Douglas Anele
4 January 2009
opinion
THE year 2008, like all years in human history, has run its course. We are now in 2009. As usual individuals, groups, organizations and governments take stock of the preceding year, and make plans for the New Year.
It is also customary for people to make New Year resolutions; that is, take certain decisions about how to live in the New Year and beyond. On a personal level, 2008 was a mixed blessing, so to speak.
I know that the same can be said of every human being alive today. The fundamental difference is that for some, the "mix" has far more "positives" than "negatives", whereas for a vast majority the converse is true.
The best thing that happened to me and my family is the birth of my second daughter, the beautiful Nwadiuto. The name Nwadiuto literally means "child is sweet."
But its deeper meaning is that a child is the most wonderful thing in the world. The birth of Nwadiuto was a very joyous event for my wife and I, although my "better half" preferred a baby boy. I am indifferent to the gender of my children, but deep down I prefer baby girls to boys.
I am exceedingly lucky that my daughters are healthy, strong and bright. They bring joy and happiness to my small household. However, taking care of them is really demanding. In terms of research output, I must confess that I did not make meaningful progress.
Of course, I did the basic things a lecturer is expected to do. I taught my courses, carried out my non-academic duties in the department, and socialized a bit with my colleagues and students. The book project I had intended to start in 2008 is yet to commence. I hope that I will start writing it in 2009.
Financially, the year that just ended was barely average. Apart from my salary, I did not make reasonable additional income. Some money trickled in here and there though, but the amounts were too meager to make any significant impact in my life and the lives of my dependants.
The global financial crunch did not help matters. My bills are increasing. My first daughter, Nwanyioma, has just started kindergarten. My wife is not earning any income yet, although as a housewife she provides invaluable service for the family, and I am grateful for that.
Thus, I need to augment my salary so that I can take proper care of my responsibilities as a father, husband, son, brother, in-law etc. My old vehicle took a substantial percentage of my income last year. In fact, as I write this essay, it is still at the mechanic workshop. Most auto mechanics in Lagos are ignorant, greedy and dishonest.
Established workshops, charge exorbitant fees which are really beyond the salaries of university teachers. Thus, one is at the mercy of greedy mechanics whose trial and error strategy creates more problems for vehicle owners.
All the same, in spite of these problems, I am really happy to be alive and well. I am happy also that my immediate family, my old parents, brothers and sisters, in-laws, close friends and associates are alive to see the New Year. Indeed, I am very lucky, because despite the challenges of 2008, I was able to fulfill the basic obligations I had to my family and employers.
The economic meltdown not withstanding, I still succeeded in putting good food on the table, and provided other basic needs for my family. As I said earlier, although 2008 was not a particularly good year for me, I have a lot to be happy for, knowing full well that things could have been worse. I might have died, lost a loved one or my job, had a terrible accident - any of these, and more, was possible in 2008.
Therefore, those of us lucky to be alive to witness the New Year, 2009, notwithstanding all the problems of last year, should be happy and glad that we still have the opportunity to learn in the hard school of human existence. Sometimes, our personal problems threaten to weigh us down.
But we must always bear in mind that there are people whose circumstances are worse than our own, people who would gladly swap positions with us in the school of life.
On many occasions people get worked up over things that do not really matter. I have seen people fret because they missed an owambe, had a slight dent on their cars, had their hand sets stolen, etc.
Women - and men too - pay too much attention to trivialities and frivolities, and suffer unnecessarily over little things. There is a lot of "much ado about nothing" in our lives these days. It is really sad to see otherwise healthy men and women without any physical disability worry about this and that, when they have the means to take care of the basic needs of life.
Also fear, fear of the unknown, fear of death and economic ruin, and anxiety prevent people from seeing things in proper perspective. For example, why should a reasonable person feel bad because a colleague in the office got promoted on merit? Why should a person torture herself or himself for months because of an unfaithful lover?
When we are healthy and can take care of the basic needs of life such as food, shelter, clothing, education and health care of ourselves and our families, why should we allow little things to bother us too much? I know that the challenges of life are daunting most times. But I also know that a significant percentage of our problems stem from wrong world views and misunderstanding of the fundamentals of life. As we have just entered the New Year, there are a few tips about life which can help us handle better the vicissitudes of life.
Again, put things in their proper perspective. For instance, if you have a job like mine which is not well remunerated, be glad that you have a job. There are millions of people in the world, many better qualified than you are, who are out of job.
If you are sick, remember that there are blind, lame, deaf and terminally ill people who would gladly exchange positions with you.
Sometimes when I am sick, I think of Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the most eminent scientists living today, who is paraplegic. Anytime I think about my troublesome vehicle, I remind myself that there are hardworking people out there who have never bought a motor cycle, not to talk of a car.
In general, in order to avoid being overwhelmed by personal problems, think of those in worse situations than yours -there are always such people, you know! You might discover, to your surprise, that you have a lot to be happy about while you grapple with your problems. Never ask yourself the presumptive question: "Why me?" The world, the universe as a whole, does not owe any of us an obligation to make him or her happy.
Whenever someone asks "Why me?", I am tempted to reply "If not you, then who?" Asking "Why me?" usually leads one to all kinds of trouble. It makes the person easy prey to the charlatans who pretend to be anointed servants of God with solutions to all problems.
I am sure no human being, dead or alive, has the solutions to all problems.
Whenever you are disturbed by any matter whatsoever, ask yourself: will this problem matter to me or any body in the next fifty or hundred years? You will discover that the problem is not as important as you initially thought. Thinking about the long term significance of that very problem has helped you to see it in a better perspective.
Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest philosophers of all time says, and I concur, that looking at problems in this way helps considerably in attenuating unnecessary anguish and anxiety to which we are prone. In a troubled time such as the one we are living in presently, there is no better attitude than taking a long term view of those things that disturb us.
I will not end this personal report on 2008 without saying something about governance in Nigeria. As a Nigerian, I am disappointed that the President, Umar Musa Yar'Adua, has not raised the bar of performance higher than his predecessors. Sycophants can say whatever they like.
However, the truth is that Mr. President has not performed well thus far.Finally, although my outlook for the country in 2009, based on my reading of the performance of our rulers, is bleak, I ask fellow Nigerians not to lose hope totally.
After all, when there is life one can hope and work for better days. I congratulate all those that made it into 2009. May 2009 be better than 2008 for all of us.
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