A CALL TO BE HUMAN AGAIN.

I decided to remain seated in my car when I got home from work yesterday to read an article which I wrote sometime last year. I think I was suffering from an acute lack of inspiration to write anything so I thought looking backwards could help chart a new course forward. I must have read only a few lines from my phone when I heard a gentle knock on the car window where I was seated. I looked up and there outside of the car was a dark skinned young boy beckoning on me to lower the window so I could hear what he had to say.

He had balanced effortlessly on his head, a small sized blue bowl containing various tools, rubber and leather and in his right hand a small wooden tool box. The lad could not have been more than 13 years of age and I quickly figured that he was one of the northern kids popularly referred to as “só bàtà” or shoe shiners. His voice was tired and in the best English he could conjure, he first of all apologized for intruding before telling me that he had walked all over without patronage and was in need of money to eat.

All I felt for the kid for pity; I wondered why he thought I would be offended by a young boy barging me from my blind side in search of what to eat. I quickly dipped my hand in my pocket and gave him money to grab some food for which he was grateful and walked away. Why does any human being have to go through this in order to eat? I stopped reading immediately and alighted from the car; I had just realized that inspiration resides in the lives of others if only we paid enough attention.

I was ruminating on the plight of this young boy and thousands like him when the unfortunate accident which had occurred at Ojuelegba probably an hour before I arrived home came to my attention. I saw a few photographs published on a very popular blog of what used to be an SUV crushed by a most likely fully loaded container that had fallen from a significant height. There appeared to be no chance of survival for any occupant(s) of that vehicle. It is regrettable that avoidable accidents like these are allowed to occur every day on our roads and highways.

Nigerians gathered as usual like vultures around a carcase while next to nothing is achieved to control traffic buildup or conduct any rescue operation. The Federal fire service building is situation only a few yards from the site of that accident; I seriously doubt if that agency is capable of any rescue or firefighting business assuming an explosion had occurred from the carnage. The occupants of that SUV could have been anyone, I pass that route occasionally and it could have been me or anyone close to me.

Someone had suggested on twitter that there has not been any drastic fallout from the events of Tuesday evening because the affected individuals are anonymous and only when people affiliated with the government are affected would there be drastic action and judgements. Must there be special treatment and privileges for selected few at every level of government in Nigeria? Must a VIP or his/her relative die in a public hospital before we realize that oxygen and adrenaline are scare commodities at such hospitals?

If 7 young men were sentenced to death on September 7, 1977 for wounding a businessman and robbing him of a lorryload of 492 cartons of sardines, then I am certain that there are presently laws which ought to govern just about every aspect of our lives as Nigerians inclusive of intentional or unintentional acts. It is human beings who steal the aluminum railings of bridges and divert funds meant to construct or rehabilitate roads. The dearth of infrastructure that characterizes just about every sector of our nation cannot be blamed on spirit beings or cosmic particles. More than a few “human beings” have brought so much shame, misery and reproach on an entire nation and in effect an entire continent. Actively or passively supporting and indulging those who commit these crimes against humanity and particularly Nigerians is more or less equal to committing the same acts. I may be wrong.

It is high time the state enforced the laws of the land and where those laws are inexistent; the lawmakers must be maximally pressured to do the jobs they currently get overpaid for. I listened to a Sunday radio show prior to the elections where the incumbent governor of Lagos state was interviewed and grilled on his plans for Lagos. One important aspect that stood out for me was his plan to get Lagos roads fixed through the local council development areas (LCDA). If I could advise the governor, I will tell him to focus on transportation during this term and get on with his roads agenda as soon as possible. The roads need to be fixed and laws that will prevent such accidents like we saw yesterday also have to be enacted and enforced. The lawlessness exhibited by all road users especially articulated vehicle operators and transporters simply have to stop. The use of inappropriate vehicles to hurl certain goods has to be discouraged such as the use of motorcycles to transport animals or the use of cars to transport objects on the roof of such vehicles. these items are usually secured by the hands of the driver and any other occupant(s).

