Greed and materialism are the twin evils that constitute the foundational circumstances of our problems as a nation, not tribe or religion. It was Chief Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo, that succinctly captured the shameful implications of greed and selfish mindset, he had said: “I do not want the children of my drivers to be drivers to my children, neither do I want the children of my cooks to be the cook to my children, nevertheless, I want free education for all” please try and help somebody today nobody knows tomorrow, let us avoid greed. This is the mindset and the real issues that need to be addressed, as a nation at 61.
A nation under God, Nigeria cannot continue to fumble and Wobble, as a poor mindset is a greedy mindset. Greed is the disordered desire for more than is decent or deserved, not for the greater good but for one’s own selfish interest, and at the detriment of others and the society at large. Greed can be for food, money, possessions, power, fame, status, attention, admiration, and sex. Greed is a deadly condition indeed. As a people and a nation, we have continued to be less than decent or unashamedly unconscious of the consequences of greed. It played out very recently at the national level with the ruling elites as the dramatics sponsors. Unfortunately so.
Like most addictions, the exercise of greed creeps up unaware, gains a behavioural hold, a psychological grip, takes possession, it becomes nationalised and exercised in the belief that the behaviour is normative rather than out of control. We should not be greedy and selfish with money. Thankfully, there are Bible verses about the subject line of greedy mindset. Jeremiah 17:11, “Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end, they will be proved to be fools… this is speaking directly to all of us, particularly our ruling elites and the privileged few manipulating the system to their advantage.
On the other hand, the stereotype is highly materialistic people, living in a different world, where their priority is cash, possessions and status…. highly materialistic people believe that owning and buying things are necessary means to achieve important life goals, such as happiness, success and desirability. Simply put, materialism is the importance one places on material possessions. These possessions could be anything, such as clothes, shoes, handbags, cars, electronic equipment and gadgets. Materialism has been shown to be associated with more anxiety, depression and drug abuse.
Similarly, materialism invokes unpleasant emotions, as well as less happiness, life satisfaction, and vitality. Many people in a materialistic society, assume that having material things will make them more classy and earn them a high place in the society. But, this is not so. Material things give only temporary happiness; afterwards, that happiness has no meaning. Our society need not to be more materialistic than it is now. This is the reason why successive governments and their anti grafts multiple agencies have been unable to successfully achieve the desired goal of eliminating corruption in Nigeria for example.
Flowing from the above, and in the spirit of “Truth and Reconciliation as exemplified by our global hero, TATA MADIBA ‘Nelson Madela and in line with the cognitive dissonance to the Mind Restructuring advocacy. It has become imperative that we all work on ourselves, restructure and reposition our beloved country Nigeria by reason of deliberate engagement and structured to deliver a national rebirth as we attain the age of three scores and one. NIGERIA WILL RISE AGAIN.
ARISE ‘O COMPATRIOTS.
Richard Odusanya is a Social Reform Crusader and the convener of AFRICA COVENANT RESCUE INITIATIVE ACRI
