TOLERANCE AND DISCIPLINE IN NATION BUILDING

Editorialnyscosun August 10, 2022 BATTLE OF VIEWS

Tolerance is the ability or willingness to tolerate the existence of opinions or behavior that one dislikes or disagrees with. Tolerance is an important concept that helps people to live together peacefully. To be tolerant means that you accept other people's opinions and preferences, even when they live in a way that you don't agree with.

In some cases where everyone is treated equally and given equal opportunity, everyone can effectively utilize their talents and resources to improve their living standard. This results in a bigger middle class and a poverty reduction. The greater spending power contributes to greater growth in the economy and a bigger consumer base. In countries where certain groups are discriminated against, not only are they less able to contribute to the economy but also this leads to the buildup of ghettos and vulnerable communities. Nations that practice discrimination are at a disadvantage, as they risk losing enterprising individuals from victimized groups who tend to move elsewhere.

Where there is discrimination, there cannot be peace. Intolerance leads to fighting, violence, and instability as different groups resort to force and aggression against each other or the state. Events in recent history across many countries have made us witness just how damaging intolerance can be to peace and such events include; people destroying each others’ place of worship, partaking in ethnic cleansing, and An entire nation becoming engulfed in civil wars. Peace can only come when people become free from hatred and are willing to understand each other’s differences.

When people are unable to tolerate each other, they become angry and frustrated. In a society filled with hate, a person begins to feel suffocated and depressed. Discrimination makes lives miserable for not just those discriminated against, but everyone in society. Being able to accept one another’s differences can have a positive effect on one’s well-being. Being tolerant removes one’s self-imposed barriers and allows one to think more broadly and enjoy greater inner peace. Tolerance leads to less stress and greater happiness in the overall community.

However, instances of intolerance and prejudices still occur in some parts which have gotten out of control. Exhibiting tolerance can go a long way for a nation and bring benefits to it in more ways than one. Intolerance breeds hatred, hatred leads to distrust, and distrust causes disunity. Tolerance allows people of different backgrounds, religions, and races to work and live together, this breeds unity. In a tolerant country, every citizen remains loyal to his country and is willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the country. In countries where some communities are disenfranchised and prosecuted, the affection towards the country becomes replaced with the enmity that can result in weakening the state or country. The people of a nation are the foundation on which it stands and if there are fractures and faults in the foundation, the nation becomes more vulnerable to collapse, “A house divided cannot stand". The tolerance of corruption are; forbearance, toleration, sufferance, liberality, open-mindedness, lack of prejudice, lack of bias, broad-mindedness, liberalism, patience, long-suffering, magnanimity, sympathy, understanding, charity, lenience, leniency, lenity, indulgence, clemency, permissiveness, complaisance, laxness, etc.

Realities, challenges, and prospects in building Nigeria as a nation (A CASE STUDY).

Nigeria as a nation has faced severe tests and trials in the drive towards nationhood. The core challenges come in the form of a resolve to establish a sense of common belonging among the diverse ethnic groups within the nation. There is a need to forge one united people out of the pluralistic society of today, giving each individual a sense of belonging to the polity. Indeed, the future of the nation rests with the minute, who can tell it as it is, without ethnic or religious bias or prejudice.

Some Basic Observations: Nigeria adopted the Federal character as a principle to foster inclusiveness, today it is breeding divisiveness and conflict in the polity. The struggle for a mess of porridge in Nigeria’s federation has enmeshed the people in Esau syndrome, sacrificing a life-long gift to satisfy a short-term appetite. People are very understanding and tolerant when their tribe’s men are in authority but they call for ‘justice and judgment’ when the ‘others’ are in power.

Here, four [4] tips can be used in building tolerance for others which are:

1. Take Ownership of Your Feelings: Recognize that no one can make you feel a certain way without your permission.

2. Develop Curiosity: In many cases where we lack tolerance towards others, it's simply because we don't understand them.

3. Change Your Perspective.

4. Practice Respect.

What tolerance can do for the nation includes; Being tolerant removes one's self-imposed barriers and allows one to think more broadly and enjoy greater inner peace. Tolerance leads to less stress and greater happiness in the overall community.