12% of the world’s population uses 85% of its water, and more of the 12% live in developing countries. 2,500 children die each day due to conditions of poverty. Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases. More than 11million children die each year from preventable health issues such as Malaria, Diarrhea, and Pneumonia. 925million people do not have enough to eat—this is more than the population of the USA, Canada, and the European Union combined. Every year, 15million children die of hunger.
Since you have started reading this post, at least 200 people have died of starvation. Nearly one in four people, 1.3billion—a majority of humanity—live on less than $1 a day, while the world’s 358billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45% of the world’s people; and 3billion people today struggle to survive on $2 per day. Throughout the 1990s, more than 100milllion children died from illness and starvation. Those 100million deaths could be prevented for the price of 10 stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days.
Even in the USA, one of every eight children under the age of twelve goes to bed hungry every night. Interestingly, to satisfy the world’s sanitation and food requirements would cost only $13billion—this is what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year. Again, millions are trafficked in slavery, and pandemic diseases are ravaging entire nations. Each year, nearly 2million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. More than half of all Africans do not have access to modern health facilities.
Do you know that a mere 2% of the world’s grain harvest would be enough, if shared, to erase the problems of hunger and malnutrition around the world? Amazing isn’t it? There is enough food on the planet to offer every person twenty-five hundred calories of substance a day. We actually have enough food to feed the hungry. But of course, policies stalemate the best of efforts. International relations are strained. Officials drag the system. What’s true however is that there’s enough available. The problem is not the availability; the problem is in the distribution. God has given this generation, our generation, everything we need to alter the cause of human suffering.
But our problems continue to prevail inspite of the fact that they are artificial-–they are manmade. My issue is not just with the facts of the challenges. It’s actually no longer news and these problems have been there for decades. My challenge tonight is that a lot of people are not even aware. How can we not be aware? How can all of these be happening around us and we are not aware? The average young person can tell you about the latest R&B songs from America or the latest movie. They know the latest fashion and the newest model of cars. University graduates can tell you everything about Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Rihana but they know next to nothing about Climate change and Global warming. 70% of our people are supposed to be youths and that’s future energy.
It’s heart-breaking to note that over 80% of this 70% are lost on sports, entertainment and fashion. It’s sobering! A student of international politics does not know about the Rwandan genocide, and a Geography student didn’t know about Hurricane Katrina. But he knows about Dbanj and knows the lyrics to all the songs. The strange truth is that these young minds are the first to complain about the government; and part of their concern is to wonder how the government is not aware of their plight. They forget that the same reason the government is not aware is the same reason they are not aware of what’s going on in the world around them.
The government is concerned about what interests them and the young people and the masses are also only concerned about what interests them. So, interest is the common denominator. Those asking for a better economy are doing so to ask for adequate purchasing power to fund their superior commitment to enjoy sports, entertainment and use fashion—all at the expense of necessary social equilibrium and welfare economics. The care that government officials don’t show is the kind of life they have mastered before they became governors.
The citizens who could not do anything about the social evil around them will not do too much if they make it into public as governor or president. He’s simply used to not feeling the pulse of society. He only took care of his friends, family and relatives for many years before he became a public office holder; nothing in his new life in office says he will do so. We are all the same and we only hide under the cloak of government’s irresponsibility to shield our own selfishness and greed. It’s all about responsibility.
If the government is responsible for governance, every human being is also responsible for love, empathy, benevolence and the kind of kindness that defines our humanity. When the government is responsible and takes care of its people, that is robust welfare economics. When the government neglects this, it is poor leadership. Likewise, when human beings accept responsibility for the societal peace and balace they can individually create, it’s called Personal Social Responsibility and it is the expression of human dignity. When individuals neglect this responsibility for any reason, it is wickedness.
With the social disequilibrium prevailing in our space, shame on any Nigerian or African who makes more than N40,000 ($300) and will not share at least N1,000 ($7) of it to bless someone monthly. While none of us can solve all the problems, each of us can all do something. It’ll be tough to sleep well tonight but I will eventually. Good night and God bless.
KEY THOUGHT:
We CAN have a MILLION REASONS for NOT DOING SOMETHING, but NOT ONE EXCUSE.
LESSON:
LOVE is a DUTY, KINDNESS is a MUST. And the commitment for you to DO SOMETHING is a NECESSITY for the WEAK and HELPLESS around YOU. Your CONSCIENCE is your GUIDE.
- from www.olakunlesoriyan.wordpress.com
Very inspiring piece.
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