I PLEDGE…
I have given myself time to think and I can’t remember up to five (5) promises I have made in my lifetime. It’s good to make promises, especially when you not just plan to keep them but you actually keep them.
I am not scared of making promises; I am only wary of the burden it lays upon me until I fulfill such a promise.
I would readily make a promise that I would keep but how do you know the promises you can keep and the ones you can’t?
Well, a hint might help. If you are under duress, operating in the realm of ignorance or existing outside the boundaries of sincere living, then chances are that
you would make ‘unkeepable” promises.
If you want to avoid breaking promises, then the best way is not to make them. Let your YES be YES and let your NO be NO. better still you can become holy and righteous hence fulfilling every promise you ever make.
Well you may be smiling or grinning right now that you are not a promise breaker or one who doesn’t keep to his or her words…well, we will see about that.
Do you remember the lines below?
I pledge to Nigeria my country
To be faithful, loyal and honest
To serve Nigeria with all my strength
To defend her unity
And uphold her honour and glory
So help me God
Sure you do!
That is the NIGERIAN PLEDGE, the promise that all true citizens of the nation make, right from childhood.
The first question is whether you have made this pledge before? “Yes” is your likely answer.
The second question is whether you were under duress or ignorant when you made this pledge? Another “yes” is likely to surface, then a “NO” strongly takes over the answer.
I will stop asking questions now.
Whether you have made this under duress or ignorance, I believe that was in the past. You are old enough to know what the pledge entails and you are wise enough to know whether you are keeping to it or breaking it. Every Nigerian citizen is a worthy “recite” of the lines penned above.
I wish I could say that one out of a 100 Nigerians do what it takes to keep to this pledge.
I wish I could vouch for you, knowing that you are keeping this promise from line one till line last.
I wish you could tell yourself that you are true to the NIGERIAN PLEDGE.
I just wish.
We have, times without number PLEDGED OR PROMISED to NIGERIA to be FAITHFUL, LOYAL and HONEST.
Are you faithful, loyal and honest in everything you do? Seriously?
If faithful, what quality of goods are in your shop? How early do you report at work?
If loyal, how many lies have you told your superior? How many bike-men have you shortchanged?
If honest, Did you return that item which wasn’t yours? Did you refuse to partake in a profit you didn’t work for? Why collect money from travelers?
We have PLEDGED to serve the country with ALL of our STRENGHT, not part …ALL.
Are you truly serving this country with your strength? All of your strength?
If yes, why didn’t you finish you syllabus when you taught those students?
Why did you take the shortcut during the NYSC endurance trek?
Why did you leave you post at the junction where you control traffic?
We have PLEDGED to defend the country’s unity.
Are you defending Nigeria’s unity? Do you even believe in her being united?
If yes, why didn’t you marry that person who wasn’t from your tribe?
If yes, Why are you giving jobs to your “people” only?
If yes, Why are you supporting Biafra and other factions?
We have PLEDGED to uphold her honour and glory.
Are you upholding her honour, and her glory too?
If yes, why are you dwindling the tax payers’ money?
If yes, why are you messing up your education in school?
If yes, why the prostitution or drug trades you are part of?
If yes, why are you sending scam mails and cheating foreigners online?
The last line is for me the topic sentence, the backbone, the bane of the pledge.
It is what makes other lines become do-able. It is the foundation of the house and the root of the tree. The spirit behind the concept, the power that backs the write up….
I am convinced that until one has been helped by God, every line of the Nigerian pledge is subject to be broken, if ever kept it would be at convenient intervals. Until God has helped a man, no man can help him, least of all himself.
The Nigerian pledge helps us understand how we stand so sure of the pledges we make forgetting the ones we persistently break on a daily basis.
We must plead that God’s help be accessible to us and available always if not I can tell you that even when I am done writing this piece, the very next thing would be to break another line of the pledge I have PLEDGED for years.
If any Nigerian would only abide wholly by the NIGERIAN PLEDGE, I am convinced that every evil detail of this country would be written as history which would never repeat itself.
While that may probably be unattainable given the specie of beings we are, I am surefooted that YOU would do your best from today onwards to consider the Nigerian pledge before you do something of worth.
I strive daily not just to keep the pledge but to even live a higher calling and I want to tell you sincerely…no man would keep the pledge unless the help comes from God almighty.
I will live this pledge and I hope you will too….
…SO HELP US GOD!
6:45 pm
We all need the Grace of God to attain whatever pledge we have made to ourselves,friends,family,colleagues and to the nation. Without God we can do nothing for in Him we have we move and have our being. God wil grant us grace as we acknowledge His pace in our lives. God bless you sir
10:11 pm
well said bro. Amen