Governor Tunde fashola expressed his frustration at the attitude of the South African government towards Nigeria when he submitted that we(Nigeria) “deserved respect” for the leading role we played in ending the apartheid regime in South Africa. The Governor is an astute man of wisdom and an erudite legal bigwig who many, including myself, have come to respect and love for the good works he has done in Lagos State over the last 6 years or so. But the Governor got it wrong here.
The word “Respect” is defined as a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. It is also known as regard, esteem, reverence, deference and honour.
Respect is not shoveled out the way oil-blocks and contracts are rolled out to cronies in Nigeria. Respect is not free food in a paper plate or a hand-out received on demand. Respect is not a freebie tossed on your laps because you THINK you deserve it, and not made available because you demand it.
Respect is a jewel and a precious stone, it is more precious than silver and costlier than gold. The values of Pearls and diamonds are not comparable to the value of respect. Big Agbada and flowing Babariga doesn't provoke respect. Big talk, haughty swagger, big cars, big castles, and big oil doesn’t provoke respect. Persons in authority who think they are having a field’s day robbing and clubbing their followers into submission may be feared, but not respected.
At one time in Nigeria’s history, we earned respect and many nations accorded us our due respect. But at another time, we auctioned it so cheap on the back of greed, graft, and gluttony. That is where we are now. Respect is earned, and Governor Fashola knows it.
What we deserved from South Africa was a “thank you”, for standing against Apartheid and its machineries, and we’ve had that plenty.
Madiba had thanked us many times; nations all around the world had thanked us many times. We only deserve an appreciation, we have to earn the respect.
When a person starts crying for respect, he has lost it, when a nation starts demanding respect, the nation has lost it.
Nigeria has lost its respect, and it is sad. It is difficult to respect a nation that does not respect itself. A nation where leaders have no respect for the people they lead, where human lives are not deemed precious, where blatant banditry has become the order of the day cannot be respected.
A nation where government resources become personal assets, and cronyism is an open canker worm, cannot be respected. A nation where opposing voices are silenced in cold-blooded massacres, where community leaders are kidnapped for ransoms and young girls are handed out in marriage to Alzheimer-stricken oldies- cannot be respected.
A nation with astounding mind-boggling wealth and yet with an undeserved astounding, mind-boggling heap of ravaging poverty cannot be respected. A nation where senators earn more than leaders of developed countries of the world while workers who make things happen are owed salaries up to 2 years cannot be respected. A nation that jets out its leaders abroad for the treatment of mere migraine because its health care system is a nightmare cannot be respected.
And a nation where our spiritual leaders, the Bishops, Pastors, Overseers, Imams, Alfas and Babalawos cuddle corrupt fellas and hobnob with plunderers of our wealth thereby subtly encouraging them to steal some more, cannot be respected.
That is why we are hated in many nations, and that is why we are not respected. But it is in our hands to turn this around if we summon the will to do it. It can be done!
DR FOLA OJO WRITES IN FROM AMERICA
Hmmmm, bitter truth. This man is a good writer, I amire his write ups.
ReplyDeleteAbeg Fashola package ur manhood(according to Patience) go one side....#Alinko #Gaylord #Yerima #Smallprick #Wanker
DeleteSo its true dat d stanley guy has no brain. Eeyaaa
Delete"DR FOLA OJO WRITES IN FROM AMERICA" the guy writes about Nigeria from a developed nation. Only fools do that, even God that knew everything about the world, came to live in this world to experience it for himself and lead by example
DeleteShut your dumb ass mouth! @wise ass. Dr Ojo is telling the truth, so shut the fuck up and learn, maybe you will understand the reason why Nigeria keep going backwards. Stupid ignorance foo.l
DeleteHmmmmm. Bitter truth.
ReplyDeleteYorubas always cry like kids for respect,its part of them,am not surprised ,its their thing,so ignore Fashola
ReplyDelete@ faceless anonymous, You are one of those bad eggs in Nigeria....you should be thrown into the lagoon. what has tribe got to do with RESPECT?; foolish fool!
DeleteThrowing him into d lagoon is better would av prefer d dessert.. alainironu ara galatia..tribalistic fool..no wonder u r faceless..and u wil remain so sef..mtchw.. #sipsbaron
DeleteI agree with Dr ojo he hs said it all
ReplyDeleteDr Ojo has said it all. God bless you Sir!
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to respect a nation that does not respect it self and you are right Stlla. Just look at how long the ASUU strike has been on! The future leaders of tomorrow not in school while their counterparts in other countries are busy learning and developing. It's really sad!
ReplyDelete*stella
ReplyDeleteFola is right... We can only get the due respect if we are better off than South Africa. N we are not!!!!.
ReplyDeleteHe couldn't have said it any better. We have really lost our respect. The way Nigeria was treated in Mandela memorial ceremony was very shameful. I didn't know we have sink down to that extent. Not a single recognition! We better stop helping all these African countries and channel the energy in building our country. Since helping them to gain some respect isn't working.
