DRIVERS OF CHANGE: HISTORICAL NARRATIVES (3)
DRIVERS OF CHANGE: HISTORICAL NARRATIVES (3)
BY CHIBU NDUBUISI 06/11/2017
Peace be upon you
How does the historical evolution of nations drive change? What experiences and circumstances are continuously shaping and molding the trajectory of nation states? We will briefly analyze some examples and equally chart a way forward.
Japan has a pacifist policy of not producing, not permitting and not possessing of nuclear weapons as a result of the bitter experience of the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The atomic bomb survivors called Hibakusha is a vivid example of why the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) must be supported by all nations. this particular experience made the state to move away from encouraging hawkish policies to promoting pacifist policies. It made them channel resources to the development of human capacity and today we have seen the dividend such investment is yielding, when it comes to technological prowess, they are a force to reckon with globally.
Daron and James in their book “Why Nations Fail” brought to the fore the variable of “Critical Junctures” ‘as a major event or confluence of factors disrupting the existing balance in a society, a double edged sword that can cause a sharp turn in the trajectory of a nation’.
On what foundation or values were many African countries laid? The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded in 1963 to help fight Colonialism and Apartheid. Yes, the Nationalist of various nations fought and won the independence but lost the freedom to show responsibility in making their nations grow. They failed in maximally investing in building on the foundations that will stand the test of time which is education. Francis Beacon wrote that “knowledge is power” and when knowledge is equalized, power is equalized. This is the advantage many advanced nations leveraged on to progress.
Jonathan Sacks writes that “to defend a civilization you need education but to defend a nation you need armies”. Many African countries invested in the instruments of destruction and that is why the African Union(AU) is now calling on all to “Silence the Guns” to help speed up the developments of the continent and help in “building the Africa we want”.
Many African nations are now working to see how they can have a counter narrative to the poem by Kahlil Gibran reproduced below
“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave
and eats a bread it does not harvest.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero,
and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream,
yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
save when it walks in a funeral,
boasts not except among its ruins,
and will rebel not save when its neck is laid
between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,
whose philosopher is a juggler,
and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,
and farewells him with hooting,
only to welcome another with trumpeting again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years
and whose strongmen are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments,
each fragment deeming itself a nation.”
The good news is that many African countries no longer see themselves as victims but victors in helping towards building the “Africa We Want”.
Peace be with you
BY CHIBU NDUBUISI 06/11/2017
Peace be upon you
How does the historical evolution of nations drive change? What experiences and circumstances are continuously shaping and molding the trajectory of nation states? We will briefly analyze some examples and equally chart a way forward.
Japan has a pacifist policy of not producing, not permitting and not possessing of nuclear weapons as a result of the bitter experience of the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The atomic bomb survivors called Hibakusha is a vivid example of why the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) must be supported by all nations. this particular experience made the state to move away from encouraging hawkish policies to promoting pacifist policies. It made them channel resources to the development of human capacity and today we have seen the dividend such investment is yielding, when it comes to technological prowess, they are a force to reckon with globally.
Daron and James in their book “Why Nations Fail” brought to the fore the variable of “Critical Junctures” ‘as a major event or confluence of factors disrupting the existing balance in a society, a double edged sword that can cause a sharp turn in the trajectory of a nation’.
On what foundation or values were many African countries laid? The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded in 1963 to help fight Colonialism and Apartheid. Yes, the Nationalist of various nations fought and won the independence but lost the freedom to show responsibility in making their nations grow. They failed in maximally investing in building on the foundations that will stand the test of time which is education. Francis Beacon wrote that “knowledge is power” and when knowledge is equalized, power is equalized. This is the advantage many advanced nations leveraged on to progress.
Jonathan Sacks writes that “to defend a civilization you need education but to defend a nation you need armies”. Many African countries invested in the instruments of destruction and that is why the African Union(AU) is now calling on all to “Silence the Guns” to help speed up the developments of the continent and help in “building the Africa we want”.
Many African nations are now working to see how they can have a counter narrative to the poem by Kahlil Gibran reproduced below
“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave
and eats a bread it does not harvest.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero,
and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream,
yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
save when it walks in a funeral,
boasts not except among its ruins,
and will rebel not save when its neck is laid
between the sword and the block.
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox,
whose philosopher is a juggler,
and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting,
and farewells him with hooting,
only to welcome another with trumpeting again.
Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years
and whose strongmen are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments,
each fragment deeming itself a nation.”
The good news is that many African countries no longer see themselves as victims but victors in helping towards building the “Africa We Want”.
Peace be with you
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