No Risk, no Pain, no Gain: A Political Decision

Jan

2008

No Risk, no Pain, no Gain: A Political Decision for Senator Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama

“I would rather fail in an attempt at something new and uncharted than safely succeed in a repeat of something I have done,” – A. E. Hotchner

It is a known fact that blacks all over the world are not risk takers. Their inability to take calculated risks is reflected in their overall station in life, in their aggregate and incremental development as reflected all over Africa, in South America and in North America. Unfortunately, other races have long understood this black people’s foolhardy contempt of danger at not taking risks. They have taken advantage of this perceived weakness in the character of black people.

For example, many black Americans have long conceded the vast economic opportunities in Africa to others. Black Americans have long conceded the Nigerian oil and Gas industries to others because someone convinced them that Africa is a jungle, they watched how horrible Africa is from National Geographic or from the unfolding problems in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria on CNN, NBC, BBC and/or ABC. Yet, this other groups move to Nigeria in great numbers and are reaping the benefits of their calculated risks. He who is over-cautious and unable to damn any consequence of a calculated risk accomplishes little. The fact is that if one does not make things happen, things will happen to one and this is reflected in the everyday lives of black people all over the world.

Another glaring example is that black African nations are often unwilling to give their people opportunity to grow and to develop their economic, social and political infrastructures. Africans have not been able to develop their healthcare delivery beyond just mere dispensary stage, education beyond mere regurgitation of established principles, energy sector beyond what the white people left behind after independence, and are unable to use their vast resources to transfer Technology by writing such transfer into the mega projects they award to other races. One could argue that this may be due to the encapsulating re-enforced slavery mentality and the endemic corruption that is pivoted on the fact that whites, for example, will help them steal and hide their loots. And it is unfortunate that Africans do not take risks on other blacks and if they do, it is to help them loot their nations and cause capital flight that brings about poverty and underdevelopment. Nigeria experienced this phenomenon in the last eight years of her nascent democracy where some black Africans were used by Nigerian leaders to transfer and loot the treasury and not to build the psyche of black people. For God so love Africa that He gave the best land full of milk and honey to Africans. Unfortunately, Africans have turned their natural and human resources into weapon of poverty establishment. This is really a shame.

The inability of blacks to believe in themselves and take calculated risks is the most salient contributory factor for their underdevelopment, if you ask me. This lack of risk taken is captured in the Yoruba adage, “Omo eni ko sedi bebere ka fi leke si idi omo elomiran,” meaning, one does not have a beautiful daughter and insist on beautifying other people’s daughters at the expense of one’s own. This is what Africans do and this is why most black nations are still underdeveloped.

So then, let us take a look at the event of the current political shenanigans taking place in the Democratic Party in America. Black Africans are experiencing a divided house. Many, including some Nigerian commentators on many forums are selling garbage that Senator Obama cannot win the US Presidential election anyway, why waste their votes? If Africans want to achieve a high goal, they must attempt to take some real and calculated chances. If the almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth equipped us with a neck, he surely meant for us to stick it out every now and then on behalf of ourselves and other races. This is why the White people are successful and not because Whites are smarter.

According to E. A. Hotchner’s quote above, African Americans must be prepared to accept failure that comes with venturing into an uncharted political territory rather than safely succeed in repeating ideas they have followed in the past which lead them nowhere. The decision to support Senator Hillary Clinton must not be based on Obama, though qualified, will never be voted for by others (Whites and Hispanics, etc.). The issue black Americans should consider is, “Is Senator Barack Obama qualified to be president of the United States of America during this improbable, unusual and probable time in the US political history?” The decision during this unique political period must be based on a conviction that Senator Clinton is the best Democratic candidate, not on flimsy excuse that others might not vote for a qualified Senator Barack Obama. For instance, at no time did Americans doubt their conviction in voting for George W. Bush even though many pundits characterized him as unintelligent, drunk, and dodging military draft during Vietnam. This is the same conviction that black Americans must have to revisit Barack Obama’s candidacy, it is a risk worth taking. Not taking risk will hunt African Americans for a long time. The choice for Democrats this time around is between two terrifically qualified candidates and this should make the Democrats happy.

