The victory of Buhari at the polls has elicited various kinds of celebrations from admirers of APC who believe Change has come. Ranging from broom cladded streets, cars and motor bikes to accolades and well written speeches both on social networks and national dallies.
One celebration sure takes the cake. I am excited about the determination of Hasheem Suleiman the 33 year old man who embarked on a trek from Lagos to Abuja to full-fill the promise he made if General Buhari wins in the 2015 concluded presidential election.
On all the social portals, the story of this young Nigerian is trending like crazy. It is sick. Suleiman set out on his journey since the 1st of April determined to get to Abuja before the swearing in ceremony. For the past 14 days Suleiman has made it as far as Lapai in Niger State, and many eyes are now on him for his exceptional courage and tenacity.
He has been getting a heroes welcome in many of the villages and town he has passed through. Suleiman am sure can’t help but be pleasantly surprised at the out pouring of love and warmth shown him by Nigerians in this journey. Even though he must have made adequate financial provisions for his one of a kind trek, he confessed that he hasn’t really spent much since he has been shown so much love from the people he has encountered so far on this memorable Trek.
This story has caught my fancy because this guy is being celebrated today for the same virtues the brand CB was built on, Tenacity, Focus, Determination and daring to think deeply and do things differently. It’s obviously something that we have never seen before. Suleiman is teaching young people a lesson in doggedness and daring to do the unthinkable. I have always said that the survival of Nigeria still lies in the hands of its exceptional youths. Youths who are not sitting on their ass to do the normal, youths who are not afraid to dream up something unusual, something that has never been done and to have the balls to create a buzz with it.
I am impressed any which way, Biko! Chai! Today the nation celebrates Hasheem not for being a group soul, but an outstanding youth. I hear telecoms are already lobbying to sign him up as ambassador. CNN, BBC and several other media both home and abroad have put a spotlight on him besides the cheers and the crowd that greet him at every town he stops by.
I hope that this action will cause most young Nigerians to have a rethink as far as their mindset is concerned. There are no shortcuts in this environment only tenacity, focus, doggedness and standing out will make you succeed and get noticed. That is how one comes to limelight – an extraordinary idea and following hard to ensure we walk our talk, not by sycophancy and thuggery. Hasheem Suleiman has demonstrated that he is ready to walk that extra mile for the things he believes in.
That it is only by being outstanding that he could be exceptional not like every other normal Nigerian youth who are looking for quick fixes and short cuts. We must sacrifice for our dream, it cannot just fall like manna from Heaven, mba! How I wish Nigerian youths can grab this spirit and just run with it. This will put an end to so many of the issues we see in our country, like unemployment. God has given each and everyone of us a gift, we must find what it is so we can live our lives with purpose.
The youths of Nigeria must realize that this change we so desire must start with us. We must begin to change our mindset, to embrace values like Integrity, tenacity, focus, doggedness and out of the box mentality. Suleiman has challenged us. Guys is time for you to walk that extra mile to archive your dream. How you see am?