by Henry Okafor,
One of the world’s most popular axioms is that humans generally are prone to committing violence but it is such a shame and pity that the world we live in today is ruled by bloodthirsty crazy megalomaniacs filled with the worst form of bestial thought who call themselves our leaders. From Africa to Asia, America to Europe, the Middle East to South America the story is the same.
There was a time when natural disasters was a threat to human existence but today we are rapidly working towards our own annihilation and I must confess we are doing a fantastic job. Little wonder why the likes of Elon Musk suddenly announced the commencement of space travel by 2024 under the disguise of humans becoming interplanetary beings but is that the real reason for that project or are they (scientists and inventors) failing in ensuring world peace and security through science and technology?
Barack Obama in his last state of the union address asked a very pivotal question:”how do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?” Challenges like Nuclear threats, cyber crimes etc. I personally don’t think running away from a problem solves it because we created this, we should deal with it.
I agree with a few that the worst form of human right abuse is unemployment especially youth unemployment. It is obvious that world leaders both past and present have not learned anything from history. For decades the youth have been protesting (in different forms like fashion, cyber crimes etc) but obviously no one is listening. Social welfares for unemployed youths are not the solution and no one in a right frame of mind likes crime considering the implications of imprisonment or the stigma of being called an ex-convict. Engage the youths!
In 2009, a public forum was held at the World Trade Organisation headquarters in Geneva and the first sub-theme considered the issue of improved global governance as a way of addressing world problems. I wonder how many world leaders actually took out time from their so-called busy schedules to read that document because one very important question that caught my attention from that forum and which world leaders knowingly or unknowingly ignore is: “is Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) a pertinent tool for informing and improving trade governance”? Of course this question was posed to create better governance and sceptics will ask who conducts this assessment and what is their yardstick since so many people have lost faith in the UN and other bodies like Amnesty International but what happened to creating a genuine body that will help humanity overcome this current challenges because believe it or not, every country on earth does business with another country even the US, North Korea, Russia etc.
Also, this is a wakeup call to the electorate, electoral colleges and commissions worldwide to ensure that credible and mentally stable individuals lead them. Leaders should not only be judged by their competence but also their mental temperament because scientists have proven that appearance can be deceiving and not everybody that looks normal is actually mentally ok.
And to the billions of ill-fated followers (who have been destined to have such horrible leaders both past and present) like myself, violence, hatred and unforgiving are not traits of wisdom.
Henry Okafor writes from Lagos state of Nigeria and can be reached on +2349096970531 or [email protected]
