The spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, Tenzi Gyatso 73, was in Nigeria recently for the very first time. He went to Nigeria on a private visit to deliver the keynote address on the 10th Anyiam Osigwe Foundation celebration at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Victoria Island, Lagos. The Dalai Lama, the 14th in the Tibetan dynasty, a 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner while answering questions said among other things, that he was very skeptical about claims of spiritual healing powers. The Dalai Lama also condemned human attachment to anything whether family, spouse, children, friend, person, wealth, money, or substances as an obstacle to peace of mind. According to the spiritual leader, attachment is a trap and human beings are advised to imitate the monks and be detached. It is the Dalai Lama's viewpoint that once we do not have too much attachment in life, we will be contented and contentment is the key to peace of mind. Contentment for him is some kind of personal check, but it doesn’t mean we should no longer have desire. Without desire, life is meaningless as desire for good, desire for more service to others, desire for more benefit to others is very healthy. Such makes life more meaningful as without desire, one becomes a robot with no further progress in life. A genuine desire, with reasons, with logic is a proper desire to have.
However it was not all honky dory while in Nigeria as the air-conditioner in his hotel room failed in a baking summer-like Nigerian heat with very high humidity. Whether it was as a result of power failure or mechanical fault, Icheoku is yet to conclusively determine that; but it sure does not look good for the image of Nigeria. It mattered most because it left the spiritual temporal of Tibet "roasting" in Africa's intense summer heat. In his own very words, "the hotel is very good, but the first night, the air conditioning in the bedroom failed, and it was very very hot".Icheoku asks how dare the air-conditioner fail on such a world citizen as the Dalai Lama, leaving such a lasting negative impression about Nigeria in his head. Admitted he will not voice it out, being the astute "politician" he is, but the indelible mark that it was "very very hot" will forever remain with him as well as his other accompanying aides. Probably the hotel which hosted the Dalai Lama did not have a hotel engineer on site to fix whatever was wrong with the air-conditioner or better still replace it with a new one? Or if it was power failure, what happened to their stand-by generator otherwise the power would have come back-on so soon after the failure that the Dalai lama would not have noticed the heat! Marketing is everything and first impression really do matter, please do not tell me otherwise! The problem with Nigerians is that they really do not care a hoot about people's impression of them, otherwise, the gear would have since been engaged in an over-drive to fix a lot that is wrong with both the country and her citizens. Imagine the PR disaster that air-conditioner failed in a hotel room hosting the spiritual leader of Tibet, a world citizen? Take or leave it, Icheoku says this is a major black-eye on Nigeria and if it was a result of power failure, it sure brings back to the front banner, the intractable power problem in Nigeria. Can Umaru Yar'Adua, now that the Supreme court has finally legitimized his presidency, declare immediately his long awaited and anticipated power-emergency in Nigeria so that such shameful disaster as power failure on a world-citizen does not happen again, ever in Nigeria. It is the right thing to do and if that is the only thing attributable to his term in office, so be it as he would have left a lasting legacy indeed. If it is the hotel's fault that they cannot quickly rectify a broken air-condtioner in a little turn-around operation, then they do not deserve to play host to anybody talk-less of a world-class citizen, like the Dalai Lama. What does it take to take out a broke unit and put another working one therein? If it is central, then his room would not have specifically broken down. Better still why did the hotel not relocate the Dalai Lama to another room with a working air-conditioner so soon after to avoid this "very very hot public relation disaster? To the Dalai Lama and crew, Icheoku deeply apologise, on behalf of the Anyiam Osigwe Foundation, the hotel management and Nigeria for this "very very hot" environment you found yourself in a Nigerian hotel room. It is regrettable as it is unfortunate indeed!
Just an addendum for your upkeep titled Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self; Respect for others ; Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules very well so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you have never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self; Respect for others ; Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules very well so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you have never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
