50 years ago, a young preacher had a dream. He shared it with the world and forever changed the course of human history. He shot no one but shocked everyone. He spoke with compassion and commanded authority. His vision was plain…lets do away with prejudice and treat everybody equally. Lets kill the inner bigot and birth the universal soldier – soldier of love and justice.
The meek have been quiet for long, but they do have a lion that roars for them even up to the mountains and down to the valleys. The wicked have benefited for long, but they have an inescapable adversary who lurks in the shadows. The moment seems afar off, though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not be delayed.
I have a dream of a return to the hunger for righteousness and the love of God. Of a world where love and sacrifice are an accepted currency and legal tender rather than a blind pursuit of numbers in the sky/money in the bank. An eradication of hunger and poverty here on Gods green earth as we lack not the resources to conquer hunger and homelessness, but rather only lack the will and the correct placement of priority and resources. I have a dream that the prison systems will be transformed into truly “correctional” systems rather than punitive systems where citizens actually get rehabilitated and are not simply incarcerated to the detriment of the larger society, for the benefit of a few individuals and corporations
For my country Nigeria, I have a dream of a new horizon, a new dawn. An empowered citizenry. An end to
the crippling corruption that has hindered us as a people for so long and the re-emergence of true patriotism. I have a dream for simple things that we shouldn’t even have to dream for, like constant electricity for all Nigerians, basic security, infrastructure and Amenities for the populace. That Nigeria become a global leader in the areas of innovation and production. That our best and brightest minds will be given room to grow and flourish without needing to “go-a-foreign” or travel overseas. That elected officials and government workers begin once again to take their jobs as the proverbial “government work” understanding that they were put in position to serve rather than to be served. That tribalism and religious discord become a thing of the past and that Nigeria be a global model for harmony in diversity
For my beloved church, I have a dream that we return to knowledge of God primarily, eschew evil and live with the grace of Jesus Christ rather than continue to be made drunk by varying versions of prosperity gospels (which encourage us to seek riches first, then the kingdom of God will be added) and grace gospels (which are not sin-averse)..whereby warping our kingdom priorities and ultimately reducing the quality of our walk with God. I dream the conviction of the holy ghost arrest our leaders who are comfortable taking money out of disadvantaged neighborhoods to buy themselves personal jets, when Jesus Himself walked. I dream we come to understand the true meaning of mercy over sacrifice
Oh black man, I have a dream that you “come to yourself” after having eaten the remnant of swine so long and embrace your golden essence. That we become builders and not beggars, Negus instead of Niggers, the head in society and in our households and not the tail. I dream that our eyes be made open to see the beauty of our sisters and we begin to nurture and protect her as the apple of our eyes, cherishing the fruit of the womb she has given us, strengthening one another from the core. That we return to a love for our roots which is Africa and not look at her problems as Africa’s problems but take a personal interest in finding and implementing the necessary solutions. I dream that we see the causes and the effects of the emasculation of the black man for what they truly are, and that we can begin a downward trend of our mis-steps in this generation. I have a dream that we return to naming ourselves and our children with the beautiful names of our ancestors thus instilling a sense of pride and belonging to current as well as future generations. That we use our wealth to empower ourselves and uplift our communities, fostering education and technology investments and not spend all our substance in riotous living and making it rain.
I have a dream that we be granted the grace to encounter and encourage the right people (in my head i see 144,000 of them) that will be able to make our meaningful dreams a reality and that the cosmos be our light and our guide as we go forward in this chapter. I have a dream 2013.