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Life is like a
number line with positives, negatives, and only one, and the most important,
zero. Zero is the reference points of any graph your draw on the number line,
irrespective of the X, Y, or Z axis. Despite the fact of its importance, it
holds no value and it symbolized emptiness, void, or nothing. Whenever you add
this value of emptiness to any number once, it increases the value of that
number by 10. You add it twice; it increases the value by 100 and so on. How
does something that is supposed to have no value be the reason why other numbers
become extremely valuable? This is what I call the fundamental discipline of
Zero.
We all came
into the world as a zero, irrespective of our family name, family status,
religion, or ethnicity. Throughout life, we move on the number line with the
hope of leaving this world above zero or on the positive at our time of
departure. It is never how you started, but how well you finished. In one or
more areas of our life, we find ourselves in the negative and struggle to move
it to the positive, while at the same time trying to keep other positives areas
above zero. It is true that humans are not perfect, but in everything we do for
the sake of God, self, family, community, and nation, we must try to always
finish well and at a point above zero (positive). The purpose of this article
is to encourage Nigerians and mostly Black people to understand the power and
discipline of zero. The average Black person believes that he must have and
must hold excessively to be relevant and respected. The truth is that even
when you have, all you need is just very little to be effective. You do not
have to be in office forever, or monopolize all the money there is to make to be
somebody.
There is a
Nigerian Muslim that I love with all my heart, but never had the privilege of
meeting him. He made me proud to be Nigerian, despite the fact that America
media did not give him the respect he deserved because of his religion. The
name of this man is Hakeem Olajuwon. Till this day, even his critics still say
that he is the best center in the league history of the National Basketball
Association (NBA). After he won the two championships for Houston (1995 &
1996), colleagues of mine would even tell me that when they traveled to Houston,
Shop owners will even give them things for free or at a huge discount just
because they were Nigerians. It was even said in the newspapers that when they
build the new basketball arena in Houston that a statue of Olajuwon would be put
in front of it out of gratitude from the city. By about 2000, it was obvious
that it was time for Olajuwon to call it quit, but he refused. He was no longer
the same and he was getting lesser playing time on the court. He was later
offered less paid and removed from the starting line-up. This offended him and
he left for Toronto, Canada, where he had almost no effect until he retired. He
could not play forever and it was time to go, but he ended up moving to a
distant land, away from the city he built (Houston) in mediocrity.
I have watched
some player come off the bench to play a few minute in basketball, only to
maintain their paychecks. I have always thought that they were ridiculous
players that should not have made the team until I watched some of the classics
of decades ago. These were players in their younger years that put the world on
their feet in amazement. They were once the most valuable and team franchise
players, but they failed to retire. So the image we had of them in the present
was nothing but underclass. One of the Black icons in sports that did not learn
from this is Michael Jordan. He was the alpha and omega of the Chicago Bulls
back in the 90s. He did not only win 6 championships for them, he also defiled
gravity in the process to the extent that his nickname became “Air”. He soon
retired and came back as a Washington Wizard’s player. My God!!!! It was a
horrible memory. He was never really my best player, but it was sad to see
glory become dust. What a nightmare!!! The great Jordan began to jump around
like a disabled baby, missing lay-ups and jump shots. Where was his mother to
talk some sense into him? In fact, people who just started watching basketball
or just came to the USA began to ask if this was the same Jordan the sports
press have being making noise about for decades. His younger teammates who used
to buy his shoes and put his pictures on their bedroom wall began to talk back
to him on the court. One even said in an interview that he did not want any
correction from Jordan on the court because he was no longer better than the
rest of the team. He soon retired due to low public opinion. |
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The Political & Spiritual Purpose of the
Holy Land
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As for Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha, he
is not one of my favorite players. I saw him play at Bolton in his last two
seasons, but I was not really impressed like many Nigerians were. I saw him
lose the Bolton captainship and still blame him for Nigeria not going to World
Cup 2006. He was too playful in personality and with the ball. I saw him more
as an individual than a team player, but Bolton coaches dealt with that
problem. Despite the fact that he, as the captain, along with other key players
did not take our Word Cup 2006 qualifications seriously by missing crucial games
to attend parties, I still want the best for him. Okocha’s time has passed and
I want him to retire in glory. I want to tell my children about him as Nigeria
and Bolton captain, the dribbling and direct kick expert, and most importantly,
act as a discussion reference for Nigeria at the table of nations. The last
thing I want for Okocha is for him to become the new symbol of the Black man’s
greedy quest for power, fame, and riches at the expense of his hard earned
reputation around the world. People usually remember you for how you
finished. Okocha was basically pushed out of Bolton due to low performance,
and no other descent team in Europe rushed for him. Unlike other world soccer
stars who go to the Middle East after self-retirement for greener pastures,
Okocha was basically a King that was driven into Middle Eastern exile. He soon
joined English division two team, Hull City, where he played 18 games, and score
no goal. He did not only promise to retire this year, but Delta State was
planning to have a retirement game for him this year and many world class
players have also been invited to play. Now that his team (Hull City) has
qualified for the Premiership (division one) basically without him, he has
cancelled retirement and is begging to play for one more year.
Is
colonization, along with bad leadership and poverty that bad? Black people do
not know how to walk way with pride. Are we so deprived of basic amenities and
opportunity that we must always hold on to power, money and fame until people
begin to abuse us and our children? What is Okacha still looking for now that
he forgot to do after all these years of professional football? Nigerians and
our sport writers will not chastise him from this global blunder he is about to
put himself into. Instead, they are praising and interviewing him, hoping that
he would begin to like them and invite them to his “who is who” parties, and
maybe also give them money. We generally lack principle. We are so hungry to
fill out pockets with coins, and watch our brother stumble to lose millions in
the areas of national respect and honor. Okocha is about to give up global
accolade for humiliation, and Nigerians are watching like a people who have lost
the foundations of their culture, history, and folklores. Does one who has met
all the requirement for graduation, just go back for one more year? If you do
not abide by the wisdom of success to voluntarily walk to zero from positive,
you leave room for failure and low public opinion to force you to the negative.
This is the principle belittling Blacks all over the world in our leadership,
and how we do things as a people. |
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