American University of Nigeria

Love, destiny, and time–any connection? Yes, there is! I have played with these three words in my mind and I have tossed to a position where I can develop an independent ideology. But I’m scared I can’t say it all.

Destiny is what God has ordained for each and every one of us before our existence. I have a reservation for the common saying, “Man is the sole architect of his fortune” because it is incomplete until the role of God and Destiny is acknowledged. The Bible confirms that God is all-knowing; He knows all of us even before we were born. Similarly, the Quran states “…every nation has an appointed time which no man can change.” If you accept this pontification, you won’t have any problems believing God. After all, it was preordained that Judas Iscariot would betray Jesus Christ. By the permissive will of the Almighty God it came to pass!

I have watched closely the politics of America and I understand the role destiny has played. Apart from my obvious stake in American education and how it has shaped me, there are other things that drive my interest in American politics. Most important is the leadership role of America which the whole world cannot ignore. America, no doubt, has been superfluously blessed with leaders that are always of the courage to do what is right. I was one of those that celebrated the nation’s first black President who has now proved to be equal to the task like most of his predecessors – FDR, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton,  Harry Truman, and on the rest.

Just as Mohammed Santali said in his last speech @AUNigeria, “I have given my best and time to service in my notion of destiny and ideas.” Obama too, I believe, has offered the needed leadership to Americans in his notion of ideas and destiny. I have watched with keen interest, Obama’s life journey and his mysterious ascendancy to power, and I believe God is yet to finish with him.

I have seen all the obstacles that were deliberately brought to block him. Detractors even went all the way to turn his greatest accomplishments to his greatest weakness. In an effort to ridicule him, they wrongly attributed the slow pace of US economic development to his vulnerability. Indeed, the challenges they pose for a man of power like him are quite enormous, and better imagined than described. But beyond the present circumstances, I see Obama again.

I see all the mysterious factors that brought Obama to power in 2008 working for him again. I can never underestimate the power of destiny because I have seen it turn things around like magic.

Maybe I should tell you that King George VI of England was never in the line of succession to the throne, and so the emergence of his daughter Queen Elizabeth II was somewhat of a mystery. From all we know about George VI, he was not raised to be reign. But we saw destiny at work when the circumstance that brought him to power profoundly altered the course of royal history in Britain. Elizabeth who emerged by virtue of his father’s ability to seize power has now spent more than 60 years on the throne she was initially never entitled to, by man’s calculation.

Even in our own student government election here at AUN, we have had several presidential elections whose results be alluded to destiny rather than students’ expectations. Destiny has little or nothing to do with personal attribute, merit, strength or qualification.

Still on my topic—Love, Destiny and Time–I have observed with evidences the unfortunate ways people think these days. The phrase “always be yourself”, is as powerful as it is has been seriously misused and misinterpreted. Whenever people see you try out new things, they become really obsessed and they start chanting around like insects that have been secluded for days. They’ll say you are not being yourself. They expect to see you operate on the same tempo and level you were. They are so resilient to change, and their thoughts are driven by dogma. Being rigid, like love of money, is the root of all evil.  Always remember you know yourself better than anyone and you decide which personality to put on. The only thing that has the right to intimidate you in life is your conscience.

I have a very friend who is so queer in nature but is no less an intellectual. We’ve moved mountains together, and he’s someone I know, can excel in anything. He told me early this month that he wants to change certain things about himself. I applauded him afterwards and quickly offered to be part of his rebranding process.  We were both planning how to redefine a personality that would work best for him; little did we know that some people have already observed changes in his lifestyle and they are very uncomfortable with that. They are already used to his “old self”, and to them, it is fun and entertaining. I feel concerned because the pressure is slowly building up. They don’t want to see him change even when circumstances have compelled him to re-brand himself. I am sure this is not the type of scenario Steve Jobs painted when he said, “…always be yourself.” Remember Jobs also said, “…listen to your inner voice and don’t allow the outside chants to kill it.”

One lesson is to know that life is too dynamic and the only thing constant is change. If you have the conviction to change certain things about yourself, it’s fine! The first lifestyle you are known with might as well not be yours. That you are known with it for long does not mean it is right for you. You may be doing the wrong thing for a long time.

If you don’t lay your foundation early in life, you can still lay it afterwards but of course with more effort and danger!

Destiny rules!

@dotmantek

The world’s greatest asset is love! But the world of love is facing attrition with several forces including hatred, greed, deceit, violence, sentiment and so on — Adedotun Ogundare