LET'S BE OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER

Hello Bloghearts! How have you all been? And how's the world treating you?

Thanks so much for your continuous support and love. You know I can't appreciate you enough!

Today's topic is another very emotional one for me...I had goose bumps writing this one, because I am guilty of it too (I'll tell my story in the course of this article).

So recently, we've been bombarded with one too many sad tales of man's inhumanity towards his fellow man. One too many. The stories are shocking and unbelievable but real. Very real. And to think that all these are perpetuated by humans to their fellow humans, is alarming. God help us all.

An example is the recent and incessant attack on Nigerians by the Fulani herdsmen. I really cannot place my mind as to the reasons for these attacks. All I can think of is FALSE ENTITLEMENT. You graze your cattle on people's farms and destroy their produce and means of livelihood, and still kill them when they resist your actions? Who are you? A god of some sorts? I don't get. (I'm not even on about being in another man's land, because as much as I care, we all own this country. I see no problem with a Yoruba man living in the East, or an Ibo man in the North). It's disheartening to think that some group of persons for reasons only known to them can inflict such harm and end the life of human beings, to preserve the life of animals. Nobody should blame this on illiteracy or religion, this has gone beyond that, this is now a struggle for existence of a LOT, because a FEW persons have decided to take laws into their hands and intimidate the rest of us.

You'll think it doesn't concern you because you or your family have not been hit, until you are hit (God forbid), and there's no one else left to fight for you.

I believe we all have to see ourselves as one people, one nation, one NIGERIA. Whether Hausa, Ibo or Yoruba or Efik, or Fulani or Tiv or wherever. We are first; human beings. And not animals. No one should comfortably take the life out of another person, for any flimsy reason. No reason however honey-coated is justiciable. I can't preach this enough! And you shouldn't too.

All hands must be on deck to make everyone see his fellow human being, as a brother, and you, a brother's keeper. It doesn't matter the tribe, color or religion. We all are human beings.

That's why I still have my reservations about federal character and all it stands for, which in reality does not reflect true character or merit. Or how else do you explain why I, a Yoruba girl should get an admission into a South - West University over a better qualified Ibo girl just because she is Ibo? It's irks marginalization and suppression and results into low productivity and lesser results. It takes away from the content. It supports mediocrity. It speaks high volume of entitlement and opportunistic sense of belonging. (now I'm beginning to speak big English that I don't even know if it makes sense sef). It's just an expression of how I feel inside...ANGER.

I'm guilty of this in many little ways. Let me share a story...

Some days ago, I needed to take a cab home, two cab men hailed me. The first simply said: ''Aunty, where you dey go, I'll take you''. The second (I'm assuming a Yoruba guy) said: ''Aunty, e maa bo'' meaning; please come. Only God knows why the second thought I am Yoruba (I get the ''you look like a Yoruba girl'' all the time though, so I wasn't surprised). I didn't have to think it twice, I jumped into the second taxi's car (the Yoruba one). I could see the look on the first guy's face. He wasn't happy. He even threatened to deal with the second guy when he came back from the trip. Now, in all fairness, I had no business doing what I did that day. I simply played the ethnicity card even though I am not Yoruba sef oh. I felt guilty afterwards and I regretted my actions. Trust me, if a war erupted on that spot, maybe we (the Yoruba guy and myself) would be the first hit, because we were not even in a ''yoruba'' city. You get my point? I promised myself that I was never going to play the ethnicity card or religious card or color card over fairness and justice.

Imagine my dismay again when I read recently about how some ritualists plucked the eyes of a young boy in Zaria. You've got to be kidding me! The things we hear and see (end times). This is a young innocent boy, barely 5 years old and he has already experienced this level of wickedness and inhumane treatment. Thank God he survived to tell the story, but what story does he have to live by? What offence did he commit? I stared at his smiling picture (even with no eyes anymore), and my heart was pained. What a world we live in. What a world!

If we all could just love one another, and treat your fellow man as yourself...

This is the same reason I stand strongly against jungle justice and all its accomplices. Remember ALUU 4? (I've never been able to watch the complete video, my heart wouldn't let me). It's just wicked and evil. No one should be at the centre of perpetuating these acts, neither should anyone have the heart to stand and watch such acts and even video from start to finish. You are as guilty as the one who threw the first stone. This brings me to the issue of burning thieves alive as was witnessed in Warri recently. Some people have argued that it is a double edge sword...it is wrong on one part, and on the other part, it serves as a deterrent to other thieves who hears the story. Wrong, wrong, wrong. So wrong. It's either good or bad, and what is bad is bad from start to finish. There are no buts. I know these people are daredevils when operating, and they can go as far as killing, raping their victims to accomplish their aim, but it doesn't in anyway justify jungle justice. Let the law takes its natural course. You have done well by apprehending the thief, hand them over to the proper authorities and move on with your life. That's the practice in developed countries. Even the Bible has moved from the Mosiac law of ''an eye for an eye''.

Learn to show love. But, you must have love first, because you really cannot give what you do not have. Statistics have shown that most people who exhibit these evil traits lived under much misery, or had problems growing up and this affected them psychologically. They didn't grow up with love around them. Everything they have or own was gotten by force, so they feel entitled to what you have. They would not ask for it, they take it from you by force.

Another woman burnt her co-wife's baby's leg out of jealousy. Huh? Do we live among human beings at all?

We all should join hands in this fight against segregation and bias. Teach love, preach love, practice love. From the classrooms, to the workplace, to places of worship, to everyone. BE YOUR BROTHER'S KEEPER.

Because it is only when you see your neighbor as yourself, that you can treat them as yourself.

Meanwhile, would you believe that this wasn't the topic I thought I'll write about? Life happened, and I don't regret writing this today. I'll gladly discuss this a hundred times over any other romantic or motivational article. Because, love is the center of all our activities, and what greater love than to care for the next person?

In other news too, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALBERT NWULI and success in your exams too. My brother in whom I am well pleased. My greatest blog cheerleader. Guys, help me wish me a happy birthday too. He'll be glad to see all of it when he's done with his exams.

Enjoy the rest of your week hunnays,
Barby.