To the best of our knowledge, African Americans are part and parcel of others referred to here and if many of the others (part of African Americans) debunk this notion, Senator Barack Obama might just make black Americans realize Martin Luther King’s dream of one day living in the world where citizens are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Not taking a bold step and stepping out of the comfort zone will make black people all over the world second class citizens in the new world order. The direction black Americans are going may permanently make them and black people all over the world Martin Luther King’s dream killers. A good legacy has been set and paid for in blood by Martin Luther king, Jr. If black people all over the world refuse to risk anything, they risk even more for not realizing a world that is truly indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Blacks all over the world willingly to fail in causes that can ultimately triumph than to triumph in causes that will ultimately fail. Blacks can no longer be known for black-on-black crimes, looting and constantly making decision that favor others but themselves. Black Africans, Africans and especially Nigerians must use their massive population and wealth to move black people forward. It is not a matter of disparaging whites to get ahead but a love of one’s self to compete in the new world order.

Your Comments

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Robot

# 1 | 21.01.2008 15:45

	var sbtitle5574=encodeURIComponent(No Risk, no...Read the full article.

Palamedes Palamedes is offline

# 2 | 21.01.2008 17:46

	Is this a comment or an article? This author--if he can be called an author--is the LAZIEST at NVS. Many villagers at NVS write better, longer, and more stimulating commentaries in one thread than this "PHD flasher" in one article, and yet they don't publish theirs as article. Indeed CONGRATULATION(!), this is the longest article (as I can recollect) that this PHD flasher has published on NVS.--How the Administration at NVS can accept this short commentary as article boggles the mind. We should all seek to improve the standard at NVS and stop presenting articles (written in 30 minutes) for publication. Good day to you!

Agidimolaja Agidimolaja is offline

# 3 | 21.01.2008 23:12

	.....but did you understand what he was saying or trying to say?The lenght of the article should matter less but the contents of the article.Or are you so annoyed that he just told us some bitter truths?Why not write your own and lets read from you too.

Jah Guda Jah Guda is offline

# 4 | 22.01.2008 10:17

	There you have it, look no further for answers to your question, Palamedes’s reply is one typical example of why we fall as a group and stand strong as individual’s. He seems to dislike the fact that you have the letters PHD after your name, your fellow black man has just shot you down. I have always wondered why black Americans do not have a stake in Africa. Judging from what I have read, they are not too keen on Africans. Black’s lack self esteem, are insecure and cannot depend on fellow blacks for support, that’s why, given the chance, we will all flee to US or EU. Who wants to live in the dark, boil their water before they can drink it, die from trivial ailments, live a life filled with uncertainties and lacking direction? Take Nigeria as an example, we have trillions of dollars worth of natural resources, We could borrow billions on the strength of this and develop our country today, But we don’t, a culture of corruption, lack of compassion and cowardice has destroyed a country that could have been the centre for blacks all over the world. As far as Martin Luther King’s words go, I would say, “we are judged by how much we contribute to the human race”, not by how much we consume or content of character. As Nigerians, we are constantly harassed whenever we travel abroad. That’s because we are judged by the “colour of our passport”, those who stop and search us feel our contribution to the human race is “negative”. A divided black race is the worst thing that could have happened to blacks. Understandably, black Americans dislike Africans for what our forefathers and the White man did to them. Was planting deep hatred in the minds of blacks also one of the reasons why whites did what they did to blacks? Was slavery the beginning of Black-On-Black crime? engineered by Whites. A lot of damage has been done, and those who caused the damage got away with it. that’s another thing, our willingness to see evil perpetrated by other races as good, or necessary, or forgivable. We never Fight Back, South Africans lived under white oppression For 400 years, that to me is incredible, and to make matters worse, we have the likes of Nelson Mandela preaching reconciliation and forgiveness, which made me conclude that he is more interested in being a “good black” than doing what is necessary to protect the minds of blacks. It is simple; blacks grow up with the belief that whites can do whatever they like and must not be punished by blacks. They can kill, loot and hate you as much as they like, the most you can do is forgive them and shake hands. Has anyone ever thought about the damage this approach to 400 years of abuse has done to black psyche? The message is so negative and as close to boot/arsee licking as you could possible be. It is totally absurd, to let them get away with murdering Africans and stealing land that belongs to Africans. How on earth can blacks feel equal to Whites after such absurdity? This is why our fellow humans, Asians, Whites and Arabs treat us the way they do, we will always fight back when the enemy is black, we will always have that respect/fear mix when we deal with Whites. As Nigerians, we have a chance to make a difference but have to fight for a chance to make that difference. We will need to get a bit closer to one another and show a bit more aggression if we want to realise our potential. United we stand, divided we fall.

