Living my Passion

Change has often been referred to as the only permanent thing in life irrespective of how many seek for certain things to remain the same. The other day I was facilitating a session for secondary school students on Fundamental Human Rights and I really had to break it down for their easy understanding considering the vast nature of human rights. Most of the students knew very little about human rights and giving them a brief history of the human rights and the events that led to Universal Declaration of Human Rights they were amazed and many of them resolved after the session to become human rights advocates in their schools. I tried to use practical examples at their homes, schools and communities as analogies for the bigger violations and abuses in the society. Like how it is easy for a bully to grow into an obsessed abuser of the rights of others or how treating our sisters poorly can translate to disrespect for the rights of women. We have families with house helps and children see their parents treat these house helps horribly and they grow up believing that it is normal to treat a less privileged person poorly. We learn to become better people from our experiences or the experiences of people. The truth is; some learn to be worse from ill experiences while other become their best from ill experiences. I however believe in the power of change because a norm today may become an abomination tomorrow. The hardest of hearts can become the kindest heart, a victim can become a victor and a violator can become a protector. It is one of the mysteries of life; the inevitable power of change.

Martin Luther King once said that “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter”. I do not want to wake up one day and realize that I watched from the sidelines when my voice would have been a savior to someone. For what is life without passion for anything? Looking at the ills in my society, the gross social injustices and abuses going on each day, I made a decision to take action no matter how little it may be. As a young lawyer, it became easier for me to speak up against social injustice. And I believe my passion for change encouraged me to delve into development work and human rights issue. I hope for a better world, a better Nigeria with a conducive and enabling environment for development; a society where the present norm of relegating women to the background becomes an unthinkable abomination; a society where the girl child has the equal opportunity to utilize and harness her full potential. Where human rights abuses especially gender based violence is reduced to a minimal rate. Where governance is truly an avenue of service and not an opportunity for looting of public funds. Where policies truly reflect the wishes of the people and positively translate into their lives, where vulnerable groups are confident in their existence… An optimistic dream you may say, but it all starts with a step, because I desire to proudly smile tomorrow with the knowledge that I was part of the process that gave birth to that desired tomorrow. I see a future where I am fully established, at the peak of my career with an extended capacity and ability to help others. That from my endeavors the younger generation especially young girls will be inspired to be their best.

The world pulse community has been an inspiration and the training is an opportunity I cannot afford to miss. I have an opportunity to learn to be a better writer, to share my stories with sisters around the world and to fully engage the online community through different channels of the social media. Writing is a gift and a powerful tool to reach out to the world and bring about change and I definitely want to challenge my innate power as a woman to write about issues that I am passionate about. Becoming a Voices of our Future Correspondent is therefore another step towards actualizing my vision.