ReplyDelete@ifeanyi...GBAM!!!luv ur comment.
Deletecorrect....
ReplyDeleteDr Ojo has said it all; respect is earned and not begged for
ReplyDeletetrue talk
ReplyDeleteStella..dis is painfully true.....I don't see a future for ME in dis country...dis write up got me emotional! And God bless Dr. Fola Ojo for dis. We need more truth doled out.
ReplyDeleteDr fola you have sayed it all, I wish many other Nigerians will speak up like you but its not easy as such cos u live in America were ppl can freely excercise their right but its done like that here unless u r ready to face death or wotever calamity that will befall u if u speak up. With the way I see things I don't think Nigeria will ever deserve respect again rather the situation will worsen more n more.
ReplyDeleteDr. You r om point. 5 gbosa to u. Fashola hope uve not forgotten dat u are
ReplyDeletea leader noy a politician.
God bless the writer, our level of education is madly low that we do not understand some of these basic issues anymore.
ReplyDeleteNigeria cannot get any respect with the kind of people in government, a president with zero appreciation of the signifcance of education in the lives of people.
Sad, very sad.
Sad to say but Nigeria has lost respect all over the world, to gain people's trust won't be easy, still a proud Nigerian tho but i weep for my country.
ReplyDeleteGod bless this writer
ReplyDeleteGod bless this writer
ReplyDeleteThank You Sir!!
ReplyDeleteTell them! Respect is earned!!
Thank God Jona was not even given a chance to talk, He would have read the meaningless jargon written by Reuben Abati anyways!!
As for BRF, I used to be among the people hailing him but not anymore!! We celebrate mediocrity in this nation! Why thank someone for what is rightfully yours? I pay my tax so I expect BASIC amenities which I am not even getting!!!! I cringe when I think about this Nation!!!
SIR. SPOT ON. Until our leaders and we d people decide to change, we will neva be respected. A lot of rubbish is happening in dis Nation and it is high time we decide to CHANGE OUR STORY.
ReplyDeleteSir, SPOT ON. Until our leaders and we d people decide to change, we can never be respected. A lot of rubbish is happening in dis nation and it is high time we decide to CHANGE OUR STORY.
ReplyDeleteI stopped reading because I couldn't understand what am reading.
ReplyDeleteOlodo
DeleteSmh. You are a product of a failed educational system!!
DeleteThats bcos u r a dunce.if na article on bday now u go jump up and start yapping.but to read an intellectual article is a challenge for u.apoda,oponu,olodo
DeleteWell written, so many things for our leaders sorry 'rulers' to ponder upon.
ReplyDeleteTrue talk Dr. .Our leaders need to be overhauled from inside out..weep 4 my country
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm, My thoughts Exactly, Respect is earned , and not bought
ReplyDeleteThank you sir bt sir can you come back home and practice this things you said now?you ran to American and have the basket mouth to talk about respect! Welll sorry you have not earned that sir with all due respect wen Mandela was fighting for his people and writing he did it in SA and he burnt his passport cus he will not leave until things get maybe wen you start living ur lifee like Thhat I respect you say you are better than fashola and you all who have a tap running here on stella,i cal you all hypocrites now u r saying biter truth,weldone sir! What part have you played it's a collective responsibility...I rest ma case me lord
ReplyDeleteNo comma, no full stop! Chei!! And your parents are still wasting money paying school fees...na wa!
DeleteWell said Oluwa Joe. He should come back to Nigeria and see how he can change things for better rather than writing from over sea. Temmy
DeleteOluwa joe, i want to believe u are in d country at d moment, urself and ur entire family, how have u fought for the masses, u just open ur mouth and spill trash, even if the man isnt on the street fighting for u, he still sent in a piece from America, what have u done or u think its all about protests? Better go back to school and learn the use of punctuation marks instead of opening ur gutter of a mouth here
DeleteHope our greedy rulers are reading this, Demons!
ReplyDeleteWell spoken! I have nothing more to add to what Dr. Fola Ojo wrote. We are a shameful nation. Other countries actually sneer at us. Even common India with their backward fetish ways believe they are superior to Nigerians. Our citizens are languishing in jails all over the world and Nigerian embassies are doing absolutely nothing to help their case and yet we are demanding for respect. You don't demand for respect, you EARN it! Sometimes you can even earn it so much that you shy away from it and people want to still heap it on you. That is both respect and love. I pray this country retrace her steps. When it happens believe me we would be respected.
ReplyDeleteNigeria's problem is not corruption but that we dont read enough, we donot know our own history and secondly we appreciate mediocres as leaders. Well i will not tell you why i think we deserve their respect. But just like FASH, i am going to tell you why i think they ought to have honourd us in soccer city.
ReplyDelete-the contribution of nigeria freeing both South Africa and Mandela was monumental.
Nigeria played a vital role in the establishment of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid(UNSCAA). This wsas the reason why Nigeria occupied the chair of the committee more than any other country untill it was scrapped.
