I marvel at the enormous lust for life among our people even in the midst of crushing pressures. Is this not why we have earned the reputation for being hustlers?
Whereas in time past, the song of some in the midst of life’s oppression had been ‘swing lo sweet chariot, coming forth to carry me home’; whereas faced with similar or worse challenges, our people declare like the violent who take it by force: ‘I shall live and not die’. ‘No weapon fashioned against me shall prosper’.
Yet is it not possible that this our desperation to survive at all costs has indeed cost us the dignity that makes life worth living? So I ask: ‘Is it ever a do or die affair?’
The trending news and fears associated with Coronavirus begins to expose this, as did Ebola some years back, whereby more people were said to have died from panic; some resorting to drinking and bathing in salt water in a desperation to save their lives, than were killed by Ebola infection.
It is this lust for life that often makes us put ‘self’ first and cut corners in the race to live because we have accepted the lie that it is do or die. We complain and point the finger at government, and yet four fingers pointing at us, bring to mind the times we have given and accepted bribe; cheated in exams; taken money for work we did not do; inflated the price of goods or services; made promises we failed to keep; looked the other way rather than challenge wrong doing.
All in the bid to uphold our personal anthem of I will live and not die. ‘I’ being at the centre of that statement, never mind anyone else. Yet we say, ‘this na Naija nah, I will not go and kee myself’. Exactly why any talk of a revolution is destined to be dead on arrival.
It’s high time we were prepared to suffer loss rather than sacrifice our honour, suffer loss rather than sacrifice our fellow man; suffer loss rather than renege on our word.
Essentially what I am advocating for is a nation of people who live to uphold the honour of their word; the dignity of their fellow man and stand up for what they believe in. By so doing we would be truly living.