By Prof. Nathan Protus Uzorma
Boccaccio and Chaucer in their fable on the goose and the horse, narrated that “a goose who was plucking grass upon a common thought about herself, was affronted by a horse who fed near her; and, in hissing accents, thus addressed him: “I am certainly a more noble and perfect animal than you, for the noble range and extent of your faculties is confined to one element. I can walk upon the ground as well as you; I have besides wings, with which I can raise myself in the air; and when I please, I can sport on ponds and lakes, and refresh myself in the cool waters. I enjoy the different powers of a bird, a fish and a quadruped”.
The horse, snorting somewhat disdainfully, replied: “It is true you inhabit three elements, but you make no very distinguished figure in anyone of them. You fly indeed; but your flight is so heavy and clumsy, that you have no right to put yourself on a level with a lark or the swallow. You can swim on the surface of the waters, but you cannot live in them as fishes do; you cannot find your food in that element, nor glide smoothly along the bottom of the waves. And when you walk, or rather waddle, upon the ground, with your broad feet and your long neck stretched out, hissing at everyone who passes by, you bring yourself the derision of all beholders. I confess that I am only formed to move upon the ground; but how graceful is my make! How well turned my limbs! How highly finished my whole body! How great my strength! How astonishing my speed! I had much rather be confirmed to one element, and be admired in that, than be a goose in all!”
This fable teaches the need of concentration of individual human powers to singular usage that makes for fame and outright success, and could be applied to the sitz in leben (situations of living) and struggle for self-subsistence by the Imo youths in the face of contemporary realities facing them. The youths of Imo State could be likened to the goose in this fable. Admired by all, seen in all the three spheres or elements of inhabitations, the youths of our present day Imo State simulate this triadic focused goose that finds itself adaptable in the air, waters and land, but make no distinguished figure in any of them. These three elements make the today Imo youths see and believe themselves as leaders of tomorrow, viable adults for today’s leadership-pilot as well as leaders already groomed yesterday. In each of these domains of temporality, perceptual self-subsistent manners and reality of the youths’ indecisiveness cum lack of concentration on which to cling and build a consolidated existence that corresponds with their desires and aspirations are lacking and swing in the air due to concentration and being focally discerning.
Like the goose that walks on the ground, swims in the waters and fly in the air, which typifies roaming, the Imo youths wander away from the concentration of self-worth, powers and the putting of these to definite beneficial usages. They also wander away from concentration on self-affirmations on the truth of the youths’ qualities of good leadership and responsibilities-bearing in the society, to another affirmation on their immediate monetary needs cum gratifications, which make them ever appendages to the elderly-regulars in the State leadership positions and responsibility-adults who see them always as live-dependent adults.
Similarly, like the goose that swims, the Imo youths struggle individually to push themselves forward and on motion-lane of the free waters and finally could not, because their singularity, which like the goose’s feathers, impedes on the accomplishment and achievement of the desired swift transcendental mobility that is obviously more feasible when united, in plurality and synergised.
Certainly, the goose that enjoys the flight powers of a bird, swimming swiftness of a fish and the fast motions of the quadruped animals, lacked absolute mastering and concentration of its entire mobile lifestyle and skills, powers and adaptation models. Like the rolling stone that gathers nothing, the youths, out of ignorance, frustration and the desperation to make it by all means and make ends meet, derail from synergising their entire mobile powers to a consolidated singular mode, and thus have permanent subsistent mode of mobility and self-subsistent, which certainly must see the achievement of their desired aims a possible feat.
This manner of self-perception nonetheless, can be adjusted, and the frustrations turned off. This is possible by a singularised synergised front, in opinion, philosophy and vision. The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, once noted that to destroy essence, one has to posit existence, and to extinguish rationality, one must posit empirical realities. The only means to achieve this is for the entire Imo youths, (irrespective of political parties’ affiliations, dependent existence upon leadership-regulars that give them peanuts at every electoral epoch, and the immediate answers that their #5,000 mobilisation for their services to henchmen jobs, might fetch them till next four years), to come together in perfect unity, synergise their resources and have concentrated focus and target on actions that must have been ratiocinated to be one that will culminate in the absolute and desired emancipation of the generality of Imo youths.
The February general elections are fast at hand, almost all the political parties have planned various ways of making it to the desired seats, using the youths for a calculated time, and dumping them immediately after being sworn into offices. There is a common Igbo rhetorical question that asks how many times will one kill a lion before he answers a name from his heroic adventures? The great Athenian moralist, Socrates, once urged man to “know thyself.” This self knowledge entails a constant self-evaluation and decision making that must be accompanied by the Kierkegaardian leap of faith.
Unless one identifies himself and lets the society know where he is and what he is able, none certainly will pre-empt his existence, location and abilities. The Imo youths need to come together under one frontline and make a remarkable societal revolution that will certainly let the society know and be convinced of their determinateness to lead the society and thus transform it to greater heights. Imo youths need not be as versatile as the goose in the three arenas of motion making no very distinguished figure in anyone of them, but ever on the surface of living and thus enjoy peripheral gratifications till they age and pass youthful ages.
Desperation, ignorance, as well as frustrations have in the past sent many viable, well trained and educated youths to their early graves where they were fighting for their paid-masters to win elections that they certainly forgot their efforts as soon as they were sworn in. The only means for the youths to achieve their aim and therein destroy the problems of unemployment in the State, is to take the bull by the horn and reject any form of sensual and temporal gratifications from the regular and live-leaders, and thus demand their stake from which every political party that comes out for the 2015 gubernatorial elections, and strive to achieve these stakes for the good of the entire Imo youths and the survival of the up-coming youths after them.
Frustration like fear makes even a genius to be senseless. I marvel that some politician who few weeks ago declared that they have nothing to bargain with youths about leadership in sundry dimensions in the State, have finally decided to form coalitions for youths at their senatorial zones and constituencies; issuing them forms to fill for empowerment that never came since four years they have been on seat. It is obvious that anyone who has no good wishes or plans for the other cannot make useful budgets than peremptorily gratifying schemes that will only lure the youths like a bet to a fish and therein trap them to work for them and be dumped later. My dear youths, as your sincere Mayor, I make bold to tell you as Uche Ogbuagu the comedian would say in whisper- “Ukochukwu, na dey same people.” Be wise and have focus, synergise and come together under one front to win 2015 February elections and be assured of the perfect accomplishment of your dreams in life.
By Prof. Nathan Protus Uzorma. The Reformer and Mayor of Imo youths.