Thought Picnic: How experience humbles our generosity of spirit

Peeling away at the sores

Experience seems to bring us into close encounter with the core of our humanity. It is in experience that we begin to discover who we really are, if what we can do in comfort can be reflected similarly in the presence of discomfort.

We may deign to understand, dare to sympathise or attain the supreme expression of empathy, but when we are touched, how would our minds change, and how would our concern for others dissolve for the ascendancy of the trumpeting of our self-pity?

How would we attempt to magnify our circumstances almost to the level that suggests we have been ravaged by the greatest disaster ever to overwhelm humanity?

They are questions we must ask ourselves always.

Beyond belief

Yesterday, I heard a sermon where the preacher told a story of a tightrope walker who did his act over the Niagara Falls many times with greater daring-do each new time he attempted the feat.

Charles Blondin did many feats, blindfolded, on stilts, trundling a wheelbarrow and even carrying his manager on his back as well as frying an omelette midway. It got to a point that people believed he could do anything, however, the same people when asked to sit in the wheelbarrow for a tightrope walk balked at the idea.

Experience takes issues to another level just as having to place one’s trust in the death defying feats of Charles Blondin to be a participant called on a new level of trust, a trust in circumstances one would have no control over until the feat is completed, the risk of it going wrong coming to the fore, in their minds.

Disaster comes here

There are many natural disasters around the world, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, droughts, floods, fires and much else. Most of them we would only see on television and are moved to contribute to charity drives to help the victims of those disasters.

It is probably our nature to give as an expression of our innate humanity, and that is a really good thing. However, the natural disasters have come to our land, storms raging, winds so boisterous bringing down heretofore stable things, rains coming down in incessant deluge causing floods and a few sink holes, this is serious and grave.

We are affected, some of us have to stay put, and others can apparently temporarily escape those conditions until things improve. Our attachment to our things might well determine how affected we are about possible loss as a result of a natural disaster.

The aid matters even more now

The UK has a large foreign aid budget, and it goes a long way to improving the lives of the people at the receiving end of our aid in fighting poverty, disease, disenfranchisement and inequality whilst sponsoring health, education, democratic and human rights programs.

We cannot in essence, in principle or in understanding our role in society and the world at large withdraw aid for the expediency of our little local difficulty.

That is why I am saddened that personal disaster has a tendency to expose the deeper selfish human nature where our temporary pain gains ascendancy and greater importance over recognising the broader context of the bigger, deeper and more serious sufferings of others.

It would pass

Indeed, we should help ourselves and find the means to tackle the big natural disaster issues that ravage our lands, but for that to be at the expense of the foreign aid that brings quality to lives, yet nowhere near the comforts we have enjoyed before disaster struck is unacceptable.

The power cuts here would soon be restored, many of those we give foreign aid to do not have that luxury, the flood waters would soon recede, many of those we give foreign aid as a consequence of natural disaster may not have resource or hope for the change that would make our bad experiences become history.

A selfish humanity

When I hear people on television go on about the government addressing our problems first before thinking of foreign aid, or by inference these first world victims of mishap comparing themselves to the poor and destitute of much less fortunate countries and circumstances, you begin to appreciate the shallowness of our humanity and its absurdity.

We are mostly good when things are good, but when things go bad we subconsciously reveal the worst of who we are. Much as man’s capacity for good is well regarded, our capacity for selfish malevolence when we are most affected is unspeakably unprintable and with that our humanity as a whole suffers the more.

Such is life.

We are society, each one of us

Cross with crossers

Sometimes my views are quite socialist in outlook, in other words they are Christianly but it is really about individuals who realise that despite their need to exercise personal responsibility they have civic and communal responsibilities that relate to peaceful coexistence with others.

Nowhere was this most evident than when pedestrians have to navigate multiple pelican and zebra crossings at an intersection that leads to public transport facilities.

More than once I saw people in their urgency get to the crossing, neglect to push the buttons at the traffic lights that trigger a timing mechanism to equitably divide waiting times between pedestrians and other road users, then cross the road before the lights signal access, moving on to do the same thing at the next crossing.

In general, one would expect that people naturally would push those traffic light buttons once they get to the crossing regardless of if they have to wait or not, but one learns there is no presence of mind for the community but a selfish desire to make ones way at speed, at risk and in possible stupidity.

Rushing to keep back

It becomes ever so irksome if the said persons do stand in the way of access to those buttons as other conscientious members of the public realise their need to do the right thing.

