If you don't have a harbour to sail for, no wind is the right wind --Seneca.
The concept of "change" for slaves is multifaceted, encompassing hopes for freedom, better living conditions, and the fundamental recognition of their humanity. Here’s a deeper exploration of what change means in this context:
For slaves, the most profound and desired change is emancipation—the end of their bondage. The hope for freedom encapsulates the ability to live as free individuals with autonomy over their lives, decisions, and bodies. Historical events like the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States symbolized this change, promising liberation and the potential to lead lives free from oppression and forced labour.
True freedom requires a worldview, hope, and a direction toward which the freed person goes. The concept of freedom, then, is immediately linked with that of purpose. Something new and positive will come after the oppression. According to an Israeli journalist quoted by Jim Collins in Built To Last, "Israel, with all its problems, has an advantage over all nations: A motive. They want to enjoy life on Earth in the Jewish Homeland."
Nigeria for instance has no compelling reason why it exists. Hence one disruptive policy after another. The notion of purpose is true both for big movements to free oppressed people and for the individual. If the ex-prisoners use their broken chains only to beat one another, then freedom is not such a great gain. Throughout the world from Africa to the heart of Europe, we keep seeing attempts at freedom that end up being failures and disasters. On the national and international level, we are surrounded by new regimes that are nothing but new ways of oppression.
For some, this message is obviously a question, for others a certainty beyond doubt: what is the meaning of freedom? Nigerians complain daily about their lot In life, namely that they are holding the slippery end of the stick. Then again all governments that have ruled Nigeria, in fact, held the firm end. They want to be free even as they are not aware of what enchains them.
They want to change their lives but there is only one problem. What do you want to be freed from? I used to think that Nigerians have an endless capacity for endurance. That is however not the case. They have no idea of the direction to go. So what does freedom and change mean? A slave who is released from slavery, a prisoner who escapes from prison: these are the most basic expressions of freedom. it is also when one is no longer forced to act against one’s will. This surely is a part of freedom, but not all of it. There is more to freedom than merely not being shackled. A chair that is chained to a table does not become free when its chains are cut. The absence of a master does not make a slave free and the lack of an oppressor does not make the sufferer free. Many are no longer chained, but still cannot be called free.
Freedom must be coupled with desire, to have meaning. One must want to go somewhere or have a dream to fulfil. When there are no dreams, no wishes, and no destination, the “free” person has no advantage over the slave or the oppressed. In other words: the most important part of freedom is inner freedom. A person or a nation that has no real notion of freedom, no real aspirations, will soon become a slave to other masters. Indeed, the outcomes of many election circles and wars of independence prove this. And on a far more mundane level, such as in Nigeria, people with free time and nothing that they want to do soon sink into boredom, family fights, or worse.
Being free, then, is not just a negative concept, the absence of servitude. Freedom also requires a positive value to replace slavery, a meaning beyond that of breaking the chains. Indeed, freedom is not just empty free time, without duties or goals. Quite the contrary. That is because we need rules and regulations to celebrate freedom and this is woefully absent in Nigeria. Doing nothing and equally, doing anything is the definition not of freedom, but of despair.
Change, for slaves, should encompass the transition from bondage to freedom, recognition of their human rights, economic and educational opportunities, social and political inclusion, and cultural recognition. It represents a comprehensive shift towards justice, equality, and respect for their humanity.
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