Sustainability (The Football Story)
There are certain words we use often without knowing their full meanings.
For me, Sustainability was one of such and I remember vividly during one of the block sessions of my Masters Unit when we had a course on sustainability in project management.
The tutors flew in from Amsterdam that morning and as soon as the class began, they asked if anyone could define the word sustainability or sustainable development.
In a class of about 40 students only about two people could murmur what they thought sustainability meant.
I sat down and tried to figure out a meaning for a word I have used severally but I could not get a definition.
When the class began and the tutors started explaining the concept, I got a real and full picture of Sustainability and since then I made up my mind to join in spreading the good news in the simplest way possible.
It is of paramount importance that everyone is fully enlightened and informed on ways of living a sustainable life because it is a good to man and God.
In this short piece, I will be using a football story to explain sustainability and the need for everyone to join hands together to help preserve mother earth and also secure the future of the unborn generation.
According to Wikipedia, football which is also known as soccer is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball.
Today, it is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries making it the world's most popular sport.
It is played on a rectangular field with a goal post at each end and the aim of the game is to score by using any part of the body apart from the hands to get the ball into the opponent's goal.
It is played in a stadium and there are officials who ensure that the rules of the game are adhered to.
Spectators and fans usually come to watch the game in the stadium which last for about 1hr 45 minutes.
It comprises of two halves which last for 45 minutes each and a half time break of 15 minutes.
Although in some cases, extra minutes are added to the playing time.
In this short story, the stadium will represent the earth; everybody present for the game represents humans who occupy the earth.
The players are the key stakeholders because they make the game happen (These are government, corporate bodies and organisation) while the officials are the various regulatory agencies trying to ensure that things are done in a sustainable manner.
The story begins...
On a bright and sunny Saturday, two football matches have been scheduled to hold.
The community hosting both games have just one stadium which means both matches will be held in the same stadium but at different times.
The first game is scheduled to begin at 12 pm while the other game will commence at 4pm.
The time interval between both games gives ample time to ensure that everything is put in order before the second game starts.
The first game starts on a good note with everyone keeping to the rules, the game proceeds and then things begin to fall out place; players are no longer keeping to the rules of the game.
The officials try to ensure that everything is in order but gradually and slowly the situation grows worse and the players get more physical with themselves causing bodily harm to each other and vending their anger on facilities placed on the pitch.
With the turn of things, the fans and spectators also begin to get involved, they begin with chanting songs of war and this goes a bit further with throwing objects into the pitch while the match is going on.
After several failed attempts by security officials to put an end to the ugly situation, things get out of hand and then the fans and spectators engage in a free for all fight with so much violence and the game is disrupted.
The stadium is now in a state of chaos.
As the saying goes, "when two elephants fight, it is the ground that suffers".
The stadium which has been prepared to host two matches is now in a state of disarray with most of the facilities destroyed.
The time is 3pm and the other teams scheduled to play at the same stadium have been looking forward to the match with so much preparation and expectation.
They all get ready and head up to the stadium.
On getting into the stadium, they find out that the stadium has been left in a very bad state and all facilities needed for the game to take place have been destroyed.
Fans and spectators that have also been looking forward to the second game all come to meet the situation and with total disappointment, they have no option but to go back home and the game could not hold because of what had happened earlier.
This is a short description of what is going on around the world today especially in developing countries.
In Nigeria for example, a close look at the oil industry shows that the key players more often than not do not keep to the rules of the game of oil exploration and production and this has led to degradation in the region that produces the resources that has kept the country going for years.
This situation has pushed the local population into engaging in activities that are anti- sustainability such as pipeline vandalisation, oil theft, violence, kidnapping and so on.
Just like the spectators in the first football match, they have watched the key players break the rules of the game and they also decided to be part of the rampage.
If the partakers of the first football game in the story had adhered to the rule of the game and kept everything under control, the match would have ended at the stipulated time, the spectators would have had a good time watching the match, the second match would have kicked off by 4pm as scheduled and if they had also kept to the rules of the game, the game would also have ended on a good note and the stadium would have been preserved for future games.
As it stands, just one game and the entire stadium is in ruins and this is exactly where we are heading to.
If we have it in mind to use our resources in a sustainable manner, we will have enough for our generation and the future generation will also have the right foundation to build on.
After reading several materials on sustainability, I find it difficult to understand why we do not live sustainably because it is easier for us to live in a sustainable manner than to live otherwise.
My quest for more knowledge further revealed that the problem is lack of awareness.
I have asked several people what they understand by the word sustainability and to my utmost surprise; a lot of people recognise the word but do not really understand what it means and how to live by its principles.
That is the simple reason a customer in a supermarket will prefer to pay for a beautiful non-sustainable plastic bag instead of using a green sustainable bag offered by the shop for free.
I strongly believe this is the time for everyone to join hands together to ensure that we spread the word.
Educating people about sustainability and the need for us to live by its principles is very important.
Regulatory agencies while ensuring that key players are playing according to the rules should also educate the spectators and fans because in matters concerning the earth and our environment, everyone is a stakeholder no matter how small our power and influence may look.
