Editor's note: Article was first
published on 1st February,2015 by Ynaija.com
Last night while sitting with my
friends in a pub in Victoria Island, Lagos waiting for the usual 3rdmainland traffic to subside, a
Briton sitting a few feet from me launched into a diatribe attacking Nigerian
politicians and the way they have channeled the course and faith of the Nation.
After realizing that I was quietly paying attention to his outburst, he raised
his voice a notch and continued to yab the political class, “all Nigerian
politicians are the same” he said, irrespective of their parties, Nigeria is
f***** and you are all doing nothing about it he continued to the affirming nod
of his female companion.
On my seat, I had begun a journey
to that place in my mind reserved for gnawing over the many problems and
frustrations constantly plaguing my Nation and its many citizens. Running
through my mind were the myriad of solutions proposed by many scholars,
lawyers, policy makers and commoners but a simple solution stuck in my mind and
it came from my observations while studying for a Masters degree and living in
London.
I noticed two things during my stay that were quite alien to me after being raised in Lagos for many years. First, everyone held the door for the person coming in or out of a room behind them irrespective of who it was. Secondly, motorists let others pass ahead of them without trying to force their way through first. As simple and un-important as this might seem to the scheme of things, those simple acts said a lot about the culture of the people.
In essence, everyone there had
basic empathy and a very humane disposition to others around them. Two
characteristics that are severally lacking in the Nigerian culture today, as
everyone, is out there to get rich for himself, not minding who suffers for his
selfish gain. Selfishness is so enshrined in our nature that you begin to
understand the origin of certain local quotes, an example is the Yoruba saying
that goes “Ti t`eni kan o ba baje, ti elomiran o ki n daa” which means “A
man’s fortunes must go wrong, so another can be successful”. In a world where we have
winners and losers, you may agree with the saying but does this mean my success
must depend on another’s failure? My guess is that many people believe so and
that exactly is where I find a fault.
The Oxford English Dictionary
defines Empathy, as the ability to understand and share the feelings of someone
else while Humane is defined as showing kindness and concern towards others. Do
you think Nigerians have these characteristics?
If we did,
1. Will
gunmen attack and kill innocent students and worshipers?
2. Will
elected public officers ignore the pains of the electorate and embezzle the
funds meant to equip hospitals, construct roads, provide jobs and pay salaries?
3. Will our
Police be left at the mercy of armed robbers without bulletproof vests and a
lack of adequate training?
4. Will
hospitals reject suffering patients because they can’t afford to pay the bills?
5. Will
University lecturers request bribes or sexual favors before awarding good
grades to a student?
6. Will
the Chibok girls still be held in captivity?
7. Will
cultists continue to maim one another on our campuses?
8. Will
we all continue to pursue happiness and comfort to the detriment of others?
9. Will
we in the south, hear thousands of people in the North are displaced and many
lives are being taking daily but still not get so revved up enough to march on
Aso Rock and demand immediate action beyond scripted statements of
investigations that get forgotten or abandoned?
I think not. With empathy and
being humane, we will have the next man at the back of our minds when doing
everything. We will ensure our actions do not harm him either directly or
indirectly and we will protect him when we see harm coming his way. But rather,
we ignore the pains of others, we see a man convulsing on the road and just
watch without trying to get him help, we see a wrong being meted to our fellow
Nigerian and we look away saying; Let him carry his cross, all man for himself.
What has happened to our humanity?
If our attitudes do not change,
then it really will be all man for himself. Our Nation will degenerate below
the point where we are and every tribe will find its square-root. We will harm
and kill ourselves for a share of National resources and our mistrust for one
another will be our downfall.
I know the government, local
leaders and even you the reader know and agree with the aforementioned position
within our polity but what are we doing about it? Should we just continue to
write, read and observe or do we stretch out in empathy and a humane spirit to
everyone around us. Tell me, what will you do?
———-
Adedunmade
Onibokun
Adedunmade
is a lawyer whose practise is based in Lagos, Nigeria. He holds an LLM from the
University of Bradford and publishes the law blog Legalnaija. You can find him
on twitter via @adedunmade
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