November 7 spot report on LCU Fulbright Specialist Project

On November 7, 2023 we held a program with approximately 30 Lead City University undergraduate students drawn from, inter alia, Psychology, Sociology, Banking and Finance entitled Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities.  Explaining that a problem well-defined is on the way to being solved, I began by sharing my candid assessment of some of the challenges facing the United States. I invited the students to be equally forthcoming with me. They mentioned the following issues as challenges facing Nigeria:  ritual killings, poverty, tribalism, lack of innovation in education, economic challenges such as inflation in the cost of goods and services, lack of job opportunities, gender discrimination, political violence and lack of security, colorism, corruption and lack of adequate infrastructure investment. As we discussed these weighty topics, I challenged the students to consider their role in transforming Nigeria.  Several held that consciousness raising is key to transforming the nation. Education, they asserted, is vital to raising awareness.  They felt that some of the very institutions designed to serve and protect Nigerians have become part and parcel of problems related to ritual killings, political violence and insecurity.  Students discussed the importance of agriculture noting that modern Nigerians tend to look down on farmers but the sector offers numerous opportunities to address poverty and joblessness. Moreover, with the requisite investments—both public and private–the agriculture sector has the potential to create tremendous markets both at home and abroad.

I asked the students to complete an exercise taken from the Sufi tradition called Wrestling with the Angel.  In this exercise, the participant meets the Angel of Death and, uncharacteristically, he gives you one (1) more day on Earth.  The question, what would you do with your last day on Earth?  While it may seem ironic, the exercise helps participants to focus on their priorities for living.  As we are all mortal beings, we have to grapple with our finite existence.  In responding to this provocative prompt, participants emphasized issues of love, leaving a positive legacy, engaging in prosocial behavior.

I shared my poem Lovelife with them:

Life is a gift of love

Freely given from above

You can have your hearts desires

As you honor and attend your indwelling sacred fires

This, my friend, is the key

Believe in life’s possibilities and they wil be

Always remember this beloved

You are truly free.

At the end of the session I shared the story Acres of Diamonds with them.

Upon graduating from secondary school a young man goes to his father and asks for his inheritance. Much like the prodigal son, he squanders it in riotous living.  At the point of destitution, he learns of his father’s death.  The young man returns to the homestead determined to sell it off and begin anew.  But as he returns home and sees his father’s tools in the back yard the young man is mysteriously led to begin to work his father’s land. Lo and behold, he discovers that in his own back yard there are acres of diamonds.

I reminded the students that diamonds are the toughest substance on Earth and their facets are said to be most beautiful. Diamonds are, however, formed by time and pressure.  The work of transforming Nigeria is a longterm one requiring the commitment of her citizens to exemplary leadership and democratic governance.