An angry
man is always a stupid man --Chinua
Achebe, 1930-2013
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| Photo Credits: www.naijaleaks.org |
The extent of
human foolishness, immeasurable as it is, tends towards maximum under extreme
conditions of ease, excitement or anger. Let’s check out anger. If the things
people say or do when they are stressed or angry could be recorded and replayed
back to them several hours later, many would laugh at their own stupidity. They
are humorously inspiring.
Even in our
daily public routine, some evidences are available. The traffic situation in
Lagos alone has the inherent power to turn educated persons into illiterates. Elites
who intentionally leave their offices in the later hours of the night to avoid the
stress associated with heavy traffic and still find a hectic traffic waiting
for them somewhere are susceptible to losing their calm on the way home. If they
encounter similar traffic the following morning in the face of lateness, they
may lose their calm again.
Angry men are
like fighting babies. Often times, the bone of contention is a simple thing
that can be easily resolved. Recently in a public transit unit, three men were
arguing. How did it start? One of them said something in the disfavour of a certain
politician. Another man who obviously liked the politician said something in
his favour. A third one said something that upset both of them. Then a heated
argument resulted out of a debate about someone who was elsewhere doing things no
one knew. The angry men were discussing problems. Their talk was based on how
there was once a country.
That we
sometimes make mistakes is a proof of our humanness. That you find it
relatively easy to forgive people when they fail you is both a symptom of your human
consciousness and an intrinsic proclivity to divinity.
There is no end
to the presence of problems, no end to the writing of books and codes. Some of
the businesses of tomorrow are being developed today by people who listen to
angry people.
Let your anger
be against the problems; not the people. Hate the problems and love the people.
Find a persisting solution to the problems of the country and let there be a
country.
We are anthills
climbing the clefts of cliffs sitting upon the bellies of a coarse dark mountain
in a green Savannah. The clefts are the challenges in our lives. The cliffs are
the problems in our nation. The mountain is where we consider our place of
refuge. The green Savannah is the tropical expanse in Africa.
Be attentive to people
when they go angry around you. They are sometimes inspiring…
Adieu to Chinua Achebe…I have done the said justice.
