Consider the following scenarios. One, in the church the pastor says everyone should close their eyes when praying, and no one must leave the church till service is over. Anyone who disobeys will have angels strike him with blindness or lameness in line with the crime committed. Under such stringent orders everyone behaves themselves and everything goes on peacefully. No problems at all.
Two, a lecturer seldom appears in class. Suddenly, within the final week of lectures he appears and begins to organize tutorial classes for students, tasking hours each day, and even stretches it into Saturdays and Sundays. He fails to give them time to study and revise, and also doesn’t give them areas of concentration. He releases results, giving them low grades that are not worth their efforts. Yet, none of them dare say anything because everyone fears victimization. Case settled.
Three, a politician intends to contest for a particular office. He meets his first barrier in the incumbent with whom he has had a spat in the past. He backs off for fear of having his assets seized and settles for a low-class political appointment. The press is hounded down by the government in power and muzzled for attempting to help his cause. Everyone keeps quiet.
Four, a man and wife have children. The woman, who is lacking in motherly compassion, beats their children with all kinds of weapons at her disposal—broom, stick, machete, and all—for every bit of offence. The man, despotic as he is, rules his household with the iron fist of an emperor, barking out orders and feeling like a demi-god whose word is unquestionable. His children run into hiding at his appearance and approach him like condemned criminals when he has to send for them. His wife must do as he says or face violent assault. Everyone submits to fear.
Okay, now look around you this very minute and tell me that you love the way things have always been. You’ve got to be a first-class liar to do that! Without even having to take our case studies one by one (that will be done in subsequent articles) we can easily deduce one thing at least: someone must speak up or everyone dies in silence. The one thing that keeps people accepting their lot is fear. What people fail to realize is that whatever you fear rules over you. There are certain tools used by autocratic leaders to keep their subjects perpetually under control, be it in religious, academic, political or family settings. These tools, in four broad categories, are ignorance, threat, reward and silence.
One of the most offensive lies I’ve ever heard is that elders never lie. You know what I’m talking about if you’ve lived long enough in Yorubaland. It’s almost as if we never question the integrity of someone who’s older than us, and that’s wrong because elders are just as human as youngsters. This subterfuge gives itself away when one elder says something contrary to what another has said. The question will then be ‘who is right if neither is wrong?’ A simple issue comes up, you ask for clarification based on information you already possess to the contrary, and the next thing you hear is, ‘Are you saying I’m lying?’ To such cowardice my reply, depending on the extent of certainty, is usually, ‘yes’ or ‘it’s possible; that’s why I’m asking you’. Of course the hearer takes umbrage at what I might be insinuating, but that doesn't discredit the moral grounds on which my assertion is based.
Every kind of society and institution indeed deserves people who can say NO and remain dissatisfied till truth is upheld with justice. There is no room for flattery or prevarication when issues have to be dealt squarely with. Don’t tell me that a child’s leg will break if he walks out on his father or mother. Don’t tell me that people will suffer for questioning their religious leaders. Don’t tell me that students will fail for demanding a human being in place of a beast for a lecturer. Don’t tell me that a person mortgages his future by having ambitions that clash with those of the people in power. You see, successful civil disobedience is the result of intellectual labour. Our country has remained undeveloped because we have been taught to ‘obey before complain’, but even the army that’s not trained to think sees mutiny when things get out of hand. We admire the innovativeness of Western intelligence, but we conveniently ignore the root of the matter—the ability and allowance to ask questions when not satisfied. Until we resolve to have that same attitude ingrained within our society, progress will remain a pipedream.
May I submit to you here and now that obedience could be as much a vice as it is a virtue when it becomes mindless acquiescence. It is true that absolute politeness is the ultimate rudeness. Leaders must be made to know that their followers cannot be held to ransom. Let us do away with the ancient lie that those who get the best deals are always those who wait for their turn. We wouldn’t do anything in a rush if we really believed that, so who’s fooling who? The patient dog no longer finds the fattest bone because the fastest vulture has taken it away with the meat. Say it in unmistakable, polite and strong terms if something makes you uncomfortable. Quit the place altogether as soon as it’s practicable if you are consistently ignored. Rebel against a system that stifles your potentials and well-being. You will eventually earn greater respect than those who remained dustbin for the excesses of egotistical leaders. You owe yourself at least that much.
No comments:
Post a Comment