On a certain day during my service year at Onicha Olona, Delta State, my fellow corps members and I were summoned to pull out weeds as dusk settled in. And each of us was given an axe to fulfill the task. For me, It was my first time handling an axe, but I mustered the courage to proceed, imagining it was just like crafting beads. I grabbed the axe like some professional and failed like an inept. After I failed, countless questions filled my mind. “Wasn’t this supposed to be easy? It’s just an axe, isn’t it?”
As I zoned out for a bit, a senior colleague smirked and said, “Edith, Were ya nwayọ (take it easy), watch me pull out the weeds—you might learn something.”
Truthfully, I didn’t know how best to do it, so I followed her, and somehow, it made using the tool way easier. It wasn’t a perfect pull but I did better.
From the moment the incident occurred until we reached our rooms, the scene replayed endlessly in my mind. And with my heart longing for stillness, I reached for a sachet of water from the pile by my bed. I drank slowly, each sip a quiet balm to my nerves, which eventually became a pivotal moment for me. A moment that leads me directly to the main focus surrounding the axe, and it says: The axe wasn’t “just” an axe but primarily, a tool. A tool that becomes something else entirely in the hands of one who understands it – The one who understands Its weight, its edge, and its purpose. (Greater clarity on this aspect will emerge as we journey deeper).
Just as the axe draws its power from certain key properties that make it effective, influence too doesn’t occur by chance—it is driven by three vital forces and they are:
1. Who you are—your identity, character, and individuality.
2. What you represent—the values and principles you stand for.
3. How and when you act—shaped by the preparation behind your decisions.
