It's very easy to be pessimistic about certain ideas, plans or suggestions. Our world needs reform; our country, Nigeria, needs reform. We need such a revolutionary transformation that will completely turn around the lives of our people and offer a better life to the coming generations.

The problem is that when we talk about reform, it's very discomforting. No one wants to believe that anything wonderful can happen. (Let me rephrase that, not many people want to believe that anything wonderful can happen.) And it's both sad and...perhaps, an opportunity for some other people who might think otherwise.

One of my mentors said, in the course of sharing great ideas with people, not everyone will adopt the idea, but most people will.

There are still good people in our world. If there weren't, things would be much worse. I know some people won't do things if there isn't any reason of self-interest. But, I tell you that...some will. Some people can die for others to live; some people can give their blood, sweat and tears for others; some people can offer their life for others. And I see it almost every day: in Church, without pay, people give their lives to contribute to some cause; in organizations, people volunteer; in the army, too. When people give money, time, attention...it's like giving life. Now, why is that? I think for two reasons.

The first reason is systemic. Some work is not so much noble or wage heavy or come with recognition, but people do them because there is a system that has created an opportunity or a constraint for people to give themselves, sacrificially, to something bigger than themselves. Now, it's sacrificial because the contribution far outweighs the compensation. And systems make this possible. For example, working in the army, healthcare, energy-related industries and manufacturing, among others. You're compelled to give your life to something much bigger than yourself.

The second reason is more biological. For example, regardless of the nation-state or organizational system I might be under, I can volunteer, either consciously or not, to contribute to building something because it resonates deeply with me. It's to say that there is some meaning that I find in doing such work, regardless of whether there is some compensation or recognition. My concern is to fulfil the deeply seated void inside myself that I am contributing to something that affects the lives of people, whether small or great. It's still selfish, but it's inward. It's to receive a settlement that no amount of compensation or recognition can give me.

Now, compensation and recognition work wonders. And, as humans, we need them for our survival and societal influence. But, inherently, it's possible to drive the vehicle of work without them being our windshield. And there are many people with this perspective in mind, and at heart. The ones who have it at heart, we have to help them bring it up to their mind. The ones who have it in mind, we have to create and offer them the opportunity to exercise it with their hands. So, change can happen, and not everyone will want it, but most will. So, keep building; keep sharing; keep creating.