THE IDEOLOGY BEHIND THE GROUP "ANALYTICAL MINDS".
ANALYTICAL MINDS.
MISSION. We are a select group of individuals committed to, through online discussions and other fora, thorough analysis of contemporary African and global issues with strong emphasis on Nigeria. Through debates, often intense, we strive to proffer solutions to a myriad of apparently insurmountable problems that beset our nation. Ours is an online group ab initio, but planned to evolve and diversify its modus operandi, core operations and visionary goals in phases. A "closed" group with exclusive membership, planned to have ceilinged membership as her status is upgraded to "secret" thus while not totally shutting its door to future members, would make entry for such freshers extremely stringent.
Our country, Nigeria quite unfortunately has been hijacked by a greedy cabal of political rogues and opportunistic misfits and also- rans who through their speeches and body language, leave no doubt about their determination to harry our nation to irreversible ruin.
We, as obsessive and robustly committed patriots, have willingly imposed on ourselves the onus to reverse this trend. We thought initially that our problems were limited to a lack of basic amenities and infrastructure like motorable roads, clean and portable water supply, qualitative education, good and accessible healthcare and constant supply of electricity. These are necessary enablers of the environment for entrepreneurial drive and avidity for investment, local and foreign.
Such lack has compelled our youth, including the cream of our human capital to seek survival in foreign lands. Rather than develop and upgrade facilities 'at home', our selfish rulers have elected to send their children to foreign schools, and seek medical services abroad using funds they steal from our treasury. They hide our stolen monies in foreign banks.
To add insults to our collective injuries, we are now beset with a wave of violent terrorist attacks for which our government have no clue regarding a solution. Not the military or the police which is better skilled at extorting bribes, torture to extract false evidence and brazen extra- judicial killing of young and promising Nigerians....
By their actions, severally, our government has breached the social contract between it and its people. This issue of equity on which social equilibrium is built, requires that as the government collects taxes, monies so collected plus those accruing from minerals mined from our earth are used for the benefit of all. Rather than indeed, for this government to exempt the poor from taxes and assuage their economic plight by instituting a social security scheme, our government in its own 'wisdom' would rather bully the poor to borrow money to pay taxes! And inflict the armed forces on citizens who are unfortunate enough to default. Nobody...we repeat...nobody is immune from the harassment by this government. Taxes...inequitable...spurious...multiple...bogus...ultimately coveted for personal uses! Our problems, mostly due to unforced errors, are legion.
We, as concerned citizens, under these idiotic circumstances, cannot afford to be docile. For the sake of our generations ....yet unborn! What we have observed repetitively, is that persons, especially those easily categorizable as youth hitherto articulate and apparently determined at spotting flaws in governance, equally vitriolic in condemning official thievery as they are puritanical in their stance....suddenly change tune when offered a mere sip of the looted wine. This brisk metamorphosis, as thus illustrated is a recurring decimal.
The aberrations in the larger environment also speak volumes. Our clime to say the least, is warped! We are mired in a culture of settlement, gratification and extortion. We live in a kickback society. We blackmail. We trample on others' rights. We thrive on impunity. We deride, ridicule and take determined steps to frustrate those who do not fall in. We have a society where anomy is the norm. We celebrate avarice. We trounce honesty. We cheat. We steal. We make honest persons appear odd. Not all these are forced errors. A huge chunk of these errors are unforced...by the society...delimiters in the environment...thievery in governance...as we often claim.
It is so bad we attract suspicion, disrespect and scorn from foreigners whenever we venture abroad. So we dread travels as we dread usage of our commercial banks and other financial institutions... because the Managing Directors though comfortable by all imaginable standards, are thieves....unrepentant thieves!
Basic psychology teaches that the society determines the NORM! And when the norms are warped? And values stand on their heads? So as we clear the Aegean's stable, we may start by clearing out our rulers. But may we not dread to vouch for the remainders? The faulty mentoring...the negative conditioning... is too far gone. So what is the solution? Let us proffer solutions….and follow them through to actualization.
VISION. To clean the Aegean's stable in the short run, and take all necessary steps to entrench and sustain the changes gained, in the long run.
GUIDES AND RULES. Dear rare mind, please allow me to invite you to our group. The initial need to form this group was informed by the extreme variance inherent in opinions and themes of comments posted on walls some if not most of which are, to say the least, flippant if not annoyingly infantile, immoral and offensive. On a personal note, I felt a huge sense of elation when some well- meaning friends invited me to join some other groups but these two groups, quite contrary to the intentions of their founders, soon became invaded by flippancy... presumably because members were loosely admitted. We invite serious, deep if not thoroughly researched comments from members of this closed group. As the preceding adjective suggests, membership is exclusive. We request that members rein in their emotions as they post their comments and if such comments are devoid of offensive words, our mission would have been fulfilled. Leaves out sorting through the mumbo- jumbo that our retinue of friends have turned our walls into. Somewhere you can dash straight into. Better than blocking and unfriending. It is called caching in computer parlance. Translates into good time management! We are non- religious and non- advertorial. Members are encouraged to submit primary comments, act in other proactive ways, react to comments already under discussion, upload photos, paste links, initiate, suggest, bankroll, sponsor and support events. There is nothing as gratifying as a platform custom- built for the meeting of like minds! Feel free to suggest your friends who may be similarly disposed by recommending them as members. Be sure to recommend only those who can uplift this forum... Our Forum! Our flight captain is deeply honoured to welcome you on board!
Our Facebook Page: https://m.facebook.com/groups/119054961573967?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C3357922452
THE AUTHOR.
Dr Tosin Akindele is a Lagos-based Medical Practitioner, a former Secretary of AGPMPN Ikorodu zone, a former Secretary of the Quackery Committee of AGPMPN Lagos State Branch, founder of Analytical Minds, a good health advocate and social critic.
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