Letter To My Countrymen: On Taking Responsibility

A few weeks ago, I was trying to give the government a piece of my mind in writing as regard the deplorable state of the nation. After I had written over 700 words of fine rhetoric, it occurred to me that I was unwittingly treading the well trodden path which most political thinkers, writers, bus stop parliamentarians, and most Nigerians tread every day. 


The path where every Nigerian blames the government for everything, including their own personal failures. The same path where individuals point at others, or some external factors as agents responsible for their misery. The path where we feel that God, the government, the society, our ancestors, our parents and even our neighbours owe us some responsibility.

It is easy to blame. In fact, it is so natural that most times we are not even aware that we are doing it. Let’s take a look at the blame game: a young man fails to get a job, so he blames the government for not providing jobs. You tell the young to start up a business, he replies that, “the government has not created an enabling environment for entrepreneurship.” When a thief is caught, if he doesn’t blame the devil, he blames the government for causing the hardship that drove him to stealing. An intoxicated or reckless driver drives at an alarming speed or even attempts to overtake another equally speeding vehicle; an accident occurs, if he’s lucky to be alive – he blames the government for creating the pothole he was too impatient to go across. 

If you question the government as regards the bad roads, the economic hardship, the lack of jobs and so forth. The government, rather than sit tight and take responsibility for the situation, chooses to blame the previous administration, opposition party, public looters, cabals and all sort, for making it handicapped in its quest to fulfil its promises. You see how easy it is to play the blame game. For how long are we going to fool around?

It’s about time we took up responsibility not just for our affairs but also for the consequences of our decisions. It’s about time we stopped being a people of irresponsible leaders and irresponsible followers. 

Responsibility is taking decisions and actions to shape your life. It is the readiness to develop your character. Denis Waitley, an author and coach said, “A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to term with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make.”

Taking responsibility is to gain control of what happens. There are people who feel they have no control over their lives. Such people attribute whatever befalls them to external factors, such as their environment, the government and in most cases to spiritual beings or fate. 

I believe in God, fate and the existence of spiritual beings. And I also subscribe to the notion that God has given us freewill. It is that freewill that makes us responsible for our fate, our successes or failures, our happiness or unhappiness.

Mind you, there’s a huge difference between taking responsibility and self-blame. Self-blame leads to a feeling of intense guilt and inadequacy. But taking responsibility means asking yourself; “What have I learnt from this?” Or “How do I make this different in the future?”

A number of factors makes us shirk responsibility, chief among which is; the fear of failure. We don’t like to fail or be perceived as failures. Ironically, we fail to see failure as an opportunity to try better or put more effort. So when things don’t work out as planned, we pull out an arsenal of excuses or find someone or something to blame. 

Laziness is also another factor. Irresponsibility as a result of laziness stems from the lack of will to act on decisions. There’s a difference between making decisions and acting on those decisions. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Actions spring not from thoughts, but a readiness for responsibility.”

As a nation, as a people, as individuals we need to wake up and be alert to our duties and obligations. The government won’t do everything. Neither would God descend from heaven to do for us what we ought to do ourselves. 

Perhaps we should stop blaming the government for this or that and start asking ourselves; “What have I done (today) to contribute to the development of this nation or this community?” Let’s stop blaming people or things for our misery and start telling ourselves; “I made and took the decision that brought me here. No one forced me. So I’m not going to waste time here pointing fingers.” Let’s forge ahead with enthusiasm and a positive outlook.

Yes, we need change. But not just infrastructural or socio-economic change. The real change we need is a change of attitude. A change of mind-set. A change of perspective. The kind of change which the holy Book phrased as “renewing of your mind”.

Your fellow countryman,

Michael O. Bamidele

@femi_uncensored