In our world today, when things are going banana, we need to look at the above. It defines who we are in the society. Man cannot live anyhow in the society without a name tag around him. The society is conscious of everything around it. Many people are becoming aware of the critical mass. In those days people had no means to know who was who to enable people make choices of their friends or leaders or some people they can imitate to become great in life. With the advent of social media, we can watch and read many wonderful people who have inspired the world through their personal industry and talents. We read about people who made history and have left their foot print in the sand of history. Newspapers and televisions are always ready to point them out to us, now the internet and social media platforms. They describe them and call them Icons of our time, legends, men or women of extraordinaire. I myself, I cannot resist to read about them to add to what I am to grow so that people can see me as they see them. A man defined by the society with social myth around him without morals cannot be a man of reference point. Neither can a man with dirty foot note in history.
Men of excellence who lived exemplary lives and history judged them as good are often quoted to correct what goes wrong in the society. Whenever something goes wrong they mention their names to see how life should be lived following the legacies those men of excellence left behind. In different departments of knowledge people have made giant strides and have contributed a lot in the field of learning. In science, we see various men and women with their contributions. In Politics we saw many people who contributed towards making politics what it is today and we saw many have dirty foot note in history for corrupting the political system. We saw President Julius Nyerere, as a political leader of his country, tried to refine politics during his time and become a point of reference in politics because he saw politics as an apostolate where Christians purify the systems that create poverty and dehumanize people. Julius Nyerere, because of his life style in politics was seen as a politician of high level of morality and he is on the way to beatification. He is a reference point in African politics.
In religious fields, Pope John Paul II of our time is a reference point whenever we begin to talk about Popes who touched lives during their papacy, Pope John Paul cannot be forgotten. In terms of awards i.e. government awards, Jean Paul Satre, a French existentialist, refused to accept an award from his government because he did not want to soil his hands with the government in power. Another person was the late Chinua Achebe who refused National award. People see them as people with principles whom people can emulate and follow their footsteps. They are really people who do not want to live with contradictions in their lives. Those mentioned above knew the politics of award. They did not want do anything that can make them compromise.
They want to live clean lives not soiled by dirty politics. There are many political leaders in Africa who really deserve dirty foot note in history because of dirty politics they play or played. They cannot be point of reference. Politicians fail to know that power is not about striving for prestigious position but power is found in servicing the needs of all as witnessed in President Nyerere’s life. Political life without reference point is no life. It becomes an unfulfilled life, emptiness, a life consumed in the things of this transient world at the peril of self. Those we see as reference point are our sources of inspiration, while those with dirty footnotes are in the dust bin of history.
• Very Rev. Monsignor Livinus Ukah is a Catholic Priest, Author of many books and a Social Justice and Peace Advocate
