Before we dig into the nitty-gritty, let me tell you about where I come from. There are many people who are alive but they are dead. They are alive or so it seems, physically, but dead -completely dead- emotionally, economically, politically, professionally and spiritually. However, since this is not a spiritual exercise, that angle is out of the picture.
In the physical realm, you can die but live on; you can live but are dead. Too many of those you know or see are dead. Forget that they are running up and down, hoping against hope. The question now is, who killed them and how?
Let the rough play begin. You are a killer -a murderer really- if you ever told a lie that demoted or stopped someone from climbing. If you ever plotted evil successfully. If you ever caused someone tears of pain.
Imagine successors who turn against own predecessor(s) who worked so hard for them to emerge. Ridiculing your seniors or benefactor(s) is tantamount to killing them. Sssh, don’t celebrate just yet, dear benefactor or senior. This matter is a double-edged sword.
You are also a killer if you suddenly begin to feel like oxygen to your protege. It’s deadly witchcraft to expect someone you helped to become your slave. Ditto, exposing your people to lack or poverty or shame; it is murder. The same way hypocrisy is manslaughter.
If you steal from especially the poor, you are a killer. If you misappropriate public funds meant to build schools, hospitals, roads, etc., you are a mass murderer. If you used money budgeted for drugs and other hospital needs and instead built meaningless houses for yourself and family and cronies, you have tonnes and tonnes of human blood on your miserable hands. If our teachers, doctors, and sundry professionals cry to God because you stole their welfare during and after service of all those years, let me just tell you that you have committed treason.
None of these is new. I am only reminding you, in case you get carried away by power and money. How many people have you killed? How many people have you pushed to their early grave because of your greed and impunity and stupidity?
How many people have you hated to their death? How many students have you frustrated, dear lecturer? How many businesses have you buried, dear leader? How many souls have perished because of your wrong teaching, dear priest?
How many facilities have cut fire, dear electrician? How many buildings have collapsed, dear engineer? How many contracts have failed, dear contractor? How many bridges, how many roads have gone kaput, dear consultant?
How many accidents have you caused, dear driver? How many employees has your oppression killed, dear boss? How many marriages have you put asunder, dear gossip? How many careers have you terminated, dear journalist?
This self-check is not only for those in charge or those who think they have power. How many times have you insulted people for nothing, dear masses? How many times have you cursed the leader(s) for nothing, dear follower? How many times have you posted nonsense on Facebook or X, dear social media user?
How many times have you shared social media rubbish, true or false, dear hater? How many times have you entertained blackmail or mockery, dear idiot? How many times have you cast the first stone, dear saint? How many times have you passed judgement too hastily, dear holier-than-thou bigot?
How many times have you looked away or hardened your heart in unforgiveness, dear worshipper? How many times have you thrown people into loss or hunger, dear middleman? How many times have you cost your party or candidate victory, dear politician? How many times have you stolen another’s mandate, dear winner?
How many times have you caused economic topsy turvy because of policy somersault, dear chief executive? How many times have you sponsored or supported or enabled an evil law, dear legislator? How many times have you silently enabled injustice, dear office holder? How many times have you shed crocodile tears, dear pretender?
How many times have you inflicted pains just to teach someone or group a lesson, dear powerful one? How many times have you deployed profiteering as a tactic, dear Shylock? How many times have you won by crooked means? How many times have you humiliated another human being in need of help, dear blessed one?
The truth is that on each of those occasions, someone died. Fear and humiliation and shame -acting alone or in cahoots- kill far more people than death does. Far too many of our people are suddenly descending into depression or such other anonymous illnesses which ultimately kill them. It is all traceable to what we have done or not done to them; one way or the other.
Therefore, rather than sit there and argue, simply jump up and swear never again. Stop the plotting today. Stop the slandering today. Stop the libelling today.
We have killed far too many persons with our tongue. We have scattered far too many homes with our trademark falsehood. We have destroyed far too many destinies with our hate. We have weakened far too many strongholds and strong people with our cowardice, with our inferiority complex, with our timidity.
We have overpromoted mediocrity to the detriment of excellence. We have overpreferred beauty to brain. We have overhyped money in place of honour. We have overallowed the poor to not breathe.
Yet, everyone believes everything is fine. Everything is not fine, my dear. We are sitting on a powder keg. Far too many people are dead who should be alive and far too many are dead although alive.
This is not a laughing matter, except you want us to count you as one of the killers. A little bending over backwards, a little elasticity, a little humanity, a little kindness and a little godliness will combine not only to reengineer our mindset but also, more importantly, to rescue the human race. This is the only way to salvage what remains of our society.
Finally, before we take benediction, please, know this and know peace forever. Ours is a forgiving father. Enjoy mercy forever by coming clean here and now and hereafter sinning no more. Help all always, never destroy any.
God bless Nigeria!
Big feed forward
Next Monday: Stop blaming poverty.