By Steve Obum Orajiaku
‘Necessity is the mother of invention.’ Plato
“There is a whole generation of young people who are faced with these so called ‘jobless recovery.’ Necessity is the mother of invention. They are all around the world, creating new companies.” Don Tapscott
“He becomes poor that deals with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Proverbs 10 verse 4
Several rejoinders have trailed this phenomenal truism viz ‘necessity is the mother of invention,’ first postulated by Plato and then Aristotle. While many of the responses try to corroborate the maxim, only few controvertes it. Be that as it may, it stands unwaveringly certain that roughly, however, the primary driving force for most new inventions is a need. If you match this fact of life (qu’est-ce qu’un fait de vie) with another powerful quote that is ‘For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’ by Newton third law of course, you will reason with the intellectuals and be convinced yourself that the law of cause and effect is eternally true. I wish my fellow youths especially of Nigeria stock can lend me their ears in this eye opening and awakening work, briefly. But this has not discriminated against just anyone, older or younger, from deriving life changing tips contents in this rare column. While there are consuming plagues without, shall we agree herein to educate, equip and adequately prepare ourselves, that we step outside with confidence and temerity which the prevailing circumstances deserve and achieve sterling exploits. Let us conquer instead of cowering before confusing situations. Let’s be of good sheer and be courageous but never give in to fainted hearts and self pity syndrome. You are highly welcome onboard.
Whenever you pose for a picture or video coverage, please remember that you are savouring the rewards of another person’s sleepless nights and studious years… Whenever you cheat time flying the length and breadth of the global space and enjoying the state of the art facilities onboard aircrafts within a grossly limited real time in hours of what should have consumed you months if not years in the primordial times… Whenever you effect the utility of the modern time amenities which are compatible with convenience and indeed represent as tangible manifestations the creative capacities of your fellow human inventors of the years past, remember and please remember that the mutual posterity are yearning for your quota contributions to repeat the circle by doing to your productions in the future what you are doing to others in the now.
What have the indolent ones profited by resorting to complain, trading blames for their misfortunes on other persons, castigating and disparaging the political juggernauts for their miseries, alluding their inabilities and inabilities to some esoteric relatives or neighbors; well, certainly they benefit emptiness of the heart and leanness of the soul. While they are busy laboring without remuneration and slicing themselves severely and piteously, the diligent but also resolute ones are equally, by themselves as well smartening things out. Being the attitude of some people to play the second fiddle character and then happily live, sorry exist in apparent squalor themselves and obsequiously dance to the tune of the few wealthy idiots; this is reproachful. I beg you to pocket sharp criticism for the blunt use of the word IDIOT as you attend to this nominal defense. How best may one define the callous person who takes pleasure in the suffering of his fellow country people…? Did I hear the faint sound of ‘sadistic.’ Then won’t you permit me to hyperbolize it by saying sadistically stupid. If you have agreed, Sir and Ma or guy, what’s the other word for stupid? You are good at synonyms if you said idiot. There you go again. We have enough supply of them in Nigeria, who are subnormally intelligent and have integrity deficiency written at their rear. This has not said that certain pads of money-have-not-missed-road individuals must not subsist and because although monies found in their pockets and bank accounts flaunts awhile but it hardly endure long. God knows this writer both do admire the responsibly wealthy people (who himself is not of lower status,) rejoice with good success achievers, but…eschews both get-rich-quick motif and disposition and or the derogatory cutting corners inclined multitudes who embraces irregularities.
The good news being that, at such a perilous time like Nigeria is well enmeshed in presently, it provides one that best opportunity to strike a deal with oneself and put your immense untapped potentials to test and emerge with any aspect of the situational remedy. The patronage will be phenomenally overwhelming, now. Join hands with the positive minded solution providers to make our world a safe and secure, nice, an awesome place to live in, period. Nobody is paying you salary for castigating, disparaging, complaining, run of the mill criticism, which many have turned to their default preoccupation. ‘Don’t follow the multitude to do evil’ sternly warns the scriptures. Engaging in the mediocres’ dubious deals (otherwise called the fast lane throng), such as drug peddling or smuggling, Yahoo Yahoo Boys; not to talk of the recent unnecessary evil but money spinning dastardly act of kidnapping, banditry, etc. Abhor these and embrace legitimately lucrative ventures.
Life will remember you for good; remunerate you for your kind gestures and dignifying labours; folks will accost you for details on how to apply your products to benefit their pathetic conditions, and by implications your bank account balances shall wear the multiple folds digits, without controversy. ‘The blessing of the Lord makes rich and it adds no sorrow.’ Then and again ‘… sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’ Copious scriptural passages there are to do justice to this column but for fear of sounding or appearing religious, it must be secularly addressed with a brief detour on infallible relevant entrenched words of truth. Buttressing one of the earlier quoted dictum about equal and opposite response contingent upon particular action, Proverb chapter 10 verse 6 clarifies things when it says that ‘Blessings crown the head of the righteous (diligent), but violence overwhelms the mouth (and habitations) of the wicked.’ The rewards of maintaining a proper conversation which entails living a fruitful and meaningful life, are amazingly great and tremendous. It will amount to some sort of verbiage overemphasizing on this topic without widening it beyond as I try to conclude.
The conception of the creative capabilities of the average human being is a powerful wake up call to the sleeping giants to rise to their responsibilities. The readily pertinent Igbo adage here is “okokporo mechaa, ya na ntu ututu ya’ meaning whenever the chronic bachelor wakes from his slumbering, his home chores of clearing the hearth cooking mess still awaits him. And ‘omataa ma gboo’ a flowing saying that agrees that the moment of your great awakening (wake up) and realization is your actual morning, speaks volumes of the urgent requirement for more labourers into the vineyard of emancipation of Nigeria from the shackles of modern slavery.
All living beings have their innate qualities and potentials which the insatiable human wants long for to be explored. Stop depriving us of your inherent gifts and wherewithal. Harness your hidden treasures and appreciate the services it renders to mankind. Be good with your hands and savour the salutary socour (and not scourge) it affords the societal needs. You are a witness to the fact that this is not about being the despair of any citizen of Nigeria but a powerful duty call to all and sundry. So shall we arise and… fill the gap indeed and not mere words. Godspeed follow you.
Steve Obum Orajiaku.
Freelance Journalist and Social Activist
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