UBUNTU: A Matter to Consider for Societal Development
His face brimmed with fury and anger, his hands were ready to do justice. In faith parlance we call it 'Holy Anger.' The young man who was about to receive jungle justice had just crossed the boundaries of fairness to humanity. I can liken it to what the Zulu man calls 'Ubuntu' meaning humanity but popularly translated as 'I am because We are.' Therefore, an evil done to my neighbour is an evil to me and everyone around us. Proponents of this ideology say humanity is a quality we owe to each other.
So what led to the fury? I and Adekunle Charles (Charles is a friend and colleague) in the company of another friend of ours who at the time was a fresh student (lady) at the University of Ilorin, had been waiting for a cab at the school park for the lady. Not long after that, a cab pulled up close to us, we secured the front seat for the young lady, bade her farewell and suddenly one rascal from nowhere stormed the scene, shoved her aside (she used to be very frail and of pocket size stature) and sat down where she was supposed to seat. "This is unfair" I said but Charles went a step further to vehement confront and correct the situation.
My point today is not to glorify his person but the culture behind the action. It is not just a gentleman culture but a social ethic that must be upheld across all spheres of our existence. Let us move a step further.
The great Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia said:
His quote underscores my thoughts for today. The voice of evil and injustice roar in our city when we failed to address it when it was just a silence whisper in our backyard.
I have heard men say a lady deserved to be violated because she was not properly dressed but give an outcry when herdsmen unleash mayhem on women and children of a community.
Some celebrate politicians who shared in the loot of our treasury, money meant for the security of the nation but joins the social media outcry '#bringbackourgirls'. Are they back now?
A retired military officer told me last year that the movement that operates as Boko- Haram today was a group of people crying for attention and fairness. Whether he was right or not is another question but our society as it stands today is the case of Frankenstein Monster, coming back to haunt the very person(s) who created it.
The land in itself is not bad, the people made it bad.
People in power abuse our essence daily and we keep quiet or laugh about it and no one is thinking about doing something. We have bosses who will verbally and emotionally abuse staff because s(he) pays the piper. Some people turn their eyes away from evil because the devil is a relative or kinsman. Parents shut their children down because they are small. I never knew childhood equates stupidity.
We have a group of people who also argue that elections in Nigeria must be a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, because other candidates don't have political experience. Let's be honest, how were they supposed to get the experience when we recycle leaders.
Nigerians think!
Ajamah Oluwaseun
So what led to the fury? I and Adekunle Charles (Charles is a friend and colleague) in the company of another friend of ours who at the time was a fresh student (lady) at the University of Ilorin, had been waiting for a cab at the school park for the lady. Not long after that, a cab pulled up close to us, we secured the front seat for the young lady, bade her farewell and suddenly one rascal from nowhere stormed the scene, shoved her aside (she used to be very frail and of pocket size stature) and sat down where she was supposed to seat. "This is unfair" I said but Charles went a step further to vehement confront and correct the situation.
My point today is not to glorify his person but the culture behind the action. It is not just a gentleman culture but a social ethic that must be upheld across all spheres of our existence. Let us move a step further.
The great Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia said:
Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph.
His quote underscores my thoughts for today. The voice of evil and injustice roar in our city when we failed to address it when it was just a silence whisper in our backyard.
I have heard men say a lady deserved to be violated because she was not properly dressed but give an outcry when herdsmen unleash mayhem on women and children of a community.
Some celebrate politicians who shared in the loot of our treasury, money meant for the security of the nation but joins the social media outcry '#bringbackourgirls'. Are they back now?
A retired military officer told me last year that the movement that operates as Boko- Haram today was a group of people crying for attention and fairness. Whether he was right or not is another question but our society as it stands today is the case of Frankenstein Monster, coming back to haunt the very person(s) who created it.
The land in itself is not bad, the people made it bad.
People in power abuse our essence daily and we keep quiet or laugh about it and no one is thinking about doing something. We have bosses who will verbally and emotionally abuse staff because s(he) pays the piper. Some people turn their eyes away from evil because the devil is a relative or kinsman. Parents shut their children down because they are small. I never knew childhood equates stupidity.
We have a group of people who also argue that elections in Nigeria must be a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, because other candidates don't have political experience. Let's be honest, how were they supposed to get the experience when we recycle leaders.
Nigerians think!
Ajamah Oluwaseun
Keep up the good work bro.
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