LESSONS FROM SADIQ ABACHA

Taking little or no interest in the on going confrontation between the literary icon Prof. Wole Soyinka and one of the late General Sanni Abacha's sons and in turn, the late General's family. I couldn't but single out for amplification through this post, a beautiful piece of lesson (lecture maybe ). I believe this would add some value to a thinkers mind and improve his/her responses to life and matters. SADIQ WROTE; "If you want to think, speak and act logically then you should know all three. 1. The law of identity 2. The law of excluded middle 3. The law of non-contradiction. Now let’s look at each one of these and see what they mean in practice. 1. The law of identity The law of identity means that things are what they are, which at first doesn’t seem very illuminating, but wait; it implies also the following, that things are what they are, whether you like them or not, it implies that things are what they are whether you know them or not, it implies that things are what they are whether you agree with them or not. However, if you don’t like the facts as they are you are going to have to put up with them, because facts are what they are, if it’s raining on your golf day, get used to it! Because the facts are what they are and are often not what you want them to be, like if the traffic lights turn red when you approach, stop complaining! The law of identity means that you must adapt yourself to the facts and start your work from there; it implies that the facts will not bend to meet your expectations. You must first adapt yourself to what life is and then get to work changing and improving things in your life, be brave to meet reality as it really is and not how you would wish it to be. 2. The law of excluded middle. The law of excluded middle means that you should give a straight yes or no answer always and there is no middle ground. The law means that there is no kinda yes and kinda no, there is no ‘sort of’ being married because you are either married or you are not, you are either a thief or you are not, you are either on time or not, you are either living in Nigeria or you are not. The law is the idea that you should not try to keep all of your options open by staying in the middle or hedging, when it suits you, like when you accepted an appointment during IBB’s regime as chairman of FRSC. I bet that was a military regime you partook in. Please pick one wife and state your claim 100% to her, pick one idea and go for it 100%! Decide and commit Sir! There you might find great power and self-satisfaction in the doctrine of decide and commit. No half way measures, no middle ground, exclude the middle! Here! The law of excluded middle Sir. 3. The law of non-contradiction. The law of non-contradiction says don’t contradict yourself simple. If you say you will be there then be there. If you say you will do it then do it. Don’t say or fight for one thing and then do the opposite. Don’t say one thing and then later deny that you said it. Don’t say one thing and then later contradict it. Be consistent in your thoughts and actions. Observing someone who was a socialist in the morning but then became a capitalist in the evening is a textbook on contradiction, these are two polar opposites, such a person is clearly inconsistent and is therefore considered a flip flop, confused, easily led or misled or at best a lunatic who has no clear understanding of the basis of either doctrine. Apply these three logics to others with consistency and then you can ask for the same or expect the same from others, and then you can also ask for others to deal with facts not fantasy, which is the law of identity. Ask others to make up their mind to decide and commit. The law of excluded middle. Then ask others to follow through on the things that they say they would do. The law of non-contradiction"