In How did we get here, Columnist Benjamin Achi bemoans the state of our nation today, on the sidelines of the comic reliefs from VIP slaps heard around the world.
Benjamin Achi
Padre Benjamin Achi, a social commentator, is of the Directorate of Communications at the Enugu Catholic Diocese
Take a cursory look and you’ll confirm this unpleasant reality. It is no longer just about the multiplication of criminal elements with murderous intents, taking lives and spilling blood at will, but the fact that many a Nigerian seem to have gotten so used to the killing field that our country has become, that there is now total lack of empathy and a colossal loss of humanity in very many Nigerians.
Someone (a popular singer at that) is down with two terminal illnesses at the same time and cries out, and all he gets are taunts and doubts and claims that he was faking the sickness to get money. That is even when there are pictorial evidences of this person battling for his dear life in a medical facility.
Now, a young promising medical doctor gets shot in a terrorist attack in a train and sends out a tweet requesting for prayers (prayers only not money this time) and what did she get in return? How did we get here folks?
Mark Antony’s line of lamentation in William Shakespeare’s all time classic, Julius Caesar, (Act 3, Scene 2.) is exactly what comes to my mind at this point:
“O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason”.
How did we get here Nigerians?
How many more slaps?
How many more slaps are we going to see?
We have seen two already in recent days! One in Nigeria, the other in the United States.
There may have been others elsewhere that didn’t make the headlines.
What does this say? All is not well in the human world as it stands today. As simple as that. While I’ll never advocate for violence of any sort, people need to know where to draw the line in their dealings with others. There are so many things giving people emotional stress in our world these days. So the best we can all do is to at least say some nice words to other people.
It may not be very easy for someone emotionally, psychologically or otherwise stressed, to maintain that equanimity of a gentleman or lady you would expect when they receive uncomplimentary remarks. Things are not normal in today’s world and its inhabitants are bearing the brunt. There is anger in many hearts.
Just take a look around our country Nigeria for instance. Who has not noticed that an average person on the Nigerian Street these days is aggressive? They are not so much to blame. It’s the situation. Just so that you know.
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