Follow Us on Google
Humanity is a monstrously creative lot. Even aliens look at the incredible technological advances we have made in flying, in space, in communication, in globalisation and in healthcare and bow in awe. Sadly, though, on the flipside, lower animals shake their heads in utter disbelief seeing how we so shamelessly easily turn a blessing into a curse. We demonise goodness but canonise evil; we commodify love, we weaponise hate.
As I always say, we excellencify nonsense but turn around to nonsensify excellence. It is everywhere. We mouth church, but play cult or occult, or both. We speak glowingly of excellence and its allied entourage but it’s all mere lip service as the water under the bridge is tainted by mediocrity, clannishness, hypocrisy, satanism, and deceit.
We are in trouble not so much because we are in trouble. We are in trouble because we have pretended long and stoically enough to convince ourselves that we are not in trouble. That’s a dangerous cul-de-sac to be in. We don’t know, but we don’t know -and don’t accept- that we don’t know!
A chance meeting last Wednesday, at Usenobong & Associates Magna Law Firm, Uyo, left me pondering on the foregoing and more. In attendance were principal partner of the firm, Rt. Hon. Usenobong Akpabio, who once spent eight years in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for Uruan State Constituency; president of Uyo Club 1935, Dr. K’ubra Uya; Gov. Udom Emmanuel’s SA on New Media, Mr. Aniekeme Finbarr, and me. I am not sure I have in the last two years or more attended a meeting more freeing, more laughterful and more edifying. The two-hour session was so good that, five days later, its minute-by-minute proceedings are still reverberating in my mind’s ear!
We talked about everything: life, leadership, government, money, people, business, politics, death, and what have you. On some matters, we reached a reassuring consensus; on others we didn’t. It’s easy to hazard a guess or two vis-a-vis nuts we couldn’t crack. Don’t wander too off, please: life, government, politics, and money.
We all seemed only to over-philosophise on life. I blame that on our divergent experiences and the realities we all see every day. On government, Dr. Uya -about the only one of the four who’s not directly in government- stunned all three of us with his positive critique, views and fears. Having known him for two decades, I was excited to see that neither the years nor the untold ethnic and political injustice he has suffered and continues to suffer have changed his dispassionate disposition: he supports positive energy even if and even when he doesn’t gain from it.
As I was saying, he had good words for the state governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who marks his sixth year in the high office on 29th May. Everyone can check out the governor’s report card inundated by Ibom Air, industries, Ibom Deep Seaport paperwork completion, politics of peace, tolerance and integration, road networks, recent decision on inter-ministerial contracts for the masses, etcetera, and decide whether the Uyo Club 1935 boss is right. However, on his fears over the governor’s successor in 2023, we came to the conclusion -after very unnecessary fiery debate- that it is pure waste of time to lose sleep over a matter that shall take care of itself when the time comes. People should learn to enjoy the present, knowing full well that the future shall take care of itself.
Surprisingly, on the other hand, we were unanimously together on leadership, people, business, death, etc. We imagined how people wake up in the morning, pray to God for a good day but dress up and go out to plot evil against another human being and still come back home at the end of the day to close their eyes and sleep -unafraid they may not wake up again. Which brought our discussion to its only perfunctory part: death. Is it possible that we who think we are alive are actually the dead while those we mourn as the dead are in the true land of the living?
I found that juncture of the no-holds-barred talk quite creepy, especially when the president also chipped in the point about pregnancy being another world of human life details of which no one emerging therefrom remembers anything. He defended his postulation with Luke 1:41-44. I have been meditating on the matter, eversince. And, about the 50/50 pause every human life goes into during sleep.
Why does man -an incurable control freak- not fear to sleep knowing he might not wake up but while awake is so fearful of less fatal risks? As human beings, are there things in our makeup that force us to fear what we shouldn’t and to not fear what we should? Are we wired to enjoy being tired to the apron strings of an unseen, external power? Why do we casualise or commonise faith, hope, love, trust and friendship so easily?
How are we able to believe in or trust a pilot we have never met and may never meet, a pilot whose mental health we don’t know; yet we board his plane and fall asleep on it in the air not sure what his village people are up to with him in the cockpit? We all do that, right? But, all of us would not allow our family to enjoy even 50 per cent of such sweet trust. An alarming majority of us would not dare touch let alone consume our drink or food left in the custody of own family members, a second after!
Why do we kick love around but dreadspect those who hate us? Nigerian politicians are said to pay writers of malicious stuff against them handsomely while friendly critics are despised or ignored. They are also known to dispense peanuts to those who report them positively. Just what type of world have we made of the sweet earth that God has bequeathed to us?
Why do we make good to look so bad but evil to appear so holy? Why do we treat life so miserably but celebrate death so lavishly? We ignore friends but the moment they die, we are all over the place speaking and writing after-the-market sweet-nothings of how good they were. Why is it so impossible to celebrate the living, apart from on their days of birth or promotion?
This is it: mankind must immediately rethink the self-imposed bondage and restrictions with a view to working our way out. It is as simple as listening to, enjoying and benefiting from silence, which by the way is the first proof of growth and maturity. It’s about time humankind began decasualising or decommonising such expensive, fundamental virtues as faith, love, trust, hope and friendship. It is silly to have faith in the arm of our flesh and sundry mirages of power, but not in the one and only Creator.
God bless Nigeria!
