Omofoma Victor O. (Great SOV)

A scorching indictment and urgent call to action inspired by the unvarnished address of Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Eseola, Archdiocesan Secretary and Youth Chaplain, at the 2025 Parents and Youth Forum.

Let's strip away the pleasantries and pious excuses: Nigeria is sick, and its deadliest symptom is our national disdain for time. Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Eseola didn't mince words; he handed us a mirror and forced us to look at the common rot that plagues our society, from the highest levels of government to the holiest sanctuary of the Church. The constant, chronic lateness—the 9:00 AM Mass that starts at 10:00 AM, the 10:00 AM meeting that drags on until 11:00 AM—is not a mere inconvenience. It is a sin of character.

Lateness is a Failure of Integrity

Fr. Eseola put a lie to our favourite scapegoat, corruption. He argues that the deeper, more corrosive cancers are the "lack of transparency, lack of accountability, and lack of integrity" that enable corruption to flourish.

When you call a meeting for 9:00 AM, you are making a promise. When you show up late, you are breaking that promise. When the entire organization waits for you, it is not an act of grace; it is an act of collective cowardice that punishes the responsible and rewards the undisciplined.

Lateness is nothing less than a failure of integrity. It screams:

"My time is more valuable than yours."

"My word means nothing."

"I do not respect the institution I claim to serve."

This is why, after 65 years of self-rule, we are still crawling. How can a nation be built when its citizens cannot honor the simplest agreement—a start time? We are effectively teaching our children that chaos is acceptable and that order is for fools.

 

The Irresponsibility Trap: A Self-Inflicted Curse

Listen to the logic of the rot: The organizers, in their weak "consideration" for habitual latecomers, started late. This action, Fr. Eseola asserts, "indulges our irresponsibility."

Think about that word: indulges. We are coddling our own worst instincts.

We have created an irresponsibility trap:

Today's lateness teaches everyone that the time called is not the time kept.

Tomorrow's program is called for 9:00 AM, but people now rationally assume it won't start until 10:30 AM.

The system is broken by design, and we are the designers.

The consequences are devastating: We will never grow if we continue to do the wrong things. You can have the best constitution, the most brilliant plans, and the most fervent prayers, but if the people tasked with executing them have no respect for time and integrity, the nation remains crippled. We are stuck in a cycle of self-betrayal, and we should be tired of it by now!

 

The Only Way Forward: Brutal Discipline

The solution is not complex, but it demands brutal discipline: START ON TIME.

Fr. Eseola’s mandate is a revolution in simplicity:

Call a meeting for 10:00 AM, and start the meeting at 10:00 AM.

If only two people are there, begin.

If the Archdiocesan Secretary is late, start without him.

This is not harshness; it is a profound act of respect for those who were responsible. It is the only way to send an unambiguous signal that the era of Nigerian Time—that euphemism for indiscipline—is dead.

People will complain. They will adjust. And before five years are out, we would have established a genuine culture of integrity and responsibility that our youth can actually emulate.

We cannot demand transparency from our leaders in Abuja if we cannot exhibit it in our own parishes and homes. Our failure to respect time is the same rot that fuels corruption, poor execution, and national failure.

Are you willing to sacrifice the comfort of tardiness for the burden of discipline? Or will you continue to be a willing participant in the Great Nigerian Time-Wastage?