Category: Opinion

Loving One Another Indeed…

“In my 65 years of living in this world, I have never seen anyone who was loved because of their money, because of their position or title in any corporation or in politics, or because of their skill. Nobody loves you for that. People may respect you, people may enjoy according to what they get out of it. And most of the time, people are envious. But when we are compassionate, when we have values, when we have learned how to love others, people love us.” -His Holiness, Radhanath Swami.

I cannot agree less with Guru Swami because, when you have money, and I am not necessarily referring to multi-millions only; when you can meet your needs and are still generous with the spare, many people around you will love you. But when people love you because you have money, when that money is not available again, they will stop loving you. Even if the money is available and you cease to dispense it or that favor they get from you, notice that they will stop greeting or visiting you. They may not turn around to hate you. But they will move on to ‘love’ the next person that has money.

Fame: Many famous people have lapsed into depression, inordinate desires and substance abuse when new stars take their shine as they thin out of the limelight. As the love of fans shift to emerging stars, the exiting stars realize it was the klieg lights that made the stars and it was what was loved, not the stars.

Position: There is no position that anyone can hold sway forever. Not even a monarchy. That too is only for a lifetime, at most. Many who have left positions of influence are replete with experiences of how even their phones are no longer ringing after they exited their influential offices. The love you currently enjoy in that office is appropriated to the title you carry. It is essentially not for you.

Skill: Regardless of the acclaimed love of your fans for your skill, none will bet on you when you are gone past your prime. Whether you are a talented and skillful footballer, athlete, writer, or artist, people will always lay claims to loving you when your skill is still sending love to their homes and helping to win their bets. They will continue to cherish your exploits till the opposite happens. Once that occurs, their acclaimed love for you will move to the current skillful person, even as they continue to remember your exploits with nostalgia.

So until we translate from the norm to deploying these leverages, namely; money, fame, position, skill, in the pursuit of empathy and compassion towards one another and the world, genuine love will remain elusive. It is the primary reason why those who possess money, fame, position and talent, always resort to charitable causes. But empathy and compassion cannot be bought. They must emanate from a genuine state of mind. A compulsive desire to empathize with humanity.

As species, we have survived by being judgmental and suspicious of and preying on other species. We have weaponized money, fame, position and talent as some form of subtle controls. But we must develop the mental capacity to step past this most primal urge to attain love. It is by shutting down that animal instinct and forcing our brain to tow a different pathway, the pathway of kindness and compassion, that we can engender genuine love in return.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

 

If you have something, this is the best time to share it. Just anything that you can spare. At the same time, if you do not have, do not over stretch your means. Things are really really difficult for the person next door and those far off. There is no free meal even in grandma’s house any longer. If you are not aware already, you either live in isolation or you haven’t been checking on your neighbors.

From family members and relations to friends, to coworkers, to co-worshippers, to neighbors, to acquaintances to even random strangers, more and more persons are resorting to seeking financial augmentation from someone else who they think things are better with. But the reality is truly that not many people are exempted from the prevailing crunch, including those we are calling for help.

The middle place here is to endeavor to provide a shoulder for someone this period not minding some inconvenience.

If you have a means, avail someone.

If you have some money, share with someone.

If you have food, share with someone.

If you have an opportunity, call someone up.

If you have an idea that can earn, share it with someone or pursue it with someone.

If you have left overs or things you aren’t using, give them out. Someone somewhere needs them.

If you have love, spread it. That’s what we need most now.

If you have hope, give as many as are hopeless.

If you have advice, give those who ask for it.

If you have a word of prayer, pray for the needy.

And for the needy, do not always think that others have to give. If you fail to get, do not always conclude that you were denied because the person is wicked. It is not true, most of the time. Things are not always the way you assume they are with others. They may not tell you but their hesitation should explain it.

But generally speaking, it must be emphasized that giving to others has been proven to make the giver feel good. It improves our self-esteem and promotes changes in the brain that are linked with happiness. It creates a sense of belonging and reduces isolation and ultimately, it helps to make our world a happier place. So if you have anything, reach out this Sunday morning and give it out to someone to appreciate our humanity. If you don’t have anything, pray that God will enable you so you too will become a giver. Remember, the hand that gives is on top!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

 

Ibn Sina, also known as “Avicenna”, is the best known persian and Islamic scholar in Medicine. His medical treatise, the ‘Canon’ was said to be the standard textbook on Medicine in the Arab world and Europe in the 17th century. He was a philosopher, physician, psychiatrist and poet.