Move to public transport and trains approaching stops have people gathered at the doors to get out only to realise Mr and Mrs Rush do not know they have to push a button to open the doors until someone steps forward to do that and not a word is offered in penitence for lacking the virtue of knowledge which with patience would have allowed those who really know to open the doors for all others to get off a lot earlier.

Forward without unction

Then, cyclists who refuse to stop at the demarcations from where the traffic lights can be viewed and reacted to. They get beyond the lines in haste and then stop, but are oblivious of when the lights change creating a pile up borne of selfishness rather a simple adherence to basic traffic rules without which chaos would reign in anarchistic aplomb.

However, this microcosm of societal apathy in the quest for individual aggrandisement is reflected in many other places like littering the streets with rubbish, the discarding of cigarette butts and chewing gum on the pavements, the rush to get in or on without regard for those who need to get off first and so on.

A loss of communal responsibility

Many of these things I have written about before, yawns that expose the gaping cavity of a hippopotamus’ gob, with the uvula descending like a stalactite in a forbidden cave albeit on uncultured members of the seemingly most intelligent species on the face of the earth.

It is hard enough being assaulted with the sight of underwear on fashion suicides that wear low-rise trousers but one was overcome with gut-retching nausea when the underwear had apparently disappeared to reveal flesh – did one not shout within oneself to call that miscreant to order?

Where are the men in white coats when you need them? The lobotomy must to radical enough to allow for the sense of community in the morass of unconcerned individuality masquerading as islands of men independent of the other and oblivious of the need for corporate responsibility.

24 self-serving presidential aspirants

Uphold the law without flying out

Two recent comments left on my blog about the situation in Nigeria concerning the fly outs for health checkups and the antics of the Independent National Electoral Commission leave me in such great indignation, I hope I find words to express myself with clarity.

The whole matter centres what all those contestants are doing in the light of these developments, none took advantage of the fact that getting treatment for breathlessness or a knee injury abroad simply highlighted the fact that we had a health system no one was proud of and hence the opportunity to do something about it.

It made Nigeria an international laughing stock, almost irredeemable slight as an oil-rich country that could pay to fly out its stinking rich ruling class but not address ever-present social and development issues that could propel Nigeria further than we have ever dreamt possible. Our shame and they who seek to lead stood dumb.

The silence of the ambitious

However, the most grating one is how these self-serving, selfish, inordinately ambitious, indifferent and unconcerned contestants can even deign to offer themselves to lead talk less of serve when they cannot rise up against the abuse of process, the egregious impugning of the rule of law and the flagrant misinterpretation of the constitution.

The 24 eligible candidates who can for now contest the presidential elections in Nigeria are so ensconced in their comfort zones, having not been disqualified or made ineligible, a seeming injustice meted against a stronger contestant is best left unsung lest their personal ambitions be thwarted by the possible success of this contestant who to date has successively won 11 court battles challenging his ability to run.

If they cannot be bothered about this, how on earth can they sincerely be bothered to ensure that Nigeria is properly run and it begins to achieve like it should have or should be working towards when we celebrate the 50^th year of independence?

Dishonourable and disgraceful

These are no people of honour and neither should they be offered the privilege to rule in Nigeria, if before they have attained power they cannot raise their voices in protest against unconstitutional activities, how can they when in power swear an oath to protect the same?

Fearful people who have no principles left in their sinews, such that the fear of being tarred with the instruments of vindictiveness that the Presidency had converted the EFCC and INEC into leaves them forgetful of the fact that they would be powerless to rule if they are beholden to organs that terrorise and castigate personalities to achieve ends inimical to the development of Nigeria.

Instruments of presidential vindictiveness

I do hear that the EFCC and INEC are now being made more independent of the machinations of the presidency, I cannot say however that the damage that has been done to their reputations can be recovered and made right so soon. Reference.

However, one thing is clear; these 24 candidates which include intellectuals, former military leaders, ones with delusions of grandeur and unproven criminals do not deserve to be presented to the country for election.

A case to postpone elections

If Atiku Abubakar does eventually get his name onto the ballots, there is a possibility that he might but to only some places in Nigeria, a pre-rigged election looms and this must not be taken lightly, the leaving president must not in anyway be absolved of complicity to stealing the opportunity to choose from his fellow countrymen.

If however, the election would need to be postponed to ensure that justice and fairness is served, then both the sitting president and his vice president should and must resign their commissions at the end of this term and a constitutional precedent that allows the Senate President to be caretaker leader/President for 3 months must ensue, where none of those who had been in power can influence the will of the people till elections take place in probably June or July 2007.