What a historic day it is, that the birth of Nigeria my home we celebrate,
An October 1st, marking an Independent and historic liberation;
A born day of Motherland, a day of a feast worthy of celebration.
Today marks the 63rd born day of Nigeria,
It calls for a befitting feast and a historic merriment;
Celebration we feast on, forgetting the past;
Going forth with history lost in time
Oh Nigeria, my heart bleeds out for you,
After so many years of fighting for Independence,
You are now ruled by corrupt and greedy leaders,
Looking at our origin, I think to myself,
How did we get to where we are?
Nigeria! Your people are suffering deeply.
63 years, you celebrate today with nothing to show forth
I celebrate and pity you
You might find this confusing or perhaps thrilling as the masochist that you are
You have come this far because of past Glory but looking back, you are NOTHING!
The roads we ride on are decades worth of past administration all potholed with bridges too weak to stand,
Schools and hospitals dilapidated, banks left to scourge the life out of citizens.
Corruption is rampant, insecurity is rife,
The people are struggling to survive.
Yet, despite all these, your people remain resolute,
Their spirit never broken, their hope never forsaken
I weep for you, my dear Nigeria,
As I watch you bleed and suffer.
Oh, Nigeria, my beloved land,
When will this suffering end?
The Giant of Africa
I ask you this; Are you really happy?
We have had history play over and over again, of your children being killed,
A mother who sit idle watching the massacre of her children is not worthy to be called a mother
You sit arms folded watching the dark clouds hovering over your citizen
Decades have gone by with scars left by the sounds of war and agony, all covered up with fake smiles
You are a Mother for crying out loud!
Nigeria; I ask you this; Giant you say
Why are you called the Giant of Africa?
Do you even know why you are called the Giant of a Continent?
Blessed with vastness of land, people, language, food, culture, music, population;
You amongst all is graced with abundant natural resources, having over 500 languages with over 224 million in population,
Endowed with over forty types of minerals including marble, coal, iron ore, gold, lead, zinc, granite, Limestone, natural gas, and Crude Oil
Blessed with minds that are willing to learn and these makes them stand out in all areas
Wake up! Wake up Nigeria!
Wake up from pain and anguish.
Awake Nigeria from your great slumber.
Your rank in the world has been seized.
Awake for you are a nation with resilient people,
With a spirit that cannot be broken.
And I know that one day,
You will rise again, stronger than ever and when that day comes,
You will shine brightly,
A beacon of hope for all to see.
But until then, I continue to weep for you,
My beloved Nigeria.
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes, courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’”
I ask again, What more do you want; for me to come begging, to come crashing down?
To see me at my weakest point; IS THAT IT?
I came into your world liking what I see,
Giving my best to see you happy, and all that concerns this world.
You asked for a 100, I gave a 110,
You asked for my full attention, this I gave
Yet, it’s not enough
My time you asked for, everything I gave to you
For God’sake! What do you want!
What more do you want from me?
Day and night, I’m at your beck and call
I’m tired, exhausted
“I am human”,
I’m not a robot that will always be at your whim
Sorrow I feel within, smiles you see
Withered and dull as a dying flower, that’s how I feel
I laugh out at the crowd who believes in the illusion you portray
I laugh out at the hopes of outsiders who believes and entrust you with their dreams
I cry out and ask where in all these did I go wrong
What sin is mine that I have to bear these?
Up, down and all round I inquire
What crime have I committed?
I laugh again when unable to find answers
I laugh not in joy but in anguish of young dreams dashed on baseless things
Look out I say unto you
Look out to the multitude of people who have been loyal to you from the very beginning
You are blinded by the stones that shines brightly among the craters that you forget; there are others who struggles to shine, or are humbled by nature but let me tell you:
Woe unto thee who allows oneself to be blinded by illusions, by fairy fantasies;
I repeat…
Woe unto you! who believes in pampered materials that are not loyal to the dream of establishment.
We’re all here laughing at cracked jokes, enjoying the company
Know this,” The clock is ticking”
For now, you are the best in these made up dream of yours,
No one to argue with
No competitor to challenge you
Everyone paying homage to you
I say once again,
Wake not the sleeping lion for the lion does not slumber for long,
Predators do not lay low for long, they garner strength, courage and resources
Stepping on the tail of a serpent does not mean its weak but rather gives it the strength to lift its head to attack
You don’t continuously bite the hands of those who are loyal, dedicated and passionate to what they’re doing
What does it take to be a person having determination, perseverance and persistence spirit?
To be successful in anything, one has to be determined, patient and have the ability to push forward.
