Could I be wrong? A million dollar question, By Sunday Adelaja

Nigerians are widely known as opinionated people. We have strong opinions and are generally not shy about expressing our feelings. As a result in some cases, especially to people who do not come from our culture, we Nigerians are often seen as bad brats.

Though I’ve seen enough in my lifetime to admit that I’d rather be a bad boy than a shy cat. However, a lesson in temperance will be of great benefit to our public image as Nigerians.

And for the knowledge of temperance; and for patient temperance; and for godly patience 2 Peter 1:6

Please don’t get me wrong that I admire our temperament and spirit as Nigerians, but in order to be the best human beings we can be, it would certainly benefit us to ask ourselves the question, AM I WRONG?

The main problems I have with the average European are shyness, shyness, indecision, insecurity, indecisiveness, etc. Fortunately for us Nigerians, these things are mostly foreign to us. We tend to have the opposite attributes. We are generally confident, strong, brave, dominant, dominant, etc.

As there are many positives and negatives in both categories of character traits, wisdom tells us that we must examine ourselves to see where our weaknesses are to repair, adjust, reconstruct, recondition our character for overall productivity.

One important area that Nigerians need to work on is in our assumptions and responses. A typical Nigerian would think that he is right. We don’t worry too much about getting the most out of reality. We usually rely on emotional beliefs. Facts, statistics, details and standards don’t bother us very often. And if someone tries to argue or oppose our opinion, we strengthen our opinion with emotion, enthusiasm, enthusiasm, everything that is in the crowd.

Dear reader, if you are from Nigeria, you have probably seen the scene when two taxi drivers in traffic get out of the car and start to prove a point with the help of fists instead of reason. I have even seen a situation where the driver stopped his car in the middle of the road to go slap the policeman directing the traffic because the one who stopped him was illegal in my opinion. As funny as it may sound, it is very pathetic especially considering the fact that the driver who slapped the Policeman is the Bishop of a famous church in Nigeria.

I think this Bishop is not familiar with the words of Robert Green who said “tolerance is granted to every other human being, every right you claim for yourself”

Oh, what a difference the world would make if we could just pause to ask ourselves the question, Could I be WRONG? The benefits of this question are huge:

1. It gives you space to think about something else
2. This allows you to search for other arguments
3. It gives you time to separate between emotions and reality
4. It gives an avenue to give the enemy the benefit of the doubt.
5. It allows you to see imperfections and fallibility
6. It saves you from assertiveness and suspicion
7. It delivers you from illusions and self-deceptions
8. It motivates you to research
9. It allows you to hear the opinion and views of your opponent.
10. This allows you to record your blind spots (the ones you don’t see)

If I am a weak-minded person, I can be influenced by the very strong comments of my followers. These people are very brave and immediately think that my position on the Nigerian Presidential election is wrong. Every time I read such a firm, brave and amazed comment like this: “Pastor Sunday, stop what you are doing”, “Who paid you to say all this?” , “This pastor is no longer good” , “You are not a pastor” , “This man cannot be a servant of God” , “You don’t know what you are talking about”, “Shut your mouth” , “Political Pastor” , “You don’t live in Nigeria , you don’t know anything about this country” , “You are tribal” etc. are wrong.

However, being a Nigerian myself and someone who has never been through a little war, I can understand where he is coming from. However, I still want to help my brothers and sisters become better human beings by opening our eyes to what we can improve in our attitude and temperament.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and power; there is no law against that.” Gal. 5:22-23.

If we are Nigerians, we will ask ourselves another question, Can I be wrong? That can lead us to find other facts. The only basis for reaction and action must be truth or reality. No emotion, no claim, or assumption is enough reason for the decision.

No matter what feelings or opinions we may have about something, it will always be beneficial if we always give benefits to others and ourselves. This is one quality that is not very popular with us Nigerians. We do not give benefits to ourselves or others.

The most recognizable scenario of our National Assembly for the average Nigerian is when the members of the honorable house are busy exchanging blows and throwing objects. Why is this happening? A Grand National disgrace on global television. Mostly because everyone thinks their decision is right, unlike their opponent. If the honorable members of the national assembly could ask themselves the same question, Could I be wrong? There must be more peace in our political life. Continued

Sunday Adelaja is a Nigerian born leader, transformational strategist, pastor and innovator. He is based in Kiev, Ukraine.