Time Caretaking; Has It Impeded The Development Of Africa?

The concept “Africa man time” is amputated in meaning and is a heresy as long as the black blood is concerned.

Lackadaisical is our attitude towards punctuality. We are reluctant to the tic tac of the watch. We have shown over the years lackluster concern to the preaching necessitating the need to work ahead or at least pari passu the tic tac movement.

Death is inevitable. Ever wondered where the 'second hand' of the clock is rushing to? Time races to catch up and hand us over into the shackles of death.

I believe time is life; infact life is measured in split seconds. Every second not fully utilized is a part of life thwarted.

Thomas Alva Edison, an American inventor and businessman. Notably known for his invention of electric bulb, stated in one of his quotes; time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can't afford to lose. Mr. Edison had a battle with time and so understood how much more work he could have done had time been static.

Yet another quote by Peter F. Drucker says; until we manage time, we can manage nothing else. How can we then manage our development! In the developed world, time management is something of spectacle. This is not because they are developed but because they consciously resolved to manage time.

There is no doubt development bears equality proportionality with time. In coherence, development is chased into hiding if time is left freely rolling without company.

Historical findings and paleontological studies revealed that the first set of humans were blacks, they lived on this same soil. Our predecessors, most notably Homo Habilis 'stone man' had a very high developmental intellect. He created all that he should get with stones. This apparently depicts that poor time management is not gene oriented. The concept “Africa man time” is amputated in meaning and is a heresy as long as the black blood is concerned.

A generation of oblivion wallows in sheer visual impairment while time is on the move to her resting place.

The way forward is consciously waking up to manage your time even as you unscroll and verse through this article. A soul motivating quote by John F. Kennedy reads; the great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'in that case there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!'

Energy can never take the place of time intelligence. Development can never have the upper hand or be put on a fast track if we don't race along the tic tac movement.

A quote by M. Scott Peck says; until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. Perhaps, accelerating our development lies on the value we place on ourselves, on the quality of life we live, on our offspring and on our soil: Africa.

Time they say is money. Great men plan how their time should be spent and give account of their time spent. No doubt it is your time and how you spend it is your sole responsibility. But if it necessitates that you make head waves in life and achieve as much as is needful, time management should be at the fore front of your planning.

The average African wakes up in the morning and proper time planning and budgeting is the least of his concerns. This trend must not be transcended to posterity. The change as to how the development of Africa should come has to start from you as an individual and not the society as an entirety.

Africa deserves the best. We owe our land the very best. Our descendants should have the best if we value them. Onus is laid on every man to sow that his children may reap of the produce. It is high time we started sowing seeds of proper time caretaking. It is high time we started dancing alongside the tic tac rhythm. It is high time high time we started learning how to turn our heads and await the arrival of time as opposed to the status quo. Africa, our land been filled with both intellectual and natural resources should be the pride of the globe.

Let's strategize consciously to manage our time for the development of Africa and the betterment of posterity.

FUNGE-OWEI MICHAEL NEMINE, a freelance writer and poet shuttles between Lagos and Bayelsa.

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