THE ROUTE TO CHANGE: INTRODUCTION

According to some scholars, analyst, and the citizens, Nigeria was on the brink of destruction under the leadership of the previous administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, even though some of the citizens (mostly his supporters), were still in support of his administration. The country was faced with a lot of challenges, even though these challenges did not start under his administration, but some scholars, analyst, and the populace believed it came into limelight under the previous government administration. Some of these challenges were; high rate of unemployment, indiscipline among government officials, corruption, insecurity most especially in the north eastern region of the nation due to the Boko Haram Insurgency, kidnapping, dwindling economy such as the devaluation of the nation’s currency i.e. naira, oil theft in the south. All of these cumulated into disbelief from the citizens that voted for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2010 general elections. The citizens of the nation lost faith in the man they once thought was the type of leader they wanted, a man they thought would understand the pain of the citizens because of his background. The people of the nation were happy, hopeful, their expectations were high, even parents that gave birth, were naming their children Goodluck at the time of Dr Goodluck emergence.

However, after more than two years of his leadership, the citizens started clamouring for change, they were embittered about what the past years of his leadership has offered, while some were happy due to some of his achievement, but his achievements could not be compared to his fallings most especially because of the Boko Haram insurgence, some of his followers saw a better route towards development either for personal interest or of the country in the opposition party All Progressive Congress (APC), therefore they decided to revolutionize and choose the opposition party, while some still had faith in former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The citizens of the nation wanted to take a new route towards change, which made them go for another political party in the country. Some will say powerful individuals were the main catalyst in the change, while some will say it was the citizens of the nation’s vote that brought about the change in the seat of power in the country. The campaign period came and went, elections came around, and after the casting of vote by the citizens, for the first time in the history of the country a sitting President lost an election. It was the beginning of a new era for the country. The country decided to take another route to change, since the old route has only given the same result. There is a proverb that says when you do something the same way repeatedly, you continue to obtain similar outcome. Months have gone under the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the citizens are still waiting for his administration to hit top gear.

However, this is not about the success, failure of the past or the present administration, nevertheless it is a writing on the route to change. Change is very significant, a lot of people have given change different meanings and definition, nevertheless I will say that “change is correcting the irregularities of the past, making the present pleasurable and the future worth dreaming of”. To be able to bring about change, there are different routes or means towards this end which can be short or long. Be it short or long, it will still end up in change. Individuals, groups, companies, associations, nations and even continents has gone through one of this route to change their situation from deteriorating further below acceptable global standard.

Furthermore, some have gone through the short route to change either by deciding to collect loans from international organisations or seek foreign aids , or even collect loans from some of the first world countries. Sometimes this foreign assistance later turn into huge debts for the receiving end e.g. Greece. Some of these countries seek foreign assistance in order to increase the standard of living of his citizens, provide for the people what Aristotle called “Good Life”. Meanwhile, some other countries can decide to go ahead with the long route to change by improving his own resources, use his human resources properly, and improve his educational system, and if such country is as blessed as Nigeria will decide to diversify his economy.

EREKATA FAMOUS

A Reason for Optimism

Unfortunately, the benefit of the small beginning is often lost on us when we face the possibility of embarking on a new dream. The effort it would take to pursue it seems massive; we're overwhelmed with the impossibility of it all. There seems to be little or nothing we can do to move forward.

To the eyes of faith, though, there is a world of difference between "little" and "nothing." Often there is something we can do--some obvious first step we could take. This may be exactly what is needed to put the wheels of faith in motion.

For one thing, we shouldn't underestimate the value of taking any initial step toward a goal has upon us psychologically. Suddenly our psyche is committed, and we become more alert to opportunities that will move us toward our dream. Others become more aware of our intentions as well and are more likely to try to help us.

Yet the spiritual aspect of taking the first step is even more important. The seemingly insignificant small beginning often gets much closer to the heart of the biblical idea of going forward in faith than we realize.

From Little Acorns . . .

We don't usually think of it this way. The very notion of moving out in faith seems to imply taking a bold, extravagant step of some sort. We quickly think of the biblical prototypes: Moses parting the Red Sea, Joshua leading the Israelites to demolish the wall of Jericho with a shout, David Marshaling his troops for battle, Gideon confronting the indomitable Midianite army with only three hundred soldiers, Esther going before King Ahasuerus knowing that her life hung in the balance, Peter preaching salvation to the large throng of Jews gathered on the day of Pentecost. It's easy to conclude that if we're not throwing caution to the wind, we're not really taking a step of faith.

Yet Scripture also shows great respect for the small, subtle, unspectacular first step. Consider these examples--

In the parable of the talents Jesus, commended the two servants who invested their money and upbraided the one who failed to give his one coin to the bankers (Mt 25:14-30). Few first steps are less inspiring than putting money in the bank. No one notices, there are no neon lights, and there is no immediate reward for this act of discipline. In fact, the period you must wait for any significant benefit can seem interminable. Yet with time the incremental gains grow larger and larger, and the eventual profit is considerable.

It's striking that Jesus paid such respect to prudent financial investment. Clearly, too, he intended the parable of the talents to be an analogy to other areas of life where we take risks for his sake. It conveys an unmistakable lesson--that we shouldn't neglect the benefit of a small beginning in any venture of faith.

Ruth's marriage to Boaz--one of the most celebrated in Scripture--resulted from a small, ignoble step forward. The marriage became possible because Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, moved from Moab to Bethlehem. The move, detailed in the book of Ruth, was anything but a triumphant one for these two women. Both went to Bethlehem as widows--Naomi returning grief-stricken to her homeland, and Ruth following along out of devotion to Naomi. The move was borne more of necessity than of vibrant vision for the future.

Yet at least they did something to break the inertia of their grief and make a fresh start. In time the move brought benefits that exceeded their wildest expectations. Ruth met Boaz and married him, then gave birth to a son who became an ancestor of David. Naomi also found new life in this family connection, and in the many friendships that opened for her in Bethlehem. An unglamorous step forward brought about a wellspring of life for Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, and countless others who enjoyed the family relationships that resulted in the generations which followed.

 We tend to glamorize the healing incidents in the Gospels and assume that those who came to Jesus for help did so boldly, with sublime confidence that they would be instantly cured. I'm certain, though, that many came in the same ambivalent, tentative spirit in which we often seek medical help today. The woman with the hemorrhage is a case in point (Mark 5:24-34). Terribly concerned that no one would notice her, and uncertain whether approaching Jesus was even appropriate, she decided merely to touch the hem of his garment. That one small gesture not only brought her healing but an effusive compliment from Jesus about her faith (v. 34).

As we see here, Scripture not only describes small first steps which brought results over time, but those which reaped a surprising harvest immediately. Virtually all of the healing miracles mentioned in Scripture fit this pattern. The "miracles of expansion" do as well. These include incidents in the Old and New Testaments where large crowds were fed with a small provision of food (2 Kings 4:42-44; Mk 6:33-44, 8:1-9), and the miraculous provision of oil that saved the widow of Cain from financial ruin (2 Kings 4:1-7). While we cannot presume that our own small first steps will immediately produce such astonishing results, we can never know unless we try.

And in time the results of a meager first effort often do surprise us.

--Blaine Smith ‎