I had an interesting conversation recently about the future of Nigeria and indeed the continent. These conversations are just never easy. At the end, none of us could agree on one primary way to transform Nigeria. But, there was one question that remained, and none of us could answer it.
So, I ask it of you.
What issue requires the most immediate attention for poor people - Poverty or Peace?
Any thoughts?
POVERTY OR PEACE?
Friday, February 15, 2008
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16 Curiosities. Add Yours.:
Can one have "peace" while remaining in poverty? You may need to define what poverty is...Poverty, as I've imagined it, is simply not a peaceful state!
May the day never come when anyone has to choose one of poverty and peace. Amatrya Sen wrote a book called Development as Freedom... I think one can also think of poverty reduction, or eradication(?), as peace. I think pitching these two against each other does not make for easy analysis.
Hi Solomonsydelle,
Your comment on my blog brought me to peep at your 'curious' piece here.
Thanks for making us proud yonder with your witty posts.
Keep up the momentum in Maryland, in the spirit of "Yes, We Can!". I belong to the "Yes, We Will!" camp.
With Love from Lagos, Nigeria.
Downtrodden people always find a way out of any bad deal. The answers to these questions have become too complex and refining them is to propose the Iraqi style terror which may either way turn out to be outcome in Africa.
The past is full of sorrows and to continue in the same path spells disasters yet seen anywhere. How will we become part of of a free future? Our people have been subjected to servitude and as such hails the next person that brings the cola. How can we turn that around in order live free? How do we stop our leaders using our national treasuries as their personal piggy banks? How do we stop gas flaring in our back yards?
If might is right, then love has no place in the world is not too far from here.
Interesting. Either way a poor person is screwed. The real question you should be asking is, would you rather die from hunger or bullets. Looking at the issue from that perspective will help put the problem right in front of people's eyes.
Dying from hunger is slow and painful, a bullet, depending on where it enters, could provide a quick and painless death.
*putting on her philosophical, diplomatic and debater hat*...before we can answer such a question, i think we should illuminate working definitions of these terms...we enlist these terms to encompass so much, with the assumption that all hold the same meanings for the words...poverty reduction often refers to financial poverty...is that the only poverty we wish to eliminate or are there others we also would like to do away with it?...what is peace?..absence of war or peace of mind...
...once we define the terms, we can discuss, although it does make me think of the whole debate about the chicken preceeding the egg or vice versa...at the end of the day, we know we need the egg for the chicken and the chicken for the egg...we need 'poverty reduction' for 'peace' and peace for 'poverty reduction', whatever their meanings...work for both should work in tandem...good question...
the term poverty itself is relative, wat a poor man wants more depends on wat exactly he is lacking at that point in time.
peace and poverty ...shuldnt these two be complementary sort of? i wonder,
giving a poor man more money or comfort depending on which area he is poor and leaving out the aspect of security /peace is like giving a child tonic and leaving a toxic poison just close by.
one cant really say which should be concentrated on when it comes to these two, one is as important as the other, all in all, u simply cant choose one and leave the other, they should go together or so i think..
hmmmm very deep.
why would anyone choose poverty over peace? Peace is the way forward, freedom from anxiety but is it possible to be living in poverty and have peace?
Is'nt the absense of peace a sympyom of poverty?
Both are terrible issues, but if I had to pick one, there must be food in the stomach to feed the brain and calm the senses. How can a person negotiate if they are starving.
But if I had it my way I would say they are both equally important and both should be addressed at the same time.
I will glady take anything except being poor! I am sure I will somehow find peace if I have good health and I can buy anything I want. If I am poor I cannot be peaceful.
'Poverty or Peace' That's a tricky one. Since we are looking at the issues for what they are, I'd say poverty. Then again, it could be a 50/50 situation, so I'd say Peace. Dude, you've gone and made me do my head in!!
How can a man have peace when he has no food in his stopmach, no clothes on his body or even shelter over his head? Peace has no place where there is poverty
Poverty is the cause of all war.
Material poverty. Mental poverty. Spiritual poverty.
Prosperity does not just mean the absence of want rather it is the consciousness of plenty. It is the ability to see plenty all around you even in the dire situations.
In plenty, you see enough to go round for everybody. Then there is no need for war.
I say peace. Let us become a nation of lovers and not a nation of paupers.
Peace is a concept that is manifold. Ostensibly most people will regard it as an outward ideal - Peace amongst religious factions, peace amongst tribes, etc. But in Nigeria, where lies the greatest unrest? The human soul. Sadly most of our people are not at peace with themselves to begin with. And I include the uber-rich in this generalisation. We are a nation of restless souls, always aspiring, always struggling against unseen forces. It gives rise to greed; a lust for money to beget more money, power to beget more power. And what is peace's antonym? War. We are at war with ourselves - constantly. We are never happy with our current status or standing, there is always something better to aspire to.
Yes we need peace first. The rest will follow as smoothly and as naturally as the flow of the night river.
tho ive stayed away from blogging about the issues affecting naija it doesnt mean i cant comment. thanks for keeping us continuously informed.
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