By Egbara Emmanuel Ikaba.
May 29,2018.
Ants are wonderful creatures and they affirm there can be unity in diversity.
These creatures work collectively and in harmony for one goal ‒ to support their colony during hard times and in the time of harvest.
The ant colony is made up of the queen, whose role is to lay eggs that will replenish the population to avoid extinction. Workers are another group, and their function is to hunt for food, care for the little ones, work the nest and safeguard the colony.
For the male ants, their function is to mate with the queen for reproduction. It is said that after they have performed this function, they may die.
Comparably, it can be said that the extent to which a state,a nation or a community can excel is determined by how well it can function like the ant colony. In that light, it becomes a necessity rather than an option that we the Yala nation rise and rescue land.
Arise Yala people for your Land,
The Yala Nation demands your devotion.
Let us all unite to uphold her,
And make her great and strong.
We are all involved
In building our motherland.
This is what I glean from this dream: Having a sense of belonging is the foundation of getting involved, and it’s not a one-man affair. On the contrary, ‘we are all involved’ in building the ‘colony’.
Unfortunately, not everyone perceives it this way. Sometimes, what the citizenry should hold themselves responsible for is quickly attributed to government officials. The name Ogar omeka (meaning government in Yala) has become a household name, but sadly for the wrong reasons.
Government has her role in development and so does the citizenry. We don’t have to intentionally make a public place dirty with filth and say to ourselves that Ogar omeka will clean it.
We can do better and assume responsibility for cleanliness of those places. After all, we are all involved in keeping the homes clean.
Different arms of government have their roles and the citizenry also have something to contribute. The functions are different but the goal is one to build the motherland.
According to Good Luck Jonathan, we face neither east nor west but forward. We must therefore raise our voices together, march forward together and raise that voice for Yala. More than ever before, let the sense of belonging be cultivated in homes, schools and institutions. We can do better. Yala is our motherland and here we call home.
I am very passionate about student empowerment and I would love to see students get more involved. Students should not think that they belong to society only after school, but they should get involved even now while they are in school. I believe students are an asset and they are part of the solution to development. Not in the future but now, hence its needful that students start seeing themselves as such and come on board fully in building our motherland.
A student may not be the queen or the male ant but a student can function as a worker to ‘work the nest’. It is said that the left hand is for cleaning the right hand and the right hand for cleaning the left hand. In the same way, students have their role to play in development and their needed support must not be denied.
My name is Egbara Emmanuel Ikaba and I am involved in building my motherland. I am a ‘worker’ and I work the nest by championing student empowerment. Get involved, discover where you belong in the ‘colony’, that is if you haven’t already discovered it. Let the government worker be wholly devoted to his duty, and let the private worker also be dedicated at his post.
Let the teacher be wholly devoted, and let the student also be faithful in bringing their quota to the table. We need to do it right because we are all involved. It ought to be so because Yala demands our devotion and we have to unite to uphold her in making her great and strong.
We are one people, one hope, and we are all involved in building our motherland.
I remain your friend Egbara Emmanuel Ikaba.
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