At a point in life, negativity comes to overshadow the mind of a man thereby poisoning the mind of any form of positivity in accomplishing anything.
Relating life progress with stair-case, we see that life is a journey that starts with one step at a time and at every step, there are mountains (challenges) one has to face.
The ability of being firm in anything one’s mind has been set to do or the need to get something done is called DETERMINATION. An example of such is having the strength to get up when you’ve fallen.
In other to be determined, one has to surround him/herself with positive auras. To be determined is not an easy thing, it is very difficult to achieve this because the mind is easily distracted when met with setbacks. Having the spirit of determination, success can easily be achieved, relationships are strengthened, dreams are achieved.
“Success means having the determination and the will to become the person you are meant to be”
George Sheehan
PERSEVERANCE and Persistence works hand in hand with each other.
We can define both as the ability to continuously do something never minding the difficulties in accomplishing a given task. It is a natural essential element that requires a strong will in other to achieve success.
Research shows that people who have perseverance spirit tends to show determination despite the difficulties in achieving such and also the time taken to achieve a goal. Not minding what your dream is or how long it will take to achieve it depends on your determination, perseverance and persistence.
Every one of us wish to be successful but we at times forget that in other to be successful, we have to be ready to endure all that comes our way. Success is not a narrow easy road but rather a crooked road with different routes leading to different avenues of either good fortune or bad fortune.
In other to sail to the land of success, you need to be able to navigate your ship to avoid the storm and other forms of obstacles in the sea. (If you know what I mean). To truly acquire something all you need is to condition/set your mind upon the desired task.
Today’s big stars did not wake up one morning to become super stars, they did not wish upon a magic well for an easy life or a flamboyant life. No! they didn’t and I’m sure you’ll be wondering;
How did they accomplish so much?
What did they do to attain such heights?
What was their motto in pushing forward?
They accomplished all these by being determined, by entertaining and surrounding themselves with all form of encouraging and uplifting feeds. Such motivation can be gotten from music, motivational podcast, motivational books etc. as discussed in our previous session (Motivation).
“I never gave or took any excuse”
Florence Nightingale
“Keep on going, and the chances are that you’ll stumble upon something, perhaps when you’re least expecting it for I’ve never heard of someone ever stumbling on something while sitting” – Charles F. Kettering
According to the World’s Greatest Boxer of all times; Muhammed Ali, he hated every second he spent training, but he said to himself, ‘Don’t quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’.
He pushed himself to have determination, perseverance and to be persistence in other to be the best version of himself and to be the greatest of all and to this time, he is still the Greatest Boxer of all time.
Becoming a legend, a champion, a successful being is difficult to achieve for all classes of financial being i.e. the middle class and the rich class. Just as how the middle class people try to make a name for themselves, so as the rich class try to make a name for them self.
One who is born with a silver spoon does not mean you’ll not get to face challenges life throws at you. People born into the rich class of family push forward to make a name for themselves instead of hiding behind the name of their family because they want to proof to themselves and to also let the world know who they are despite having all the riches of the world.
“The first step towards Success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you find yourself” – Mark Caine
“Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost legendary. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Perseverance and Determination alone are important” – Calvin Coolidge
Here are some ways to continuously push forward:
Self-Confidence: Having confidence in one’s self increases one’s worth.
Search yourself and look into your strength: You’re not judged by the number of times you fall but by the number of times you stand to achieve success.
Avoid distractions or any form of negativity: The road to greatness is not easy, challenges will stand between you and success. The weeds in a farm land is a perfect example of distractions. The weeds serve as obstacles that prevent the crops in the farm land from getting nutrients to grow well.
Motivate yourself: Surround yourself with people who loves you for who you are, who are always there to encourage you, to give you a helping hand when you’re at your weakest point. You need to avoid surrounding yourself with people who degrade your goals. Be around those who help you feel comfortable being the go-getter that you are, so you can become the successful person you’re meant to be.
Set goals, morals and values: Positive declaration can be used to achieve Determination and perseverance in other to attain success. Using such affirmations helps to challenge yourself in other to accomplish a goal.
Be committed to whatever you’ve set out to do
Don’t favor Luck
Start NOW and Look towards the finish line
Alpha Queen’s Final Thoughts…..
There are barriers that prevents one from attaining a goal. Success as it is said, comes with a price. We need to separate ourselves from the distraction around us in other to reach the peak.When successful, do look back to those who contributed in the growth of your success’ and be careful of those that are just of a mirage in our life”
Alpha Queen's Concept 