DRIVERS OF CHANGE(1)

DRIVERS OF CHANGE(1)
CHIBU NDUBUISI 23/10/2017
Peace be upon you.

“The unknown unknowns are multiplying daily” Donald Rumsfeild

What would life be without change? How can we identify factors that drive these changes? What are the impact of globalization, technology, politics, demographics, religion and trade in driving change? What are the roles of people, historical make up of nations and state institutions in driving change? How can we identify the positive and negative forces of change? How can we leverage on the advantages of positive change while minimizing the impact of negative change? How can change lead us to live more peacefully with one another? We will try to briefly explain some of these variables because you cannot explain a dynamic phenomenon like change with a fixed cause.

GLOBALIZATION: This is the major driver of change in the 21st century. The world has never been so connected before like this era. Cultures are collapsing daily and people are displaced and losing their identity.

TECHNOLOGY: This is a great enabler in changing our patterns of communication and interactions. With a click of the mouse from Zimbabwe , I can automatically settle an issue in Honolulu.

RELIGION: More than any era in history, religion has become a force for good for a greater number of people and equally a source for spread of hate, intolerance, bigotry, fanaticism and terrorism.

TRADE: Never in history has the volume of economic activities been so elaborate like this age. With better technology and in the comfort of my apartment I can trade in any part of the world and get satisfaction for the transaction.

POLITICS: The colouration of politics has equally changed in this digital age. pattern of opinion aggregation and the prevalence of e government. With a post gone viral, it can lead to change of government in many countries. Political leaders are held more accountable in this age. The governments of oppression are finding it very difficult in this technological era, to gauge the press. Geo politics has been redefined.

PEACE AGENTS/SPOILERS: Peace Agents are people with a vision to make the world better. We have Alfred Noble Foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Templeton Foundation, The Tony Elumelu Foundation all working for different noble causes to help drive change in very positive ways. Spoilers on the other hand are all those who are committed to wrecking the greatest damage on the world. We had Osama Bin laden and many more terrorist groups all over the world.

DEMOGRAPHICS: The powers of population shifts can equally be a force for change. When so many youths are not employed in productive ventures, it is capable of causing unrest in the land. The prevalence of street urchins (Alamajiris) in the Northern parts of Nigeria is a sour point and a ticking time bomb. We have seen their impact in the form of the Boko Haram insurgency as easy target for recruitment and It can be a force for good if harnessed properly with strong human capital development.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: The United Nations dreams of world of no more wars. The African Union Dreams of “an integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa”. We have the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) a group of goals that can drive change in our world. The goals are;

Goal 1: No Poverty – End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: Zero Hunger – End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4: Quality Education – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5: Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities – Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13: Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14: Life Below Water – Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15: Life on Land – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

All these goals are just but a tip of the iceberg about factors that drives changes in our world.
Barack Obama posited that “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek”.

We must be mindful that those who benefit from the old system will resist change with all their strength. But “to repeat the same thing over and over and expecting different result is the definition of insanity”. “If there are no changes there would be no butterfly”. “We must try to be that change we intend to see in the world”.

Be that driver of positive change.

Peace be with you.

Read more at chibundubuisi.blogspot.com.ng

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