MUSINGS ON NIGERIA'S CALL FOR CHANGE

Musings on Nigeria’s Call for Change
By Jothany Blackwood - Dean Fresno City College California, United States

A great man once asked me what is it to be a part of something greater than yourself? To discover that meaning is not found in only what you do for self, but for your community. And I believe the answer can be found in how the voices of emerging leaders offers an innovative framework for how people should consider the possibilities for growth, sustainability and investment in their land.

Embedded in this idea is the underlying value that when we invest in Africa, that we are intellectually and financially investing in a stronger global community linked by business, exploration, and opportunities. The lifting of voices to change the country is in many ways a response to the legacy of achievement and greatness that has framed its country’s birth and is now being evidenced in its wrestling with defining itself.

I certainly connect to the power of legacy that drives one to contribute in meaningful ways to your heritage and to add your voice to historical efforts that speak of the power and strength of your people. As a 3rd generation college Dean and 4th generation educator, I have been motivated by people who were committed to positive change and the revisioning of how the world viewed us, who were devoted to the improvement of a global community, and who understood that our work was not done while segments of our populations suffered or were denied access and opportunity.

My family has shared unique historical relationships with the intellectual icons of several generations and that framework is only important for understanding my passion as a humanitarian, an intellectual, and a person of color committed to progress.

My great-grandfather John Whittaker was the1st Chaplain at Tuskegee College, where he was friends with and worked with Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. My grandfather, also John Whittaker was the Dean at Clark Atlanta University and great friends with W.E.B. Dubois who often sought his counsel about issues of the day.

Herein also began my spirit for entrepreneurship as he is credited with starting one of the first banks for African Americans in Atlanta, GA and at the time of his death owned the 2nd largest Black owned Mortgage Company in America. My mother, Dr. Edna Lockert was considered one of the1st African American women to become a licensed clinical psychologist and served as Dean of Counseling at Meharry Medical College, while also maintaining her own practice. She also maintained a friendship with Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. that began as children in Atlanta and continued into their adult years.

And as my family would recite the history of a legacy of service, of building enterprise, of understanding that your greatness was defined by how you impacted the world around you, I have waited to see who would be the great person I worked alongside that my children would recite when telling our familial story.

And because I have been trained to recognize greatness, it is inspiring to personally know extraordinary and emerging leaders whose sincere desire is to work towards the rebranding of Nigeria and to create opportunities where people locally and abroad could prosper.

Each of you can serve as an ambassador in casting the vision for this change and allowing natives and foreigners to revision a different Nigeria. As the sons and daughters of Nigerian soil, one must catapult one’s voice above the uneven perceptions of chaos and corruption to introduce the realities of a nation committed to integrity, accountability, and change.

Through these efforts there has been a parting of the curtain of mystery that has often shrouded Nigeria to others and an invitation to utilize our creativity and efforts in making Nigerians stronger and ourselves as well.

Being a part of something larger than yourself is understanding that we are integrally linked through history, tragedy, and the relentless hope that as Nigeria continues to reposition itself and rebrand its international image; it somehow reflects the best in ourselves, the possibility of whom we can be, and the promise of what will certainly come to pass. A stronger nation, a better understood people, and the realization that we all became better from sharing in its journey.

In a world that values data driven decision making, then we must demonstrate evidence of our excellence. We must work as intellectual terrorists to destroy schema that teaches that somehow race and color are equated with inadequacy and inefficiency and create models that demonstrate the intellect and genius of our people.

The greatest commodity a country has is its people and it will be the ordinary people who respond in extraordinary ways that will provide evidence of that excellence to the world. As an inspirational speaker, themes of community, the value of diversity, and our potential to move in our purpose and impact the world around us is often embedded in what I share and believe in.

So how exciting it is to see the evidence of that spirit in practice. As Nigeria realizes its immense potential, it reflects back to the rest of the world our own possibilities and ultimately serves as an impetus for our own needed changes. It reminds us that sometimes what we’ve been looking for is in our own back yard and that is a revelation that, quite simply, leaves none of us unchanged. God Bless you Nigeria.