The famous scholar once conducted a medical experiment. Avicenna put two identical lambs, both in weight and health, in two separate cages, and placed a wolf in a third. The wolf could only be seen by the lamb in the second cage and the other was placed out of sight.

Both lambs were kept under the same conditions and fed the same meals. But months later, the lamb that could see the wolf died out of sheer stress and fear, though the wolf did not physically go near or pose any threat to the lamb. The other lamb that had not seen the wolf lived on healthily and even added weight.

While one of the lambs was perceiving her condition through the cage and the care giver, the other was seeing her fears, the wolf, next to her, about to take her life. The constant visualization of the wolf which is an imminent threat to her life, diminished the quality of life of the second lamb and consequently took it.

How are you perceiving the numerous constraints and challenges you are facing right now? As a wolf waiting to devour you or through the view of your loving care giver? With the exception of politicians, almost everyone in the country is living in constant fear and internal unrest. Unrest about where the next meal or bill will come from. That is the prevailing trauma as the social media exacerbates it with fearporn and gaslighting.

You have to accept that there is actually no day, no matter how bad it promises to turn out, that will not come and go. The wolf in the next cage isn’t going to kill you. It only depends on how you view it. If a paraphilic mind views a naked body from a balcony, the physical sexual organs are immediately aroused but an artist will view same and see a perfect image that expresses the sensuality of nature. If you bump into someone you are holding malice with, there is a sudden surge of adrenaline into your blood streams that lasts until that person is out of sight, but a self-effacing person will use the opportunity for amends and protect his or her nervous system from adrenalin poisoning.

Many times, as we coddiwomple through the web of life, the challenges are the same for most of us, the difference is how we react to them individually. While some of us see wolves about to devour us, others see calm in the midst of the storm. The country is indeed very tough at the moment for most people. But we have to be tougher. The concept of mind over body is that through the power of the mind and its thoughts, whether through specific exercises or our everyday thoughts, we can make our body do things that we would otherwise view as incredibly difficult or impossible. We can defy limits imposed by our bodies. Like the two experimental lambs of Avicenna, what we decide to see in our tough moments, will eventually determine our fate. Stay strong!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

 

There is nowhere in the world where elected officials have been emboldened by the electorates and elevated to venerable status like we have in Africa and Nigeria in particular. Either wittingly or unwittingly, somehow or anyhow, out of our own volition, by our own doing, we have convinced those who are supposed to be our servants that they are now our lords. Consequently, servants are now riding on horses and those who sent them are trekking on empty stomachs. That’s why a lawmaker will say on TV that, it is a N160million luxury car purchased with public money, that is befitting for their assignment.

Even in the US where we copied our democracy from, members of Congress may lease a vehicle for official use within the Congressional District. Only the Member and full-time staff with valid driver’s licenses are permitted to operate the vehicle. Not even their wives or family members are allowed to use the vehicle unless they work with the member full time. Lease payments in excess of $1,000 per month cannot be charged against the Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA). You pay the balance by yourself.

If we cross over to Europe, the situation is a lot more frugal. Majority of the countries in the EU, which are far richer and stable than us in Africa, do not have official vehicles for members of parliament. Yet they make laws that govern their countries.

In Britain, members of the House of Commons get transportation, IT and communications allowances to the tune of 10 percent of their gross salary. For official functions, the UK systematically contracts the services of a taxi company for the exclusive use of the Clerk of the Parliament and the Chairmen of Committees who can use the Government Car Service to and from the airport when attending an international conference and occasionally for other official functions. When committee members are making official trips, they will have their transport expenses reimbursed.

In France, National Assembly members only claim expenses of up to 5,837 euros per month for transport, rent for second homes in Paris, entertainment and clothing. There are also benefits in kind like free travel in first class on the national rail network SNCF, 40 free return flights per year between Paris and their constituencies, and six free return flights per year on itineraries of their choice within mainland France.

In Spain, members of parliament from within Madrid get 870 euros a month in expenses, while MPs with a constituency out of the capital get 1,823 euros a month in expenses including transportation. The Spanish parliament also allows the use of a contracted government transport service for certain categories of members and staff.

In Germany, lawmakers are allowed to use office cars for trips within Berlin, get free train travel across Germany and are reimbursed for domestic flights used in exercising their mandate. Certain categories of members of the Upper House, (Bundesrat) are however allowed the use of official cars.

In Sweden, members of parliament living more than 50km (31 miles) from the Riksdag are entitled to reimbursement of up to 7,000 Swedish krona a month, for transport and overnight accommodation in Stockholm. No one is entitled to an official car.

In Belgium, only Bureau members are entitled to official cars.