For me, Sustainability was one of such and I remember vividly during one of the block sessions of my Masters Unit when we had a course on sustainability in project management.
The tutors flew in from Amsterdam that morning and as soon as the class began, they asked if anyone could define the word sustainability or sustainable development.
In a class of about 40 students only about two people could murmur what they thought sustainability meant.
I sat down and tried to figure out a meaning for a word I have used severally but I could not get a definition.
When the class began and the tutors started explaining the concept, I got a real and full picture of Sustainability and since then I made up my mind to join in spreading the good news in the simplest way possible.
It is of paramount importance that everyone is fully enlightened and informed on ways of living a sustainable life because it is a good to man and God.
In this short piece, I will be using a football story to explain sustainability and the need for everyone to join hands together to help preserve mother earth and also secure the future of the unborn generation.
According to Wikipedia, football which is also known as soccer is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball.
Today, it is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries making it the world's most popular sport.
It is played on a rectangular field with a goal post at each end and the aim of the game is to score by using any part of the body apart from the hands to get the ball into the opponent's goal.
It is played in a stadium and there are officials who ensure that the rules of the game are adhered to.
Spectators and fans usually come to watch the game in the stadium which last for about 1hr 45 minutes.
It comprises of two halves which last for 45 minutes each and a half time break of 15 minutes.
Although in some cases, extra minutes are added to the playing time.
In this short story, the stadium will represent the earth; everybody present for the game represents humans who occupy the earth.
The players are the key stakeholders because they make the game happen (These are government, corporate bodies and organisation) while the officials are the various regulatory agencies trying to ensure that things are done in a sustainable manner.
The story begins...
On a bright and sunny Saturday, two football matches have been scheduled to hold.
The community hosting both games have just one stadium which means both matches will be held in the same stadium but at different times.
The first game is scheduled to begin at 12 pm while the other game will commence at 4pm.
The time interval between both games gives ample time to ensure that everything is put in order before the second game starts.
The first game starts on a good note with everyone keeping to the rules, the game proceeds and then things begin to fall out place; players are no longer keeping to the rules of the game.
The officials try to ensure that everything is in order but gradually and slowly the situation grows worse and the players get more physical with themselves causing bodily harm to each other and vending their anger on facilities placed on the pitch.
With the turn of things, the fans and spectators also begin to get involved, they begin with chanting songs of war and this goes a bit further with throwing objects into the pitch while the match is going on.
After several failed attempts by security officials to put an end to the ugly situation, things get out of hand and then the fans and spectators engage in a free for all fight with so much violence and the game is disrupted.
The stadium is now in a state of chaos.
As the saying goes, "when two elephants fight, it is the ground that suffers".
The stadium which has been prepared to host two matches is now in a state of disarray with most of the facilities destroyed.
The time is 3pm and the other teams scheduled to play at the same stadium have been looking forward to the match with so much preparation and expectation.
They all get ready and head up to the stadium.
On getting into the stadium, they find out that the stadium has been left in a very bad state and all facilities needed for the game to take place have been destroyed.
Fans and spectators that have also been looking forward to the second game all come to meet the situation and with total disappointment, they have no option but to go back home and the game could not hold because of what had happened earlier.
This is a short description of what is going on around the world today especially in developing countries.
In Nigeria for example, a close look at the oil industry shows that the key players more often than not do not keep to the rules of the game of oil exploration and production and this has led to degradation in the region that produces the resources that has kept the country going for years.
This situation has pushed the local population into engaging in activities that are anti- sustainability such as pipeline vandalisation, oil theft, violence, kidnapping and so on.
Just like the spectators in the first football match, they have watched the key players break the rules of the game and they also decided to be part of the rampage.
If the partakers of the first football game in the story had adhered to the rule of the game and kept everything under control, the match would have ended at the stipulated time, the spectators would have had a good time watching the match, the second match would have kicked off by 4pm as scheduled and if they had also kept to the rules of the game, the game would also have ended on a good note and the stadium would have been preserved for future games.
As it stands, just one game and the entire stadium is in ruins and this is exactly where we are heading to.
If we have it in mind to use our resources in a sustainable manner, we will have enough for our generation and the future generation will also have the right foundation to build on.
After reading several materials on sustainability, I find it difficult to understand why we do not live sustainably because it is easier for us to live in a sustainable manner than to live otherwise.
My quest for more knowledge further revealed that the problem is lack of awareness.
I have asked several people what they understand by the word sustainability and to my utmost surprise; a lot of people recognise the word but do not really understand what it means and how to live by its principles.
That is the simple reason a customer in a supermarket will prefer to pay for a beautiful non-sustainable plastic bag instead of using a green sustainable bag offered by the shop for free.
I strongly believe this is the time for everyone to join hands together to ensure that we spread the word.
Educating people about sustainability and the need for us to live by its principles is very important.
Regulatory agencies while ensuring that key players are playing according to the rules should also educate the spectators and fans because in matters concerning the earth and our environment, everyone is a stakeholder no matter how small our power and influence may look.
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