Richard Tayo: Patience, The Precursor To Our Change

If only we know what it takes to blast and scrap from underground the metal that has bewitched and harassed man for over 6000 years….. What else but gold! Jewelers and goldsmith have selected gold as their precious metal of choice because of its unique properties. If only we know the efforts and time put in from mining to smelting process to refining and assaying before it becomes that ornament we all adorn with pride, then we can safely say nothing good comes easy.
What happens next depends on how the gold will be used. Pure gold is generally too soft for most practical applications, so other metals are nearly always added to it. When gold is combined in this way, it forms an alloy. Scientists and goldsmiths often use colors to designate the various gold alloys that are possible. For example, white gold is made by combining gold with nickel, silver or palladium. Red or pink gold is an alloy of gold and copper. And blue gold is the result of mixing gold with iron.
There is a key element in the production of gold called PATIENCE. Alot of patience is needed in the production of those gems we call gold and we as citizens need to exercise such patience with the present administration if we must enjoy the raw gold the administration is excavating and hoping to process to pure gold.
It is imperative to communicate the importance of patience. We have all heard that patience is a virtue, but very few actually live by these words. Coaches and mentors regularly preach the importance of hard work, but few share such passion when stressing the importance of patience.
A friend of mine said in one of his write up titled ‘Where is our President?’ that ‘stop telling us the change will take time when technically it’s getting worse than you met it’. Fact is, the challenges this administration are poised to address did not develop overnight, and they will not go away overnight. Let me remind us that the value of Corruption that has ravaged our country is the obvious war against the change we want to see today. Progressive change takes time and one is likely to fail a few times before one succeed.
Patience is to remain steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity. Patience is more than a virtue, it is a powerful weapon. No matter how hard working one is, the lack of patience will negate both hard work and intelligent program design.
Unfortunately, patience doesn’t sell well, so it’s rare that you will hear it mentioned. People want quick fixes in today’s world of instant gratification. Quick sells well. Slow and steady does not. If something takes time to accomplish you can bet that it won’t be pimped out on a late night infomercial. People want results yesterday not tomorrow.
I can understand the obsession with instant gratification. If we can do something faster why not do it? In theory, the idea has merit but in reality it simply isn’t true.
President Muhammadu Buhari isn’t perfect but I am sure he means well for Nigeria. I hold no brief for the present administration as i am also affected by the prevailing situation in the country but I know that there is light at the end of this tunnel, all that is expected of us is patience.

Richard Tayo
@richardtayo