AFRICA IS A CONTINENT ON THE MOVE AND HER YOUTHS ARE HER GREATEST RESOURCE."We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future."Franklin D. Roosevelt. MentorAfrica looks to help youths, through various life transition mentoring topics, to prepare youths for development and leadership that will help them change the African narrative whenever the opportunity arises.
Saturday, 5 September 2020
MentorAfrica: CORRUPT SOCIETY: GREEDY LEADERS AS WELL AS GREEDY ...
CORRUPT SOCIETY: GREEDY LEADERS AS WELL AS GREEDY AND MYOPIC CITIZENS - SOCIÉTÉ CORROMPUE: LES LEADERS AVIDES AUSSI BIEN QUE LES CITOYENS AVIDES ET MYOPIQUES
When a society has good leaders,
progress is made in the development of its people and infrastructure and the well-being
of everyone is regarded in high esteem. It is however, worthy of note that this
progress which is largely based on good leadership is a direct reflection of
the citizens because good leaders are products of their societies that are made
of good citizens. Citizens are as guilty as leaders when it comes to how a
society is run because although the leaders are supposed to put structure in
place for society to run smoothly, it takes the cooperation of law abiding
citizens to make things work. We live in societies especially, in Africa, where
all we do is complain about what leadership is not doing when we do not raise a
finger to do what we as citizens can do to enable the system work. The game of
corruption has two major players; the greedy leader and the equally greedy
citizen who is the accomplice. When leadership can recruit as many accomplices
as possible, corruption finds a very fertile soil to thrive. Some will say it
is poverty that makes them accomplices, but there are others who poverty has
driven to stand against this ill in order to establish long lasting changes for
the good of all. Citizens who cooperate with leadership to bring hardship on
others are just like the leaders; selfish, greedy and myopic. When leadership
fails, it is a huge problem but when citizens do nothing to either hold leaders
accountable or do the little bit they can to make their own contributions,
growth is stunted and lives as well as opportunities are wasted. Every society
needs a responsive and active citizenry to thrive. Do have a very pleasant day!
Lorsqu'une société a de bons dirigeants, des progrès sont accomplis dans le développement de sa population et de ses infrastructures et le bien-être de chacun est considéré en haute estime. Il convient cependant de noter que ce progrès qui repose en grande partie sur un bon leadership est le reflet direct des citoyens, car les bons dirigeants sont les produits de leurs sociétés constituées de bons citoyens. Les citoyens sont aussi coupables que les dirigeants en ce qui concerne la manière dont une société est dirigée, car bien que les dirigeants soient censés mettre en place une structure pour que la société fonctionne bien, il faut la coopération de citoyens respectueux des lois pour faire fonctionner les choses. Nous vivons dans des sociétés en particulier, en Afrique, où tout ce que nous faisons est de nous plaindre de ce que le leadership ne fait pas lorsque nous ne levons pas le petit doigt pour faire ce que nous, en tant que citoyens, pouvons faire pour permettre au système de fonctionner. Le jeu de la corruption a deux acteurs majeurs; le chef avide et le citoyen tout aussi avide qui est le complice. Lorsque les dirigeants peuvent recruter autant de complices que possible, la corruption trouve un terrain très fertile pou
Friday, 4 September 2020
MentorAfrica: WHY ARE CITIZENS TREATED AS SACRED COWS? - POURQUO...
WHY ARE CITIZENS TREATED AS SACRED COWS? - POURQUOI LES CITOYENS SONT-ILS TRAITÉS COMME DES VACHES SACRÉES?