In the Czech Republic, only the Vice-chairmen and Chairmen of parliamentary committees and chairmen of political groups have access to official cars.

In Luxemburg, only the President and Vice-President of parliament have access to official cars.

The Polish Parliament authorizes the use of official cars by the Heads of the Senate Chancellery, Directors of the Senate Chancellery offices, staff (clerks) of the Senate Chancellery in general, when working after 8 p.m.

The Romanian Parliament offers the use of official cars to the institution’s Secretary-General, departmental heads, directors, advisers and experts.

Austria has a system of reimbursement of parliamentarians for regular journeys on production of invoices.

In Estonia, there is a fixed monetary norm of €205/month, for travel expenses for parliamentarians.

But return home to Africa and gasp for breathe. A blessed continent so mismanaged and riddled with poverty, you will wonder what our leaders want to prove with their appetite for luxury wheels. The scandalous lust for these automobiles cuts across the continent, but let me list a few.

Ugandan MPs got $30million in 2021 to buy luxury cars. Each of the 529 lawmakers got $56,500.

The 418 Kenyan Parliamentarians, including both Speakers, are entitled to car loans and a free vehicle known as car grant. In 2022, the 12th Parliament of Kenya, budgeted Sh11.7bn for luxury cars.

War torn and poverty ravaged South Sudan, spent $16million on luxury cars for MPs in 2018.

In 2021, the Ghanaian Parliament approved a $28million loan to buy luxury cars. Each of the 275 MPs received $100,000 for the purchase of a vehicle.

MPs in South Africa are allowed to purchase one car for official use in Pretoria as well as one in Cape Town, making two, which could value up to R1.68 million each. Earlier this year, it was reported that the Speaker of the South African Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, took delivery of two new 5 series BMWs costing R1.5 million.

In Nigeria, NASS members are entitled to car loans not exceeding 400 percent of their basic salary. According to RMAFC records, a senator gets an annual basic salary of N2.02 million, while Reps earn N1.9 million. Therefore, they are entitled to a car loan of not more than N8.1 million and N7.9 million respectively. How they arrived at buying N160million vehicles is a question that will wait for Godot.

The most disturbing addendum to all of these is that, this appetite for exotic cars by our lawmakers is also foreign tailored. It doesn’t matter to them that several African countries are already manufacturing automobiles and there is a need to strengthen these manufactures and retain capital. All the luxury cars they purchase are foreign brands from outside Africa.

We can go on and on, but the very rare example here also is President Hichilema of Zambia who recently rejected a proposal to buy cars worth $1.8 million for his entourage and asked government officials who needed high-end cars to purchase them with their personal cash. We can hold on to his glimmer of hope and continue to preach that other Africans who hold leadership positions will come to that light too and reorder our priorities for the benefit of this continent.

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

Nigeria, What Are You Doing About It?

Nigeria is really getting tougher by the day for those who lack access to public funds, either directly or by proxy.

And there are no quick fixes around the horizon or so it appears.

The trends are clearly inviting despair but a resilient nation is absorbing the tremors and trudging on with haggled hopes.

Events continue to happen and fade away. Events that should have steered our nation to fruition.

They continue to come and go, but the nation itself is neither coming nor going.

Interestingly, even in the midst of the cavilling about hard times in the country, from the towns to our remotest hamlets, a broke citizenry is still gnashing and hewing the streets in search of a glimmer of succor.

Many have ditched their fate in the nation and have set sail yonder in pursuit of what our nation has denied them.

Though they swell in pain on those sojourns, the hope of gain sustains their toil.

But why have we not toiled gainfully in our own land?

Why has our land returned barrenness to our effort?

Why have the seeds we bury on our land refrained from springing up?

Why has our land delayed the harvest of our labor?

Why have the springs of our mountains dried up in our winter?

Why has the rain refused to fall on our vineyard?

Is it our land that has locked its womb or is it we who have planted amiss?

Has our land conspired to perpetually fling our toiling to sheol?

Are the ruins of our hopes fanning the garlands of the high and mighty?

As every new leader takes over, the country accelerates to a new level of hardship. When will this cycle be reversed?

How long does a nation take to provide security and opportunities for her citizens to thrive?

If you are a leader in whatever capacity in Nigeria, do you frankly think you have done well enough or doing well enough to create a prosperous nation?

If you are a citizen, are you satisfied in your heart that your activities are suitable and acceptable for the stability of a prosperous nation?

Just be honest!

Whatever are your own answers to these questions should be able to rattle something inside all of us. Our conscience!

Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.