AFRICAN YOUTHS AND THE 3F ENEMIES…..GAINING VICTORY FOR SELF DEVELOPMENT.
“Know the enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be defeated; when you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal; if you are ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be defeated” – Sun Tzu (The Art of War).
The quote above is unequivocally food for thought for all ages but especially the youth. I mean the African youth who appear ‘trapped’ by these conquerable enemies identified above as 3Fs….. FEAR, FAILURE AND THE FUTURE.
Take a moment to reflect on these popular quotes on the enemy of fear:
” I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fear to do”….Eleanor Roosevelt.
”Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear”… Ambrose Redmoon. ”
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear”…Edmund Burke. ”
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom”….Bertrand Russell..
No human is immune to this ‘abstract feeling’, regardless of age, social status, and skin color. Fear in this context is not the feeling manifested by an individual when exposed to life threatening situations such as a robbery attack, natural disasters, or the fear associated with the death of a loved one. Rather, the Fear under examination is one that is absolutely within the control of its host. I’ll like to share a personal experience along this line as a youth. I remember growing up in the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria with so many attractions around. As a youth while in High school (secondary education), I had a deep interest in sciences wanting to become a Medical doctor or a Pilot. My Dad used to have a health book as big as an encyclopedia. I usually pick up the book from his library at my leisure to read even though most of what I was reading made little or no academic sense to me. Moreover, growing up in an environment that was not ‘science friendly’ so to say, I started nurturing the fear of pessimism. Added to this was the issue of finance. In school, most of those in the sciences were mates from affluent or wealthy homes. So I had this mindset like, which may be true of most young people that success in the sciences depends on the pay-book of our parents. Hence, I had to settle for the major that accommodates students from all walks of life, the Business Department.
Closely associated with ‘fear’, is the enemy of Failure. In my view, the fear of failure is largely responsible for the stagnant and under-developed psyche of an average person especially youths. In this part of the world (Africa) where superstitions and the fear of the Unknown permeates, many individuals out of lack of motivation and willpower submit themselves to the dictates of their environment thereby giving up after few encounters with failure. Interestingly though, most of the world acclaimed and celebrated personalities from time immemorial, in Africa and in the Diaspora, were beset by this ‘enemy’ on a constant basis and yet are known for success today. Bill Gates, Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Wole Soyinka and most recently, Barrack Obama were all ‘victimized’ at one point or the other in their quest towards success by failure. However, due to determination to succeed at all cost, these individuals are known for who they are today. The same can be your experience too. Failure in my opinion, no matter how often it besets its recipient, is only a natural manifestation, to some extent the frailty of the human species, which is inevitable before success can be realized. Ponder over this: What does it take an infant to become a toddler and grow into childhood? It takes days, weeks and months of repeated crawling, stooping and falling (failure) as a natural experience. In the same vein, failure in whatever form, be it in your academics, business, relationships and other areas of life should not be a deterrent to your progress and success in life. As a very good friend puts it in an article; ‘MAKING IT SLOWLY BUR SURELY‘, Tunde Oseni fervently addressed issues on success in life as a gradual process that takes time to materialize. Therein, he advised youths, especially those in the developing economies, never to be ‘too ambitious to succeed’. Rather, with the right ‘tools’ such as education, commitment, perseverance amongst others, success is guaranteed even though it may come slowly. Therefore, never allow the failure of today to becloud the success of tomorrow. No matter, how many times failure comes your way, realize that what matters most is your unrelenting determination to turn it into success.
The last ‘enemy’ identified above is the Future. Erroneously, many usually see the Future as being into the distant days ahead. However, the future starts today! Future in this context is the unnecessary worries, concerns and anxieties about tomorrow. Needless to state, it is vital to think or plan ahead of time. Many though have allowed themselves to be entrapped by the uncertainties of life thereby giving up effort towards a bright future. Most African youths grow up in an environment that barely impact positively on their lives. Environments where values which define us a people have been thrown into the air, environment where leaders lack integrity and national interest, environment were the youths hardly have a voice especially in government. Despite these limitations, a good number of African youths have made the best for themselves. It is important that as youths, we start positioning ourselves now in terms of empowerment for the future. Obama positioned himself years ago through academic and intellectual empowerment, emerging as the President of the United States of America in 2009. Certainly, a ‘mystery in disguise!! The same can be your experience too. A positive mindset coupled with optimism is needed to successfully wage the battle for a bright Future.
Hence, a call goes to everyone out there, especially African youths who before reading this piece may have been ‘enslaved’ as it were to FEAR, FAILURE and FUTURE. These three ‘enemies’ are within your capacity not only to control, but to conquer. May your Fear turn to be your Freedom, your Failure turn to Fortune and your Future turn to Fame.
great article. I like the 3 F. we’all face them but we’ll conquer them. thanks, man
it all begins with taking some risks in life. The only proof the one believes he can overcome the future with all the uncertainties is to take risks in life.