Steem4nigeria Accelerator Contest Week 102:That True Saying.

Proverbs and adages are an effective component of the human culture. These are words of wisdom in the form of a short saying, passed down through the generations usually. In Nigeria proverbs are not mere words, they are a reflection of society, a means of transmission of values and a principle of good living properly. When I was growing up, I could frequently hear elders say a proverb in their conversations and in the beginning, I could not grasp why.

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However, growing up, I found myself discovering that the sayings hold truths which transcend time, culture and age. In this paper, I will tell you one proverb that I strongly believe in, how I learned about it, why I consider it to be true, how my personal experience has proved it, and finally, whether I think it would be relevant in future generations.

The one that I understand to be very true is: The race to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but times and chance happen to everybody. This is a Biblical and cultural proverb given that I have heard it mentioned during my attendance in church and in my community by elders. I initially heard it when I was young by my grandmother who would always tell me not to be discouraged when I could not accomplish something or even when I saw other people do it better than me.

She would tell me, “My son, it is not a sprint but where one can perform his best, your time will come.” I later heard my pastor in church preaching these very words using Ecclesiastes as his basis and explaining that success in life is not always based on being the fastest, strongest and smartest but rather about God's time and the timing of the opportunity at hand.

This proverb appealed to me immensely because I have lived in a society where people often judged themselves in comparison to the other person-be it school, at work or even in their relationships. There was a hurried rush to achieve but this proverb resonated in the ears as it reminds the people that life is not a race against others but it is a trek where patience and persistence count a lot.

I agree with this proverb since even in life I have found that being the most talented in skills or the strongest may not be the window to success. Sometimes less gifted people can achieve more than more gifted people because the correct opportunity presented itself at the opportune moment.

I can apply this proverb to my life experience. When I was admitted into the Kwara State University to study Civil Engineering, I had very big expectations. However, the years passed and I saw many students who were much cleverer than I was. They would answer questions in class very quickly, the tests were scored high and they could apparently understand faster. Sometimes I thought less of myself and wondered whether I could ever achieve to be like them. However, as I went on with time, I came to understand that stamina and conservation were more important to one than immediate genius.

Some students dropped out because they were intelligent but lacked discipline or because they had financial problems or could not cope with the pressure of engineering. I, moving slowly but steadily on, pressed on. Five years later, I received my bachelor degree as a civil engineer.

On the day of my graduation, I had concrete evidence that the race is not always won by the swift. The fastest learners did not win the marathon but those who stuck to their guns till the end of it. That was my lesson and it proved to me that the proverb holds true and that in life, talent without patience and persistence cannot change much.

This is the truth even outside of academics that I have witnessed in life. In Nigeria, we have very rich individuals who may not have passed through the best schools yet some bright school leavers may be languishing.

I am of strong opinion that this proverb will not go away in the subsequent generations since life will never be predictable. Regardless of how far the technology evolves, regardless of how intelligent and even how fast people may get life will always teach that one is not everything, that swiftness or strength are not all there is to it. As an example, with our contemporary society, one person may put out a short clip in TikTok and become an international icon in an instant even though there may be so many skilled individuals out there who have not received any breakthrough in years. That is the only time and chance working.

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Future generations may live different lifestyles, but the event difficulty, patience and timing in human life will never vary. The proverb holds a timeless wisdom to which rich and poor, educated and uneducated, old and young people can pay attention. Parents will keep applying to the same to motivate their children, pastors will keep preaching to their members, and the societal members will keep adopting it to their lives.

I am also confident that this proverb will remain in life since proverbs are ingrained in African culture. Our oral culture in Nigeria includes the use of proverbs which despite the modernity of the young generations are still heard in schools, churches and during family events. The race is not to the swift as long as life introduces problems, people are never going to forget: the race is not to the swift.

To sum up, proverbs and adages are the gems of wisdom that still regulate the human actions and thoughts. The proverb that I most strongly believe in is:The race is not to the swift, neither the battle to the strong, but time and chance happen to them all. I have heard it first of all by my grandmother and then at church and it has definite influences on my understanding of living.

It had become true in my case, because I had spent several years in the university and the lesson I learned during that time is that it is more significant to stick to something, be patient and time rather than fast and powerful. I also think that this proverb will stand the test of time and continue to apply to many more generations of people because it addresses a common aspect of life which is the uncertainty of life.

I am a Nigerian and I am taken with the way in which the culture of the people provides proverbs in order to transfer wisdom down through the generations. This is one proverb that I always carry in my heart because it reminds me that my life is not about running as fast as I could but how well I hold on and how much I had prepared when my chance arrived.

I invite @eveetim , @xkool24 and @mikitaly @sahmie and @bossj23 and @benton3 to drop a very constructive comments on this post and also to participate in this contest.