A healthy society is one that
pays a lot of attention to human capital development. People should be trained
and positioned to assume responsibilities and be builders of societies. We do
not live for ourselves alone, we live as individuals that are interconnected in
such a way that life is not fully enjoyed until others are a part of the life
that we are living. There should not be such a distinction between the citizens
and those in leadership that it seems like only those who are in leadership are
responsible for building society therefore, all attention should be focused on
them. A lot has been said and taught about leadership but there is an apparent
silence on citizenship which makes me wonder if the citizens have nothing to do
in the development of the society. Citizens make up over 90% of the society and
I believe that their impact on its growth and development must be very
important. Where do the leaders emerge from? Is it possible for a bad citizen
to become a good leader? Why are citizens being treated as sacred cows when it
comes to discussions on the development of societies? The role of the citizens
is also as important as that of leaders, so we must pay adequate attention to
the proper education of citizens because the leaders are a reflection of the citizenry
of any nation. Consequently, each time we point fingers at our leaders, we are
actually pointing at ourselves. If equal attention is given to the development
of responsible citizens, we would have less to do when they come to the
position of leadership. Individual development of the citizenry is what is
needed for robust and wholesome development of any given society. Do have a
great weekend!
Une société saine est une société qui accorde beaucoup d'attention au développement du capital humain. Les gens devraient être formés et positionnés pour assumer des responsabilités et être des bâtisseurs de sociétés. Nous ne vivons pas pour nous seuls, nous vivons en tant qu'individus qui sont interconnectés de telle manière que la vie n'est pas pleinement appréciée tant que les autres ne font pas partie de la vie que nous vivons. Il ne devrait pas y avoir une telle distinction entre les citoyens et les dirigeants qu'il semble que seuls les dirigeants sont responsables pour le développement de la société. Par conséquent, toute l'attention doit être concentrée sur eux. Beaucoup de choses ont été dites et enseignées sur le leadership mais il y a un silence apparent sur la citoyenneté qui me fait me demander si les citoyens n'ont rien à faire dans le développement de la société. Les citoyens représentent plus de 90% de la société et je pense que leur impact sur sa croissance et son développement doit être très important. D'où viennent les leaders? Est-il possible pour un mauvais citoyen de devenir un bon leader? Pourquoi les citoyens sont-ils traités comme des vaches sacrées lorsqu'il s'agit de discussions sur le développement des sociétés? Le rôle des citoyens est également aussi important que celui des dirigeants, nous devons donc accorder une attention adéquate à la bonne éducation des citoyens, car les dirigeants sont le reflet de la citoyenneté de toute nation. Par conséquent, chaque fois que nous pointons du doigt aux dirigeants, nous nous pointons du doigt. Si une attention égale était accordée au développement de citoyens responsables, nous aurions moins à faire lorsqu'ils accèdent à la position de leadership. Le développement individuel des citoyens est ce qui est nécessaire pour un développement solide et sain de toute société donnée. Passez un bon week-end!
Thursday, 3 September 2020
MentorAfrica: GO AT YOUR PACE BUT DO IT WITH EXCELLENCE. - ALLEZ...
GO AT YOUR PACE BUT DO IT WITH EXCELLENCE. - ALLEZ À VOTRE RYTHME MAIS FAITES-LE AVEC EXCELLENCE.
The amount of pressure we are
putting on ourselves these days is just unbelievable. People are putting undue
pressure on themselves and they think they are just pushing themselves to
achieve the best. There is a huge difference and if we do not understand this,
we can harm ourselves. It is good to push yourself but dangerous to put undue
pressure on yourself. We cannot all move at the same pace but we can move at
our pace and make the best of every opportunity that presents itself. The
mistake people make is that they want to move at other people's pace and when
they fail to do that they become antagonistic or discouraged. That is why the
less developed are looking for ways to talk down on the achievements of those
who have done better them or they look for mistakes these ones have made and
blow them out of proportion. What should concern us is how we can move from
point A to point B and do it with excellence irrespective of what others have
accomplished. This way we are not intimidated or depressed and we continue to
excel at what we are doing and celebrate the little successes we accomplish at
any given time. On the other hand, those of us who have gone much farther in
our achievements should look for ways to help build up the upcoming ones
especially when these ones have been a part of our success story directly or
indirectly. Many of us become antagonistic towards those who are rising up
because we do not want to deal with any competition, so we start conscious or
unconsciously trying to throw spanners in their wheels. Whichever end of the
divide you find yourselves, you must maintain an attitude that will help those
around you achieve their own dreams. It is always better and more satisfying
when we use what we have achieved to make room for others. Do have a great day!

