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Lessons From Australian Open 2018

Grandpa was at war one day, after a fierce battle with the opponents, it got to a point in time that the leader of the opposition, Doro met him and they started fighting while other warriors look on. At a point, Doro, the warrior fell to the ground but instead of cutting his head, Grandpa stopped his warriors to move away from Doro. He was lifted up and they embraced each other.

Three days later when we returned from the battlefield, I asked grandpa why he didn’t kill Doro the great warrior from the opposition and he explained to me, “My son, it is not all the time you aim at killing an enemy. Doro was a great warrior, I came to war, not because I thought we could win him, I just came to fight to push back an enemy of my town. Winning was an added value from the gods. Doro is the greatest warrior of our time. He is young and strong; many warriors dare to meet him because he has the power of fire. He commands fire and when his arrows hit their target, the target catches fire. For me to have won him, it means it is destiny, not because I am a better warrior. The gods are very wise. Sparing his life will avail me an opportunity to benefit from his wealth of experience someday.”

 

Two years later, grandpa went on a journey and came back and told that he went to Doro, the warrior. He showed me a gourd with burning fire in it. I asked why the gourd was not burnt by fire and grandpa explained that the charm is Doro’s power over fire and that he gave it to him as a gift after thanking him for not killing him at the last war. Grandpa explained to me that when a warrior comes to war, he is performing a patriotic duty for his town and should not be regarded as an enemy. A warrior from two sides should not aim at destroying each other. He said  “The duty of war is the assertion of superiority, not an aim of destroying the other. War is like a game meant to assert the supremacy and them furtherance of a friendly relation based on mutual respect. That is why some politicians cannot make good leaders; they seek the fall of their opponent, displaying selfish motives pretending to love the people. An enemy today could turn out a wonderful and helpful friend another day. If you kill a helper of destiny today, you will destroy your destiny not by an enemy but with your own hands. There is a thin line between success and failure, they look the same and has the same effect.

Several years had passed, I was opportune to watch the just concluded Australian Opens 2018. I watched Caroline Wozniacki weep for joy as she took the cup, becoming the first Danish player to win a Grand Slam singles title, defeating Simona Halep in the final, 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–4. I heard Carolina say to Simona Halep, “I am sorry for beating you”. What a height of humility in victory. Caroline came to compete, she never expected that an unseeded player like her could win a highly rated player as Simona, but because the gods of competition favoured her, she accepted it with humility. With that I see Carolina win more great places in her career. Pride comes before a fall, but humility precedes success. The path of the humble is laden with greater success. Carol did not mock Simona, she expressed shock at winning such a senior colleague in the court. She has every right.

APC won elections, unprepared and they came to power arrogant and unprepared. Success caught them unawares and so they thread without caution. Those warriors who failed out of power were not the worst, borrowing a leaf from them or running a government of national unity would have shot Nigeria higher other than the enmity scenario being created in which those who are out of power are now seeking a return by all means. Warriors from different camps seeing each other as enemies rather than as a people seeking to protect the territorial integrity of their nation.

Our political parties should learn from books written by great men on how to build a nation using even enemies. Thinking that “Only our party is best for governance will always rob us of good hands who has good intentions for the country.

I suggest the winners should embrace the losers in every contest and let the purpose of seeking power be good governance and not ego boosting.

God bless Nigeria.

 

 

 

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