Humanity the Essence of a Valid Revolution - Barr Onyebuchi Okeke.

The definition of the world humanity is not farfetched from the word itself, it means “the state of being human and having qualities and rights that all people have” comparing it with the definition of revolution which means “a time of great usually sudden, social and political change.” A revolution necessarily needs not be positive but it must take a form that changes a state of affairs to another state for a common purpose.

Any revolution that is not mindful of the common needs of the masses in any given point in time or is not geared towards changing the status quo of an economy from one state to another state has failed in its pivotal essence of a valid revolution. It is not surprising that when you look at words like ‘Human rights activist’ you see the word ‘Human’ is seen in it but the question is how many of these activists have the mind of humanity in what they do. Most activism in Nigeria have turned out to be of selfish interest, examples are the Niger Delta militants, who are fighting for a cause of oil exploitation and degradation of their environment but one would ask how the issue of raping innocent young girls and robbing companies came into the objective of fighting for this cause. Another example is the Boko Haram insurgents that go about killing both Christians and Muslims in the Northern part of the country under the guise of fighting for a cause to take away western education and lifestyle and bring in Islamic culture and ideologies. Looking at these examples, it is common to see the lack of humanity in these forms of revolution.
In the past the world has received men and women who fought for a particular cause not for themselves alone, but for humanity, we must also realize that a revolution is supposed to be a rapid forward movement that improves the peoples standard of living and their material circumstances and purifies and raises their moral tone.
However let’s take some few examples of humanitarian revolutions that existed in our world: Martin Luther King Jr, he was an African American clergyman, a non violent civil rights leader , fondly known for his “I have a dream speech” which he delivered on the steps of Lincoln Memorial, Washington on the 28th of August 1963. He advised Americans on the need for Negro freedom in their long awaited captivity and regretted that 100 years later, that same freedom is yet to come. He was concerned not only for the blacks, but for the whites to secure a peaceful America where all men would be guaranteed unalienable rights of freedom, liberty and pursuit of happiness as contained in the American constitution. His dream was that of unity, brotherly love without slavish brutality, a dream where the color of the skin was not a barrier but where people would be judged by the content of their character in all segments of society. His dream was that justice would roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. His dream had the full content of “Let brotherly love continue”, he was a true example of a humanitarian in all aspect, during this campaign no life was lost, there was no need for violence or to destroying public property, he realized that there was sufficient power of life in the tongue and that was what he used, and at the moment, the current American president proves that dreams do come to pass.
In Nigeria we can mention, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the late leader of the Biafran’s he came from the background of affluence but he decided to leave that life to pursue a career in the military centered into the liberation of humanity from the shackles of oppression, this cause he was ready to lose his life for. He had a firm belief in the unity of Nigeria on the basis of fairness and social justice which was incomparable and unwavering. Ikemba as he was fondly called chose a path that most people that had his kind of privilege would never venture into, all for the sake of humanity, he took up his cross and never looked back, never doubted, wavered or questioned the ability to get results, but as long as it was for humanity, he was ready to lose his life to gain it back.
Another great example is Nelson Mandela, a name that rings a bell in the whole world, he fought vehemently against the brutal apartheid regime of South Africa, his style was non-violence, but later the government brought against him charges of treason, sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government, he was sentenced to life imprisonment but later spent 27 years at Robin island prison, where he was confined to a small cell without a bed or plumbing and was forced to do hard labor, communication on him was once every 6 months and he received guests for only 30 minutes once yearly. This and many more sacrifices he made for humanity and due to this he reaped the full fledged benefits both locally and internationally as a global statesman.
There are a lot more examples in the world of men and women that have carried out acts of humanitarian revolution, not for them alone but for the people that they lead and have inscribed their names in the sands of time. Revolutions need not be violent; there is no need for kidnapping, killing, raping innocent citizens all in the name of revolution.
Humanity is the bedrock of any nation and no nation can survive when its citizens who desire a change in any policy or economic decision take to the streets in a violent manner protesting about things that they can ordinarily do with words, diplomacy and dialogue. Abraham Lincoln said “Do not ask what your country can do for you rather ask what you can do for your country.” Citizens that discover challenges in society not being solved can take up the challenge personally and solve it. The youths should spend more time thinking of new and vibrant ideas to move the country forward, especially in the areas of unemployment, a whole lot of entrepreneurs should awake their God given talent and skills like Bill Gates of Microsoft, Mark Zulcheberg of Facebook, Chief Cletus Ibeto of Ibeto Group of Companies, Mr Aliko Dangote of Dangote group of Companies e.t.c, these are entrepreneurs that have created jobs for thousands of people. Our youths should empty their pockets into their heads by investing in knowledge which pays the best dividends for the good of humanity, the more educated people we have in society, the better for the economy.
Finally any revolution without humanity is an illegality in its whole entirety. Every revolution must be centered towards achieving a specific goal to benefit all of humanity and not a specific few; it should also be geared in the line of non violence as words are more powerful than the gun. Let us learn from our mistakes and move into a new path of excellence, patriotism and humanity for the benefit of us all. I wish you a merry xmas and a prosperous new year. God bless you and the Federal republic of Nigeria.