Photo credit: Vintage News
Once upon a time, in Japan, there were three wise monkeys. Their names were Mizaru, Kikazaru and Iwazaru.
These monkeys were wise because they had certain features. Mizaru would always cover his eyes so that he might see no evil. Kikazaru, on his own, would cover his ears, so that he might not hear any evil. In his own case, Iwazaru would cover his mouth so that he might not be tempted to say any evil.
That’s where the proverbial principle, ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’, is derived from.
In the Western world, the phrase is generally used to describe those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye!
The three wise monkeys constitute a summary of what I hesitantly call the Nigerian tragedy. I use the term, ‘hesitantly’ because I still have hope in Nigeria. Also, the holy bible, in the book of Psalms 122: 6-9 admonishes the Jews to pray for Jerusalem.
Nigeria is my own Jerusalem, at least for now!
I hear the Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, is not happy with the appalling situation of Nigerians living in abject poverty. In fact, terrible poverty has now become aso egbejoda, party uniform, for our people.
Osinbajo’s lamentation is great news for me!
Before the last elections, he went about the nooks and crannies of the most obscure villages donating the so-called ‘trader money’. After the elections, it’s possible there is a shortage of aviation fuel which has frustrated further distribution.
But then, since I’m not in the business of suffering fools gladly, I’m not shy to say Osinbajo has been a great disappointment to me. I should have thought if there’s any encumbrance in his bid to assist the people he had sworn to serve honestly, he would have resigned the post honourably.
But then, as a pastor, he’s right to be preaching to the other soulless members of this mob rule called government.
For the president, General Buhari, his zero-level performance has not disappointed me. And that’s because I never expected him to ever perform.
Not that I hate him as a person, but those who witnessed his first coming as a military head of state would know what I’m talking about. And to those of them who felt he was right in his infamous, ‘War against indiscipline’, I wish them all the best.
We must be having a rather strange sense of discipline to be in this state!
I’m not, by any means, absolving us from the problems we are encountering. There’s no doubting the fact that we, the people, have left undone those things which we ought to have done. Meanwhile, we are still doing those which we ought not to have done.
So, we all are like the three wise monkeys in our failure to see, speak and hear!
062019
