While pondering on the issue of development
across nations and different strata of the society, I inquired about the reason
for the wide gap between developed and developing societies, advanced and less
advanced continents and the rich and poor, and amongst myriads of reasons, I
discovered a striking cause- the TIME FACTOR! With the same amount of time, each
one has been able to do something more worthwhile than the other.
A sage once made an illustration that drives
this thought home. According to Him, all men are born equal; we were all born
naked, crying and with tightly closed fists. We brought nothing into this world
other than ‘something’ which was held in our tightly closed fists. That
invisible ‘thing‘ is called TIME and all men have equal measure of it.
If every man around the world and through
the lines of history have always had the same quantity of time, what then could
be responsible for the backwardness or progression of one society and the other?
Well, I figured out every two distinct continents, nations, or societies with
varied degree of civilization have always had a major difference in their
attitude and approach towards time.
Over time, developed continents, nations
and societies, be it in America or Europe, have always done with their time, more
significant activities than have been done by their developing or
underdeveloped counterparts in Africa or Asia. All inventions in history are valid
outcomes of wise investment of time.
Doing things differently within the space
of time has shaped civilizations and functioned as a major tool in development
rather than the availability of vast mineral resources. While one society pays
attention to research and development to improve general living conditions, another
pays its own to the survival of its privileged citizens.
While one country pays attention to global
issues to increase her relevance and position as a renowned solutions provider,
the other pays attention to being the consumer of imported goods and beneficiary
of foreign aids.
While the stakeholders in forward thinking societies
continue to invest time to pave new ways for generations yet unborn, those in
disadvantaged economies beg the question.
The record of poor time management set by both
policy makers and the average populace of the society is an underlying cause of
backwardness in many third world countries today.
This among other factors has created the
difference in what each society has been able to achieve within the same space
of time. Time indeed is a factor to reckon with; we will do well to invest it wisely.
Emmanuel
Oluwadunsin Ayeni is an engineer, inspirational speaker, writer and entrepreneur. He enjoys inspiring other people to greatness and contributing to global development. Currently, Emmanuel resides in the lively city of Lagos in Nigeria.
