By Sam Amadi
Nigerians are a faddish people. We go with whatever is trending. It is now all about Hilda, the heroic lady who has cooked longer than everyone in recorded history.
Yesterday my daughter came back from church and took me up on the Hilda issue. I told her I don’t know much and really don’t care more than to wish her success in her chosen heroism. I do not see the point of most of the Guinness World Record items. Honestly I will care more about the tastefulness of the soup than how long a person cooked without rest.
But I really appreciate the level of determination and tenacity it takes to make such history, even if it is a needless one, from my own perspective. Big congratulation to the phenomenal lady.
Of course, many men were delirious with praise and attention, maybe because of her conspicuous beauty. But the nation was truly gripped by this much needed relief from the nauseous humdrum of INEC-infested melancholy.
But the one that caught me laughing is the new affirmation of heroism. Everyone now wants to break one record or the other. I read many ladies on social media affirming themselves and vowing to break their own records.
Success is mimetic; we desire someone’s cloud of glory. But the problem is that we always forget that the moment of glory comes after many moments of drudgery.
Get it clear: Hilda did not just DECIDE to break world record. She WORKED hard till she came to the moment where she has any REASONABLE chance of breaking any record.
Don’t begin to dream of making it like Hilda. Start dreaming of working as hard as she has done these many years to come to the moment of touching glory.
I don’t care how long you cook as long as the food is delicious and nutritious. But I hugely respect the determination and persistence that have aided her tremendous talent.
What a feat. Congratulation to the lady of the moment.
Dr. Sam Amadi, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), is the Director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts.
