Sustenance of a neighbour

SUSTENANCE OF A NEIGHBOUR IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE


Brethren, from my humble perspective, the three priorities of life remain the following: first and foremost, acknowledging your creator. Secondly, discovering and awakening your potential. And thirdly, adoring your conscience. Remember, every opinion is bound to be challenged or criticized by any concerned individual/group, likewise mine. But, that’s by the way.

In a clearer tone, I wish to state here in a different language the three priorities of life. First; you must understand that you were created by a supreme being. Second; you ought to find out those things you can fit in or those talents you possess and see how you can develop them for the betterment of yourself and the people around you. Third; you must not despise/betray or try to hurt that part of your mind that differentiates the right from the wrong as you stride towards actualizing your dream or developing your talent on a daily basis.

On Saturday, 4th of May to be precise, having concluded the unusual morning chores in my place of residence, I felt like one who fought a lion. But thank God, surprisingly someone came from behind in my neighbourhood to rescue me. I wouldn’t disclose the gender of that fellow but the sole fact or bone of contention remains that I was rescued by a good Samaritan. It isn’t a joke; though it could be amusing. Yes, it’s not a paradox. Let’s ignore the digression and face the business of the day.

Beloved, we’re discussing the sustenance of a neighbour in our everyday activity. To begin with, who’s a neighbour? In a concise term, a neighbour is he who lives, sits or stands near you. Don’t forget, “he” as mentioned above represents both genders.

Having registered the above definition, now the question becomes; who is your neighbour? Let’s save ourselves from the suspense. Your neighbour is that person that lives in your neighbourhood. Your neighbour is also that fellow that sits close to you or works with you at your place of work. More so, your neighbour is that person that walks or runs with you in any professional or casual setting.

Since we have noted these facts, I want us to acknowledge that we can’t do or stride successfully without our respective neighbours. This is why the holy writ advises us to love our neighbours as ourselves. That is, we should cherish our neighbours just as we do cherish/adore ourselves. Thus, your neighbours are expected to be seen or regarded as more important than your relatives provided your relatives are not residing with or living close to you.

On the contrary, in spite of the enormous importance attached to having a neighbour, most individuals/groups have greatly abused the phenomenon. People no longer regard their neighbours. Most times they end up seeing them as disturbances or hindrance to their future pursuit.

In analyzing the anomalies observe in the issue of neighbourhood, the false prophets or the doomed churches cannot be left aside. The aforementioned religious institutions or officers have separated most household and/or neighbours in the name of “That person living next to you is behind your misfortune”.

At this juncture, I put it up to you that one without a neighbour or anyone who cannot boast of any neighbour(s) is just like a tree or vegetative plant without a root, either fibrous or tap. In other words, everyone requires a neighbour in his/her everyday activity/life.

In Igbo land, there are some worthwhile idiomatic expressions being cited on a daily basis such as, “Mmadu bu chi ibe ya” and, “Nwanne di na mba”. Meaning; your fellow human being stands as your god and, a relative could be found in abroad where none of your blood relations lives respectively. Truly, your friend or neighbour could be the only god you see/know at a given circumstance. On the other hand, in a certain place/locality where no member of your household lives, there is possible tendency of discovering one (a neighbour/friend) who could show you love more than any of them does.

Honestly, we must all stride to make our neighbour(s) happy irrespective of the circumstance. I bet you, towards maintaining or observing the three priorities of life as stated in the first paragraph, the services of a neighbour/friend must be required. Think about it!



_____________________

FRED NWAOZOR

Social analyst & activist