- Nigeria established the South Africa Relief Fund(SARF) which was funded with deduction from the salary of every Nigerian worker irrespective of rank, both in the public and private sector as well as donations from ordinary Nigerians including STUDENTS!
-Nigeria provided schorlarships for students from South Africa.
-South African freedom fighters whose passports where seized by the Apartheid government were given Nigerian passports for free and so many of them took refuge in Nigeria,
-Whenever South Africa protested against injustice, Nigerian students also left their lecture halls and took to the streets in support and solidarity.
-Nigeria Musicians waxed albums in support of the anti apartheid struggle while Nigeria poets wrote poems to condemn racism in SA.
-Nigeria never let go of any opportunity to denounce apartheid, common wealth Games were boycotted while the assests of British Petroleum(BP) were seized and nationalised
-Nigeria offered military training and support to assist the African National Cpongress in which so many of our brave soldiers lost their lives.
I don't know if we deserve their respect but all i know is that i totally agree with FASH!!!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!
Paragon7ven.
U forgot to add how many yrs ago we did this for SA. Didn't u read abt mandela's interview in 2007 when he said he wasnt happy with nigeria over the way our leaders treat the citizens? He said SA wld forever b grateful for our support n stance in d struggle. To cut d long story short, it's high time we focus on ourselves n build up our economy, so that we can claim our rightful position as d gaint of africa. Until den, forget talks about respect. Cuz we don't deserve it anymore.
DeleteNigeria's problem is not corruption but that we dont read enough, we donot know our own history and secondly we appreciate mediocres as leaders. Well i will not tell you why i think we deserve their respect. But just like FASH, i am going to tell you why i think they ought to have honourd us in soccer city.
ReplyDelete-the contribution of nigeria freeing both South Africa and Mandela was monumental.
Nigeria played a vital role in the establishment of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid(UNSCAA). This wsas the reason why Nigeria occupied the chair of the committee more than any other country untill it was scrapped.
- Nigeria established the South Africa Relief Fund(SARF) which was funded with deduction from the salary of every Nigerian worker irrespective of rank, both in the public and private sector as well as donations from ordinary Nigerians including STUDENTS!
-Nigeria provided schorlarships for students from South Africa.
-South African freedom fighters whose passports where seized by the Apartheid government were given Nigerian passports for free and so many of them took refuge in Nigeria,
-Whenever South Africa protested against injustice, Nigerian students also left their lecture halls and took to the streets in support and solidarity.
-Nigeria Musicians waxed albums in support of the anti apartheid struggle while Nigeria poets wrote poems to condemn racism in SA.
-Nigeria never let go of any opportunity to denounce apartheid, common wealth Games were boycotted while the assests of British Petroleum(BP) were seized and nationalised
-Nigeria offered military training and support to assist the African National Cpongress in which so many of our brave soldiers lost their lives.
I don't know if we deserve their respect but all i know is that i totally agree with FASH!!!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!
Paragon7ven.
Well said.
DeleteWell said.
DeleteDr Fola Ojo i applaud you. You have said it all.
ReplyDeleteWhen a country doesn't respect its citizens, what do you expect?
ReplyDeleteDr unlike everybody singing ur praise, am not impressed. I see the games You are playing here, calling attention to ur self, your previous write up you wanted Jonathan for second term and now you are rubbishing Fashola.
ReplyDeleteWe are not all that foolish or dumb Sir, you are calling attention to your self same way Rubben Abati did before joining the Jonathan govt, so sir we are not impressed. People like you are betrayals of what honours and prestige stands for. We will wake up tomorrow and next you will be attacking Objs open letter to Jonathan.
Sir well meaning Nigerians are watching and sooner or later we will know where you stand.
Selah Sir!
I guess you haven't put your google into use yet. Guess what? It is free.
DeleteDr Fola Ojo has written so many articles. I mean countless. As a Redeemed Pastor too, I wonder why he would lie, promote himself or antagonise his fellow Yorubian ( I coined).
Yall enjoy your day.
Stella pls do read d above write up very well before commenting . I never said he lied, besides who cares if is a pastor or not, anybody can be a pastor n can write different epistles, but with time their true intentions will be known.
DeleteCheers
U mean said? I got confused with sayed or is that a new word?
ReplyDeleteyou re an Ignorant .. Idiot ... this is not about tribes and your hidden hatred for Yoruba... this is about the Country as a Whole.... Ignorance is not an Excuse anymore ..... Grow up ...
ReplyDeleteNigerians learn to read&digest write up b4 commenting, i watched d interview in question he didnt say south africa as a nation should respect us as a nation, he said dey needed to respect our citizens who live with dem&treat dem properly And he went further to say our govt should emulate&learn from late madiba. He can never bé treated without respect wen he goes dere he lodges in d best hotel enjoy life to d fullest&returns home in a wink of days, na una dey go deir go look 4 greener pasture, u get used like slave and bé paid peanut, u face discriminatio etc&any move by u to proof right lands u in jail few weeks in jail u get deported unjustly. Who con need respect pass shaking my head 4 una.
ReplyDelete