My greatest need

As 2011 wraps up and many send well wishes, I thought about a lot of things and what I wanted the most in 2012. I thought about how much I still miss my motherland (which finally explains why I watch countless plot-less and mindless nollywood movies) but wished that things could be better so that I return to the land that birthed me.

Nigeria, many have said is a failed state but it has been for a long while so that’s no news; what’s news is boko haram. The image I saw on TV yesterday like every tragedy deeply saddened me. The lens were focused on the shell of a woman- she had lost her 4 children and husband to the Christmas day bombings and her only surviving child was made blind by the explosion. She shrugged, and spoke a few words that were filled with emptiness and finally hung her head in hopelessness and resignation- the image was so powerful and it left me wondering. When terrorism spread its evil wings around the globe, I thought “at least not in Nigeria, we love life too much to want to die much less commit suicide via terrorism”- I was not wrong, I was dead wrong. What amazes me is that terrorism unfortunately is not a new threat and any normal functioning government learns from events around the world and plans for the safety of its people. I watched as the Nigerian government asked it's citizens to be "security conscious"- Not only had I never heard such a term before, but the underlying interpretation bugged the heck out of me. Does a country provide security to its people? or does its people just become "security conscious"? But Nigeria is a plan-less nation- and how do you speak of security when a multitude lack basic needs, and a handful indulge lavishly in conspicuous consumption? Maslow’s hierarchy of needs mentions safety as a need, the terrorists seek to rob the world of peace and safety; and in the daily life of the Hebrews they understood the importance of peace which they have in their lexicon of greetings.

I have come to acknowledge my biggest need and the one thing that I want the most in 2012- peace of mind. What constitutes peace of mind varies as do people, but all encompass an eventual tranquil state of mind. Here’s wishing you a peaceful year ahead, a lack of chaos in your lives and most of all peace of mind now and always- Shalom!