Many Nigerians have become immune or resistant to change. Littering the environment is like a hobby for many; there seems to be no level of education that is capable of instructing such individuals to desist from throwing garbage from their cars or while walking on the street. When a government decides to clamp down on such behavior, it would be met by stiff resistance and protests. I am uncertain of the amount of public campaigns that will be able to convince Nigerians to properly pack their domestic waste in thick refuse bags for example; what we eventually see are roads, drainages and the areas underneath bridges loaded with heaps of refuse disposed off indiscriminately. I want to assume there is a garbage fairy who visits at night to clear the streets of these waste materials. Similarly, some Nigerians are quick to defend treasury looters because of ethnic or religious reasons but these same individuals would readily lynch soup thieves and other petty crime perpetuators. If it will require some form of highhandedness to curb drug smuggling then such should be supported by the Nigerian people. It is a source of embarrassment when our citizens (and the organizations they work for) get caught for transporting concealed cocaine, heroin and other banned substances because of financial gain. Nigerians should not celebrate individuals suspected of ill-gotten wealth; we should not also perpertually bow down for criminal politicians to constantly bruise our heads.

One of the reasons for this pollution in our society, especially in Lagos and other more economically diverse cities in Nigeria is overpopulation. The harsh economic climate in Nigeria coupled with endemic corruption has limited any meaningful development to only a handful of states. This has only served to promote migration along this economic gradient leaving these cities with much more people than the infrastructure can handle. A host of individuals lacking basic etiquette and responsibility to state flood the cities in search of better living conditions; a few will find a way out but many more will become a burden and contribute immensely to waste generation and crime.

The same reasons that will convince someone to leave his hometown in an overcrowded vehicle in search of Eldorado will most likely have been the same reason why the shoemaker who knocked on my window yesterday (or his parent before him) journeyed to Lagos from wherever he arrived from in the north of Nigeria or beyond the northern border. I thought that Lagos state could take responsibility for such boys and help them with shelter, food and education but I was instructed yesterday that such a move would only serve to increase the pool of migrants or emigrants to a region of high concentration of basic amenities. It will definitely not be solving the fundamental issues as regards insecurity and mismanagement by the governments concerned. Migrants move across Nigeria to just about anywhere that seems to provide a better life or opportunities. I wrote a while back about the individuals who had occupied my late grandfather’s house in Ekiti. When I met them in late 2004, they definitely spoke a language which is most likely from the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Their lives was all about farming and as long as they did not cause trouble, the indigenes were happy with them just like the Northerners who were there to cultivate kolanut and bitter kola. The children who I met then will most likely speak the local language by now and will be indistinguishable from the original indigenes. However, these ones may most likely have been starved of much needed basic education and exposure.

The shoemakers in Lagos are not necessarily lazy or resistant to education. Many privileged in Lagos and similar cosmopolitan cities will simply walk past such individuals and may very well feel threatened by them because of the antecedents of a certain violent group domiciled in Northeastern Nigeria. I met one young boy in Ibadan a few weeks ago. He had escaped from Bornu and was being looked after by a pleasant couple and enrolled in school. If we know we will be uncomfortable with the idea of accommodating migrants in our comfort zones, we should be more than ready to canvass for equity in the land and compulsory development. Many children in the certain parts of Nigeria still get taught under wooden sheds and we should not feign ignorance of this fact. As some Nigerians are plotting to relocate to other climes, other Nigerians are also plotting to shift base from rural to urban areas. The governments at every level must be held responsible to stem the tide and carry out their primary function which is to serve the people. In the interim, we should be more human and help to keep our brothers, sisters and children. We can do more than just patronize those young boys and girls hustling and laboring in the sun and on the highway. We should do more than just pray for them, we can help defend their rights and get them justice where applicable. Christmas can be a great time to learn how to be really human again. The countries we look up to for refuge are not better than us because they pray harder or fast drier. They ensure that their young children and old people do not have to walk from street to street looking for food to eat; this may have been so a century ago in those climes but common sense has since prevailed.

May the souls of the departed rest in peace and may their families be comforted and receive justice. Amen.

I prefer to look at the brighter side. joleeakeju2014 @liverpool