britroyal1 britroyal1 is offline

# 5 | 22.01.2008 10:28

	Palamedes, What you're essentially saying is that the opinion of the author is nullified simply because of the relative length of his missive. You also went the extra step to impeach his credentials calling him a "ph.D flasher." I am not aware of his academic credentials but I would wager neither do you so please cease the ad hominem. Furthermore, the author makes a valid point which is that the historical problems associated with race should not affect the support for Barack Obama's candidacy among black people. This website is a "marketplace of ideas" and his opinions are most welcome. By the way, as a frequent villager, I am pressed to ask: what Magnus Opus have you written lately?

Ruyi Igiehon Ruyi Igiehon is offline

# 6 | 22.01.2008 11:54

	Palamedes it is our responsibility to scrutinize, but also argue constructively and we must also learn from others wether young or old,PHD holder or no PHD holder "it is the content of a fruit that determines it's sweetness" Re: No Risk, no Pain, no Gain: A Political Decision The truth be told you are probably right about black people not taking risk, but are you being to general cause quite few black people from time in memorial like Mr Marcus Garvey, Mr King e.t.c and even our western corporate black everyday workers we might say have taken risk, maybe we can say based on the former these are different degrees of risk. But can we argue that when you take a chance and step out of the "norm" (as in what is expected of us blacks) and take charge, can we also be deemed as taking a Risk?. I think we can, cause I believe for every black person out there, everytime we step out of the label that we have been labelled by and achieve a positive gain, we would have worked twice as hard as the the average white person. I believe any person who has challenged the norm is a risk taker, the problem is in the Target we set ourselves, risk assessment, damage control,ability to bounce back and learn from our failures to achieve our goals.

omo naija omo naija is offline

# 7 | 22.01.2008 12:55

	Well written, but you forgot to add that oppressed people can hardly think, ask the Palestinians and black in Darfur, i know is an old story, that ever since the white man arrived on the Africa continent, we have never known peace, and up till this very moment we are still being oppress by their stooges in power, people take risk in a level playing field, and please guys stop castigating African American, they have come a long way. Until Africa leaders can show the world that they are the cradle of civilisation, by trying to improve the lot of they people, and stop trying to imposed themselves, when their people reject them, until this happen, Africa self worth in the eyes of other race, will be delegated to the level of sub-human, and we will always find it difficult to hold own among the comity of nations. MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS NIGERIA AND AFRICA, AND HAVE MERCY ON THIS TROUBLED CONTINENT

