and getting involved with the affairs of the country, where corrupt policies would be thrown out the door for the overall gain of the populace. It doesn’t take just the president or his cabinet to achieve; it takes every Nigerian working in their own small way, targeted at the same goal and purpose; rebuilding Nigeria.

Don’t think I and N4C are being Panglossian in reasoning thus over looking some intricate issues, but we can’t help but be optimistic about Nigeria. And as Benjamin Franklin puts it, we must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately. This is in response to those who believe Nigeria would be better as separate entities and thus do not wish to participate in the progressive development of the country but speak ill of certain units of the country. It’s our duty as a country to work things out together irrespective of our locality and ethnicity.

Vince Lombardi knew a thing or two about the positive outcome of teamwork when he opined that people who work together will win, whether it be against complex defenses, or the problems of modern society. If we all take a stroll down memory lane, we can all attest to the fact that healing Nigeria is fighting against complex defenses and problems of modern society, so do we come together as patriots with a keen sense of duty, or would we let these vicissitudes, tackle us and make us listless? I throw it at us to go back to the tenets of our being Nigerian, back to the days when neighbors helped neighbors and when raising a child was the job of the community. Back to the days when youths respected their elders and would stand up to let an elder seat instead, back to the days when the ratio of WE’s surpassed that of I’s, a great indicator of development. And as was displayed by Prof Chinua Achebe in his classic Things Fall Apart, when the center doesn’t hold anymore, then things begin to fall apart. It becomes imperative we as Nigerians need to come together to work on our country. The proverbial stick of broom when compared with the bunch cannot stand the test of being a cleaning agent, and same goes for us as Nigerians. I cannot do it alone, we need to come together as a whole: The south letting go of their grief with regards to the exploitation of their land and working together with the west while the east and the North can also come together in harmony.

In Closing, I would reiterate the words of Sir Henry Ford: COMING together is the beginning, KEEPING together is progress, and WORKING together is success. That is my dream for us as Nigerians, for our generation. It’s not good enough to talk, it’s not good enough to idealize these things, it’s not enough when we choose to become part of organizations and groups; We need to start COMING,KEEPING and WORKING (DOING) TOGETHER as NIGERIA. The era of the rugged individual is giving way to the era of the team player. Everyone is needed and no problem is insurmountable. With a little courage, teamwork and determination, Nigeria can OVERCOME Anything.

Written by Seleipiri Iboroma Akobo