the related cause of poverty by eguriase s. m. okaka

THE RELATED CAUSE OF POVERTY

BY EGURIASE S. M. OKAKA The word, ‘Poverty’ refers to the lack of adequate financial know how to meet basic needs by individuals, households, or an entire communities don’t have the means to subsist or acquire the basic necessities for a flourishing life. That is being so poor as to struggle to obtain food, clothing, housing and medicines. It can also refer to a condition in which people or communities lack the essentials for a minimum standard of living. It can be said that basic human needs cannot be met. The general idea is to suffer from want of the basic necessities of life. If we have food, clothing and shelter I don’t think that you are poor because you can provide for your needs. Basically, anybody can be poor, when they refuse to work to make money that would cater for their basic needs. There are young men and women who sit at home instead of doing something to earn a living if such people are poor it is not surprising. But majority attributes their poverty to a spiritual force but in most cases poverty is a physical force that can only be engaged by doing something worthwhile to meet your needs. That simply denotes that if you are not ready to work then be ready to be poor. Consider the analogy of the Ant. The ant is one of the smallest animal on earth yet very mighty. The ant can build a gigantic structure without the aid of anyone except itself. Go to the anthill and see the architectural work that was done there by ants. They are powerful and sensible in all ways that is why the holy bible asked us to study the ants and take after them. We can learn good things from little things like the ant. “Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer or ruler, Provides her meat in the summer, and gathers food in the harvest”. Let us consider some causes of poverty: Over sleep can cause poverty. “How long will thou sleep, O sluggard?” Over sleep is one factor that causes poverty. Some people over sleep when they should have been working these are the type of people whom are being referred to here. Some will say the weather is too cold so therefore they cannot go to work early enough until after the cold but surprisingly they go back to bed and falls asleep again. That is how they may not go to work that day. Imagine, if such persons are sacked for being indolence, that would led to poverty because they would not be able to afford a decent living anymore. “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man?” There are some lazy people who may not want to work when they should. Not that there are no jobs to do but these are persons who naturally do not want to enable in anything worthwhile in order to make ends means. But surprisingly, they always cry of poverty. Come to think of it how will sure people not be poor when you find what to do you refuse to do it just because you are lazy? Others may just have a negative thought about themselves that is where I may say that poverty may be psychological to such because of their mindset. Let’s consider what the Holy Book says in the book of Proverbs 1o:4 “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich”. I think there is a lot of sense in the above proverbs. So anyone who is lazy is indirectly encouraging poverty in his or her live. Diligence means hard work. What do you think of the diligent man? A man whose hands put up a job to do, than that man whose hands are lazy? Both of them will be at two different levels in the society. “Why the diligent shall rule the lazy man will be put to force labor.” Let’s see our guide Proverbs 12:24 says: “The hand of the diligent will rule; but the lazy man will be put to force labor”. The diligent man and the lazy man whom will you prefer? If you really desire the diligent man then rise up from your slumber and find something reasonable to do that would earn you a decent living, no matter how small you may think it is now, still do it. Remember a journey of a thousand mile begins with a step. If you refuse to take that one step you will not get to the end of that journey. Get up and find something to do, oh my friend! One good thing about the diligent is that he is loved by all as they always use him as examples to others, but the lazy man is not like that. The lazy man is talked about negatively by all because no one wishes to associate with a lazy man. Let’s consider this: “I went by the field of the lazy man; and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding. And there it was, all overgrown with thorns its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man?” From the aforementioned causes of poverty you will note that poverty can only come with idleness or sleeping when you should go out to look for something meaningful to do. Let me add here that the lazy man will always say: “The lazy man says, there is a lion in the road! A fierce lion in the streets! As a door turns on it hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed.” Laziness is just a funny cause of poverty, which many are either victims or captivities to but unknowingly to them. In most Africa countries, there is a big cause of poverty which is not too known to them, laziness is the big cause of poverty. Most Africa countries suffer from leadership problems, that is, good leaders who can really administrate the affairs of the citizens selflessly. One of the reasons why most African countries are still under-developed is the fact that there are no patriotic leaders who can really manage the affairs of Africans. Under-development spells out a bigger issue and it leads to poverty in every ways. Under-development creates room for lack of social infrastructures like electricity, healthcare facilities, industries, agricultural facilities etc., the lack of these amenities contributes to poverty in the Africa region and many are facing such tussles. Embezzlement is another factor that contributes to poverty in Africa regions. Embezzlement is the hall mark of some African leaders; they embezzle the nation’s finance and stock the money abroad, ironically, living their citizens in poverty and facing hatch economic conditions as a result of the wicked acts of such leaders. Most of these leaders have nothing to offer to the people in terms of rendering good services to the people. They are not after the welfare of the people they are supposed to lead neither do they care whether they lived nor die. It is just the fittest to survive. This mentality in most of these leaders is responsible for the backwardness of this region. If poverty will leave or stay with us, then we must begin to put things right in our individual life and the country at large. • Work while it is day. Work when you need to work as an individual. Don’t sleep when you should be working. It is very bad. • Africa leaders should rule with selflessness and stop embezzling public funds. If you know that you are coming to power to embezzle you better stay out of leadership. • Take care of the people you are expected to rule and shun corrupt practices. In addition, leaders and rulers don’t abide by the oath of office swore to at their inauguration that is largely responsible for their misbehaviors. You swore to uphold the people’s welfare but soon after getting into office they changed and start upholding their own welfare and that of their families, stocking billions of dollars abroad.

Ironically, Africa countries have their own currencies yet they read their budgets in America dollars. I don’t know the rational for this? Don’t they have their own legal tender? Most of them dollarized their budgets to their own advantage and to the detriment of the people they are ruling. This is one of the problems plaguing us, our budgets are dollar oriented not naira oriented one is tempted to say whether the high cost of living is orchestrated by this factor I can’t really tell. I would wonder why we are still grouped among the poor nations of the world in spite of our huge oil deposits. Poverty is still staring at us. Oh, my God bless Africa with godly and good leaders! By Eguriase S. M. Okaka