VALUING OUR DIFFERENCES

It was a difficult time in Israel. The people had sinned and turned away from God. As a consequence the enemy conquered and plundered the people at will and so they cried to God for help. For fear of the enemy, men like Gideon would hide [in a winepress in the rocks] to thresh the few grains they managed to stow away. The nation was deeply humiliated and Gideon had little or no self esteem. Then one day an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and called him a “mighty man of valour.” [Judges 6]

It’s amazing the way God and Man see things so differently. God, who is omniscient, saw a mighty man of valour, and this aptly describes the man that Gideon evolved to be.

Coming home to Nigeria, we have some lessons to learn from this story. It is usual to note our weaknesses and enumerate them so eloquently in Nigeria. To write ourselves off, belittle our successes is a regular pastime in this country. We rarely recognise the hardworking beautiful people who are holding up the flag. The potentials for greatness that lies in our people and the nation do not often feature in our conversations. Neither have we valued the diversity of tribes, culture, religion, and people in Nigeria, as in very few other countries of the world. Could this be a major reason why we are seeing so little progress?

The diversity of tribes, culture, religion, and people in the hands of visionless leaders has the cause for suspicions, divisions, bloodshed and mindless clamouring for shares of the national cake.  The situation has weakened the structure of the state, promoted mediocrity and injustice, and greatly limited our capacity to fulfil destiny. But this same diversity or so called differences can in the hands of a great leader galvanise the nation to greatness.

I invite us to stop and reflect for a moment in an increasing globalised world, can the north really say to the south I don’t need you or vice versa? Can Muslims businesses rely only on the patronage of Muslims or Christian businesses thrive only on the patronage of Christians? Can we possible view our diversity rather as a blessing and a competitive advantage today and so seek to leverage on the resources of each region? When we recognise that every person is created in God’s image and in His likeness and has been imbued with innate abilities and uniqueness, we will begin to value people regardless of their sex, tribe, religion, age, and status.

I am pretty certain that a leader who receives counsel on the platform of ethnicity or religiosity is soon bereft of life changing ideas. Similarly any organisation would soon grow stale and weak where the chief executive for personal reasons selectively taps the knowledge  and resources of only a few chosen members or staff. Either way everyone loses.

With such dynamic, intelligent, awesome, resourceful people and enormous resources east, west, north and south, this blessed land cries for a leader who sees the big picture and can mobilise the people to do same.
Enough of the enumeration and analysis of our problems and weaknesses- great nations have them too. It is time to move forward. And all that we need to fulfil our destiny as a leading nation in the world already exists within us. It is time to let each one emerge. The time is now to place appropriate value on every land area, people, resources, knowledge, skills and aptitudes. When we recognise and value our differences as assets, we give everyone the space to breathe and to excel by developing their resources and natural gifting. Perhaps then, so much of our individual and communal resources will no longer lie waste. When the mighty men of valour wake up, then a country blessed with so much sunlight will no longer sleep in darkness nor run businesses on generators. Then the children will no longer go to bed hungry in a land so vast and fertile. Then in Nigeria as in other climes, ideas will rule our land. It is possible.