Palamedes Palamedes is offline

# 8 | 22.01.2008 13:35

	@Jah Guda Sir, call yourself whatever you wish but don't call be a blackman, I am a Nigerian, an AFRICAN. One obvious differences is that one is a 'human attribute' whereas the other is a 'human race'. But wow, from one African's comment to AFRICAN-Americans to Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela to human race—what a “flight” indeed! @britroyal1 To understand my protest, you must revisit some of the articles this PHD-flasher has submitted for publication on NVS—some as little as 5 short paragraphs and worst than most commentaries. He takes the mickey out of NVS—as we say in Blighty. As for adding PHD to one's name in non-academic articles or papers, I think it is very Nigerian. One would understand if the author were writing a technical article, in which case it would be seem as proper (and even mandatory) to add the author's academic title to the article. This would give it some credibility and indicate to the reader that the author is an authority in the subject matter of the article. If this PHD-flasher is rational, he would find my critique of his article most useful than the meaningless support you and Jah Guda are giving him. My critique would ensure that, next time, he puts in more effort and hard work into producing an article. Your support is very unhygienic, that is to say, it is an encouragement of bad practice. With your kind of support, any wonder that we still build mud houses in Africa; and our farmers still use hoes and sickles? By the way, as a frequent villager, I am pressed to ask: what Magnus Opus have you written lately? Cheap jibe, You must be a Nigerian. Within NVS, every one of my commentary is a mini *Magnum opus*--even if I say so myself.

britroyal1 britroyal1 is offline

# 9 | 22.01.2008 14:59

	=Palamedes;4294982560>@Jah Guda Sir, call yourself whatever you wish but don't call be a blackman, I am a Nigerian, an AFRICAN. One obvious differences is that one is a 'human attribute' whereas the other is a 'human race'. But wow, from one African's comment to AFRICAN-Americans to Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela to human race—what a “flight” indeed! @britroyal1 To understand my protest, you must revisit some of the articles this PHD-flasher has submitted for publication on NVS—some as little as 5 short paragraphs and worst than most commentaries. He takes the mickey out of NVS—as we say in Blighty. As for adding PHD to one's name in non-academic articles or papers, I think it is very Nigerian. One would understand if the author were writing a technical article, in which case it would be seem as proper (and even mandatory) to add the author's academic title to the article. This would give it some credibility and indicate to the reader that the author is an authority in the subject matter of the article. If this PHD-flasher is rational, he would find my critique of his article most useful than the meaningless support you and Jah Guda are giving him. My critique would ensure that, next time, he puts in more effort and hard work into producing an article. Your support is very unhygienic, that is to say, it is an encouragement of bad practice. With your kind of support, any wonder that we still build mud houses in Africa; and our farmers still use hoes and sickles? Cheap jibe, You must be a Nigerian. Within NVS, every one of commentary is a mini *Magnum opus*--even if I say so myself. Palamedes, Damn right i'm a Nigerian (I wonder by the way why you call me one as if it is a badge of dishonour). In the part of Nigeria where I am from, we say that "when a clay statue wishes to be disgraced it asks to be placed in the rain." Why have you taken it upon yourself to lecture everyone with your platitudes thus embarassing no one but yourself. If he chooses to call himself ph.D what is your own there? It is one thing to criticize those who build in mudhouses and farm with sickles, but what have you done to alleviate their plight. If the "amateur" nature of the NVS are not too your liking please go and found your own web forum where fellow "einsteins" like yourself can congregate. Even if you must criticize there is a way to go about it, get off your high horse please. Good day sir!

Palamedes Palamedes is offline

# 10 | 22.01.2008 16:52

	"when a clay statue wishes to be disgraced it asks to be placed in the rain." Gosh! A speaking clay (!!!); an indoor clay that speaks human language(!!!); a judgmental and self-critical clay; one that is capable of passing judgement and sentencing itself to soaking in the rain. I wonder if outdoor clay statues ask for shelter when the weather is perhaps too hot, rainy or too cold? I am thinking of clay statues in Saudi Arabia, and wondering if they would prefer 100 lashes to soaking in the rain? ...but what have you done to alleviate their plight. It is not an issue of plight, but rather, being self-critical, fastidious, and finding ways to improve on what exist. Every advances in science, technology, arts etc., is in effect, a criticism of what was before it. Therefore to stifle criticism is to stifle progress, change, improvement and all forms of human advances in nature.

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