Leo Igwe, a Nigerian atheist activist who’s been fighting superstition for nearly two decades, gave a talk last August at TEDGlobal 2017 in which he advocated his Humanist worldview.

It’s really a beautiful speech that never descends into religion-bashing — though he rightly criticizes the effect its had on people in his country. Igwe focuses most of his time on how he realized he had to rely on himself instead of a higher power.

… as a humanist, I believe in a proactive approach to life. The changes that we want cannot be achieved only by dreaming but require doing as well. The challenges that we face cannot go away if we recoil and retreat into our shells, wishing and imagining that those problems will somehow magically disappear. The good life that we desire will not fall like manna from heaven. My parents did not erect a block apartment by wishing and dreaming. They worked hard, they failed, they tried again. They toiled with rolled-up sleeves, with their hands deep in debt, they plowed ahead, growing their dreams into reality.

The video just went up on YouTube. Take ten minutes and watch it. You’ll be glad you did.

