VALUE

    Among the Ibo of Nigeria, there is a popular folklore concerning the tortoise and the pig. The tortoise owed the pig a sum, and the latter had tried severally to retrieve it to no avail. On one occasion, he flings away a ‘stone’ in a fit of anger. The stone was really the tortoise in camouflage. The crafty tortoise made the replacement of that particular stone the prerequisite for his debt repayment; an impossible task. He claimed the stone to be a treasure handed over to him by his forefathers. Undaunted, the pig till date has continued his quest for that treasure; the misplacement of which shattered the fabrics that held his life together. Likewise, man’s life has never been the same ever since he misplaced the treasure that held the fabrics of his society together. That treasure is called values.

    The concept of value refers to the perception of good and bad. It is an essential aspect of man. We value things based on our desire and preference for them. Our highest interest forms the fundamental value from which other values are appreciated. Values are basic to determining human actions, norms, and desires.

    Since value is the central factor that defines mans action, it then implies that an atmosphere of peace and harmony can be fostered in the world, for man, by promoting those values that engender peace and harmony amongst men. The proof of this can be illustrated with the experiences of the United States; from 1776 till date.

    The US was founded on the precept that all men are equal, having the same innate desire to be free; and that this freedom ought to be protected at any price, even the ultimate price-death. One of their notable founding fathers once said, “Give me liberty or give me death”. As a result, till date, whether rightly or wrongly, the United States has championed the clarion call for freedom, ironically at times, trampling on the freedom of others in the process. Alas! That isn’t the only side of the coin. The same nation changed her educational system, obliterating the teaching of morals from public schools. The attendant consequences are glaring for all to see. Violence, promoted by the mass media and “all mighty” Hollywood, is rife in that society. Teenagers shoot several of there classmates and themselves for one singular reason; they weren’t taught thou shall not kill. This goes a long way in exemplifying what the presence or lack of sound moral judgment, can do in man’s world. However, all hope isn’t lost! Even a tree that is cut down still could blossom once more under the right conditions.

    The panacea to the problem of truncated ideals of peace and harmony in the world can be portrayed by viewing life as a control system.  A control system simply gives you an output determined by your input and a modifying factor. This modifying factor is called transfer function by control engineers; but using life as my control system, I choose to call that factor values. My case is that if I can modify societal values, to lean strongly towards disavowing conflict in its entirety, then, I can predict the outcome; harmony and peace.

     In line with this treatise, and in conformity with my vision of a peaceful and harmonious world, It is my desire, to found and promote a non governmental organization to be called, “Value for Peace and Harmony to all Nations”, (VPHN). The vision of this organization would be ‘’ restoring the dignity of man through value reorientation”, and the ideals would be achieved in two ways.

     The first is a preventive approach centered on teenagers. VPHN intends to aggressively reach out to children in their formative years, inculcating in them those values such as engender peace in the world. It is also in the mind of VPHN to fund research towards the development of alternative games for children, by software developers, keeping them occupied and at the same time inculcating the right moral values in them. This is because it is easier to train a child than to correct an adult. Catch them young, or train up a child in the way he should go, whatever you might call this approach, you choose!

    Secondly, VPHN would work with International bodies like UNESCO, and other advocacy groups with similar ideals to push that governments the world over should ensure the mass media refrains from promoting issues that escalates violence.

   This is a seemingly monstrous objective; rightly impossible and unachievable for one man. But with partnership, we can achieve even the impossible, for impossibility is a word found only in the dictionary of fools. We would reach the world one person at a time; a journey of a thousand miles, it is said, begins with a step.