It’s funny how we have come back to this, and in such speedy succession. Blame it on the flurry of reaction that greeted the original entry. The high and mighty and the lowly seemed all affected which must be the reason they offered their say-so in black and white. So, we had to do this follow-up.
It was two dons and one lawmaker who fired the earliest shots which essentially force us to undertake this second look. Here’s the first of the tertiary teachers, a man: “MB, thanks for this intervention. You have helped me so much by it. When people tell me that I am not supposed to teach at the Polytechnic (even though the nitwits there don’t appreciate me being there) I ask: if not me, who should teach there?
“Foolish people with nothing to offer the students? Shouldn’t teachers be well educated, well experienced role models so students would be inspired to aspire to excel? Why shouldn’t we appropriate excellence for our benefit rather than believe that it should belong somewhere else to be seen, admired, revered, referenced, appreciated, and better paid by us because it operates from afar? Should I go to Abuja, Lagos, Canada, USA, London, Dubai, China, etc. and give my knowledge to people in those places thereby denying my own people whatever sweetness attributed to me in the process?
“As you rightly observed, the basis for that statement ‘you are not where you are supposed to be’ is our worship of material wealth. No more, no less. By the way, we can stretch that discussion to what so-called prophets use in holding our gullible folks captive. Those who are so concerned and confused forget that in pre-history, in the era of great empires, in ancient Egypt and in the time of Christ, there were people who focused on giving service to others and derived satisfaction.
“Satan even used the same lines but in another form when he tempted the Lord Jesus Christ but the discerning Christ told him off. He retorted ‘man shall not live by bread alone’ and also that he won’t bow down to Satan to become wealthy. Humankind most times lose spirituality when they get to the zenith of materialism. The two are diametrically opposed.
“In fact, ‘you are not where you are supposed to be’ is a new version of the blackmail for which the Lord Jesus Christ repudiated and rebuked Satan during his temptation. It is that simple. God bless you. And, thank you again”.
That came from a top lecturer who has produced quite some quality and added quite some value not only to education but also to life. His female counterpart quipped: “It is indeed a good read. Well done, The Boss. However, there’s another angle to this: sometimes, I -myself, personally- feel I’m not where I ought to be. How about that?”
The contribution of the lawmaker (another lady) hovered around what the university lady lecturer had chipped in. What if you have been telling yourself you are not where you are supposed to be? You see, many people are a different breed of slave driver. They are their own slave driver.
Before delving into that, let’s focus on the spiritual side of things. In developing countries, where religion is such a big deal, evil-minded preachers and sundry smart alecks use the significance of hope and faith to mess up lives. They use “you are not where you are supposed to be” to deprive the poor of their joy and resources. Such pathetically satanic everyday routine in the name of God.
Above, the professor recounted when Satan threw Jesus “You are not where you are supposed to be” tantrums. Plus something we should not just gloss over. The fact that in firing back, Jesus, ever brilliant, deployed the metaphor of bread. Of course, that is spot on: Every time you hear that you are not where you should be, the idea is that you ought to be richer or more powerful.
That’s not only devilishly cynical, it is also stupidly dangerous. That means, even if -like most doctors, priests and teachers- you have your entire adult life shown capacity, humanity and quality, it won’t count except you have wealth to show for it. It doesn’t matter how you acquired the wealth or if the wealth is far beyond you. When someone tells you that you are not where you are supposed to be, they never ever consider the pricelessness of your honesty or impact or sacrifice.
This is the tragedy of it all. To imagine that if you killed to make money, or you were a successful robber (yes, successful armed robber), nobody would tell you that you are not where you are supposed to be. On the other hand, please don’t imagine it, if you worked hard and honestly but hadn’t yet struck gold even no-gooders shall taunt you with you are not where you ought to be. Fortunately, such people are not God and shall never be.
With God, your current hardship or horrendous report card is not the end of the story. Take the case of Biblical Joseph: sold into slavery, falsely but usefully accused by Mrs. Potiphar, and then winding up in prison. He must have been derided many times by mockers about how he was not where he should be. At the end: he became their Prime Minister, that same Joseph.
Sadists may have jested to no end about how Joseph was not where he was supposed to be. They never knew that, in spite of and despite his serial misfortunes, he was right on his way to being far more, above and beyond their wildest imagination of where they thought he should be. Mockers are only interested in where you are, not how you get there. You-are-not-where-you-are-supposed-to-be purveyors never remember the God factor; they always forget to remember that no condition is permanent.
Which reminds me, “you are not where you are supposed to be” can also come as an indirect salvo or nudge. “Why are you too fat”? “How can you be this slim”? “What is holding you from getting married”?
“How is that you have been married for this long without children”? “You mean, you lost election the three times you ran”? “Why are you always ill”? These may sound innocent but in them are embedded deliberate attempts to make you smaller or worse.
Two more angles and we call it a day. One, those who believe you are not where you are supposed to be because of your location are a different problem altogether. They need mindset re-engineering, mindset healing. We must get it into their skull that success is not money, success is not location.
Tell them about international and national stars who, in retirement, all get back to their different villages and communities where they remain in service till death. That’s something quite telling: life is about service; life is not about class. See, if everyone affected the world or nation and not their local community, they failed because they left themselves and their people unaffected. When we all affect our respective communities, the world ends up affected.
Let’s not run away from that truth. The world is currently paying the price of every value-adder running to the global stage. That is how and why local stages suffer. Now you understand, why the world shines while communities drool in neglect and poverty.
The second leg of this part concerns those who shoot themselves in the foot in the name of I am not where I am supposed to be. Well, I don’t know again. This one is an internecine double-edged sword. Those who are fond of it should be careful it doesn’t backfire from good, very good to bad, very bad.
Always encourage, never discourage yourself. Whatever it takes, speak positive, and stay positive. Life is too short to allow anyone or you to mess with your mind. Work hard, work honest and work smart and wherever you find yourself, creatively enjoy it.
Enjoy the fruits of wherever you are per time. Never downplay the gains of today while awaiting the materialisation of the hopes of tomorrow since they may never happen. And, realise, alas, that no matter what you do and no matter what happens, you shall never conclusively be where you are supposed to be. Life is wired in ambition, aspiration, belief, hope and lust -you can’t stop nursing them but you mustn’t stop enjoying the present.
God bless Nigeria!
Next Monday … Just joking but what if