Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

I don’t know about you. But in my part of the world, finding people willing to speak truth regardless of whose Ox is gored, is more difficult these days. Too many “good” people today do not want “trouble”. So, even when they see/hear outright evil being done to others, they keep quiet, and look the other way.

It is not my desire to become the saviour of the world – or “Power Rangers”(as my kids would say)…

However, in my own little way, I KNOW I can make a difference.

I draw inspiration from stories about people like Rosa Parks, in the days of racial segregation in the USA. She got “tired of giving in” and decided to challenge what others of her kind had long accepted as their lot.

Such people, and the progress their actions influenced, convince me it’s right to think like I do.

And I am trying – very hard – to pass this kind of thinking to my kids.

To be sure they get it right; I’ve constantly challenged them to apply what I teach them to me. And they do. They challenge me when I do wrong!

I however realize it will not be easy for them to practice this habit in the real world…So what does one do?

I say, do what you know God wants you to do – which is to speak truth and stand up for it at all times!

You see, I believe, from years of self-examination, and interaction with people of different races and walks of life, that God speaks to us all the time.

The problem is most of us have not been taught to LISTEN carefully enough to hear Him.

And I will add that unlike what happens in movies, when God speaks to each person, it is rarely, if at all ever, with a booming baritone voice!

Instead, most times, it can be the silent voice or subtle “prompt” or urge we feel, to do or say something. Very often, if we train ourselves to be more discerning we will find that our instincts are channelled right from our creator to us.

It is my considered opinion, that we tend to let our need to conform with the world, stop us from DOING what God quietly – in our hearts – tells us to do.

That’s why a man who hears someone (or a group of people) lying against a defenceless person, about the events that transpired before an accident, will keep quiet.

Deep inside him, the little voice or impulse to speak truth, would be noticeable.

He would KNOW it would be right to speak up and stop an innocent person from being punished unjustly.

But to avoid rejection or criticism from the larger group, he would say nothing, and later rationalize his action by saying: “It’s not my business”.

This mistake is one I have told my kids NEVER to make, asking them instead, to LISTEN for guidance from God on the inside.

My children have seen me practice what I preach several times (A True Story)

Several times while driving them in the car, I have stopped to intervene in a situation in which a commercial bike rider was getting beaten up by motor park touts, wanting to extort money from him. Quite often, I would get both parties to make up, and the rider allowed to go.

There have been times that I’ve been alone…

For instance, one night in 2012 (when I was till based in Nigeria), at about 10p.m, I was parked opposite a petrol station – just outside a neighbourhood police station.

In front of me was a commercial bike rider with his bike parked, buying something from a kiosk.

Suddenly, a fast moving bike, carrying 2 policemen, swerved off the road, and the officer seated behind, caught his trouser leg on the number plate of the parked bike, promptly tearing a hole in it.

Quickly stopping his bike man, the policeman got off the bike, and rained curses on the owner of the parked bike. Then he and his colleague began dragging both man and bike into the station.

I stood looking at them, not believing what was happening.

I’d seen it all, and knew it was not the fault of the parked bike’s owner.

Now, it was already late, and I was tired. And I could have said it was not my business.

But a voice inside of me told me, I had to do something.

So, I followed them into the station. And I made a point of telling both officers and their colleagues in the station that impounding the bike as they said they wanted to do would be unfair.

For over 1 hour (till close to midnight) we remained there. The bike man was pleading. I was challenging them to see reason. I did not flex muscles or threaten them. But I made it clear I would not leave if the right thing was not done.

At a point, one of the police officers asked me if the bike man was my friend.

I said NO.

He asked if he was my brother or relative.

Again I said NO.

He then asked if I have met him before or gotten to know him somewhere else.

Once again I said NO.

Looking at me as if I was crazy he said “So what is your business in this matter then?”

I replied that I was a citizen of Nigeria, and I had a right to offer help to a fellow citizen I identified to be in need of if – like the bike man. I added that I saw what transpired outside and was not prepared to let the young man be punished for something he did not do.

All this while, even the bike man had been looking at me with a strange expression on his face. It was obvious he was also shocked by what I was saying/doing.

To cut the long story short, he was eventually told to come back the next morning to pick up his bike.

We thanked them and as we went out, I told him to call me the next morning, so we would go together. That way, they would not try to get any money off him – something I had opposed when they muted it.

He agreed, and thanked me profusely after taking my phone number.

The next morning, I did not hear from him until AFTER he had picked up the bike.

When I asked why he did not call me, he said he did not want to disturb me, as I had done so much for him already.

I asked if he paid any money. He said they demanded about N1,000, and he gladly paid it – since it was well below the N2, 500 they had threatened to take from him the night before.

I sighed and told him he actually could have left without paying anything, but I congratulated him all the same on getting his bike back..

He once again thanked me and said all sorts of prayers in Yoruba to God, asking him to bless me.

I in turn challenged him to boldly challenge anyone who tried to exploit him in future, with the assurance that God would back him.

When the call ended, I never imagined I would run into him again…

But, I did – less than 2 months later!

And it was about 100 metres from the area the drama of the other night had happened.

However, I did NOT recognise him: He was the one who saw me from the other side of the road, and changed direction!

I’d taken my kids to visit my sister-in-law and her kids in the estate they lived. While they were having fun, I decided to go by public transport to buy a few things around the popular Berger area.

The bike man rode up and stopped in front of me, then greeted me in a familiar way in Yoruba. Seeing my blank expression, he smiled and said “You don’t remember me?”

I replied that I did not.

Then he reminded me about how I’d helped him at the Police Station. That was when it clicked. He was riding the same bike. It was still looking new.

We exchanged pleasantries, and he asked where I was headed. I told him I needed to buy a few things and return to the estate to join my family. Next thing I knew he offered…no let me rephrase that…he INSISTED on giving me a ride to Berger!

Then he waited till I finished buying all that I needed, and brought me right back to the estate.

I thanked him for his generosity, and tried to pay for the ride. He bluntly refused to accept money, and told me he would never forget what I did for him. Then he rode off!

Final Words: In challenging my kids to speak out and stand up for truth, I have told them this – and many other – stories.

And like I mentioned earlier, they have seen me practise what I preach many times.

I do what I do because I know that is what God expects of me.

What’s more I know that if/when I – or my loved ones – find ourselves in need of someone to speak truth on our behalf, what I do for others, will count in my favour.

Some do not believe it, but there are universal laws set by the Creator, which reward each one of us for our actions…or our inactions.

The rewards will come. They may not happen immediately, but they eventually will.

That’s why it is said that what goes around comes around (I believe that’s called Karma in some circles).

If we all keep the above in mind, and remember that our creator is bigger that ANY person or group, we will ALWAYS do his will, by standing up for truth at all times.