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July 19, 2004 In every pack of cards there is a joker. In a thousand oysters there is a pearl. In a hundred years, in a million men there is a maverick! Unprecedented, unconventional, a freak of nature, a phenomenon of time in the phenomena of life. Geneticists tell us all men have in them, 23 pairs each of the X and Y chromosomes. Women have the XX and men the XY. However it has been noticed occurring at a probability of one in a million, individuals who had not XY chromosomes, but XXY and XYY chromosomes. Sociologists noticed over time that these mutants were to be found mainly in society’s prisons, reformatories and asylums. Psychologists advanced – these XYY and XXY mutants must have truly exceptional abilities. Now, because in our society genius is all too often mistaken for insanity such people are unable to live conventional lives. Psychoanalysts then concluded – boredom is the reason why such mutants often turn to crime. The spectrum of everyday life holds no challenges for them. It is said that in the files of America’s secret services, top scientists and master criminals are listed under the same category. This is real food for thought. However, must differences in a person’s genetic make up always result into a life of crime? I do not think so. While it is true that possession of exceptional abilities does give a man the potential for both tremendous good and evil; the greatest benefactors of Mankind have been equally unconventional. They have been mavericks – rebels against established tradition and constituted authority. When we talk of scientific achievement we all know, those of Newton and Einstein have been the most ground breaking. There have been so many musical composers yet Handel and Mozart remain reference points. Though there are so many entertainers Michael Jackson has no equal. Amongst boxers Muhammad Ali is the greatest. In football Pele is incomparable. Talk of art – Leonardo Da Vinci is the master. What did these men have that makes them have relevance up till now in our lives? I do not know and cannot tell if they too had the mutant XXY and XYY chromosomes. But one chromosome I know they have and which nearly everyone else lacks is the MMI chromosome. Know what that is? I will tell you. It is the Me Myself and I chromosome! Unbelievable eh? Just consider it again, one thing these people all had in common is: in all they did; they were ORIGINAL; they were pioneers. They did not tread beaten paths, they did what they truly felt like doing even when everyone else thought they were crazy! In this age and in this part of the world where there is so much stereotyping, artificiality and imitation, being one’s true self is really a great feat. Back then in Secondary school while reading ‘Ababio and Co’, I used to wonder why schoolmasters, lab attendants and other ‘laymen’ made majority of the scientific discoveries talked about. I could not believe it when I read that Albert Einstein was just a clerk in a Patent office when he postulated his theory on Relativity. Now I know why things are so. Laymen have no preconceived ideas about things. They have not stuffed their brains with other people’s theories and opinions. They are ‘pure in mind’ and original in thought. Coming to our country Nigeria. I recall the time Afro-beat creator Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was buried. A mammoth crowd of people turned out to pay their last respects. It was testimony to the place he held in people’s hearts. That truly was a man original in all respects, a maverick to the nth degree. While some might condemn mavericks; who live life as they want it, do the things they feel like doing without regard to others’ opinions and norms; deep down in our hearts we all envy and respect such individuals who have the courage to be themselves, to be truly free! Know something? Your reading this article thus far just proves you have in you the nascent spirit of the maverick. Please do not let it die. ------------ Email Olayinka Ogunyemi: yogunyemi@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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