BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
I do not want to make this subject a government discussion, since people are oppressed in many shades and forms. The government may be the behemoth of oppression, but we can also participate in our little ways.
In primary school, some of us were privileged to have our parents be teachers and principals. We were supposed to be the role models, since our parents were teachers, but far be it from the truth. We got away with murder sometimes because we knew those in authority. So, the little position of authority could be the tool you could use to oppress others. The woman or the man who is disrespecting the first son because he is not as rich as the last born or not as generous as the second son should remember that nobody picks the position of the first son or the second son. It is only God’s plan that he should be the second or first or last, as the case may be.
Our tradition has mapped out the dos and don’ts of all the first son and the last son, not knowing who will come first or last. So, for a parent to use that little authority given to him by God as the parent to twist that cultural imperative is a source of worry.
In the village meetings, some people use the gift of knowledge as a tool to oppress most of us. The elderly man did not attend university and could not make a statement in English, which does not mean that he cannot contribute to the discussion. This young boy kept saying to the elder, “Speak in English.” I found that to be disrespectful, even cheap. Education does not equate to wisdom, neither does it balance knowledge. I told the secretary not to weaponize his ability to speak two languages against the people who could speak only one.
The elderly people may not have gone to school but they are custodians of our culture, customs, and tradition. No amount of education can translate to live experiences. The court will say if you are not a witness to an event or activity your report is hearsay. The elders should speak in our community: we should not use education as a tool to oppress them not to speak and make useful contributions to our gatherings.I am not a business expert, but I do go to market most of the time. Have you heard the language (adaka na onu enwe) to sell a baboon to you in the name of a monkey?
Simply put the trader would like to exploit your naivety in the market and sell the fake product to you in the name of the original. I am not talking about people who wanted to buy 10,000 naira worth of fabric for 1000 naira. I am talking about those who sincerely wanted to buy the original one and showed up with the 10,000 naira only to discover at home that it was the fake one that was delivered in the name of the original. The trader is using his position as a merchant to swindle an honest buyer. They may laugh about it and use all kinds of language to color it, but it is oppression and taking a pound of flesh from the unsuspecting customer. I do not want to engage the Igbo traders alone because this bad habit cuts across the world. I have a classmate whose father was very rich in worry in the 80s and 90s. It was his business associate from China and India who stole all the components of his industry and told him that they were going home for summer and never returned. To date the factory is moribund, and my friend’s family has not recovered from the shock. Therefore, the business class should not use their knowledge and position to intimidate the unsuspecting public.
You may say (anyi agba ya aja amu) we taught him a lesson but a lifetime achievement may have gone down the drain. Be considerate while dealing with the buyer. I lived in Onitsha and my parents were not landlords or landlady in the early days.
During the collapse of Nigeria, I remember a man called Sir Willy Wicked. He was a landlord who would always ask the price of cement to know whether it was time to add more money to the tenants. My dad once told him to stop increasing his rent daily. He started abusing my father saying that he was jealous of him because he was able to build a house from his sweat and my father could not. During the 1987 flood disaster in Onitsha, the house was destroyed, and nobody sympathized with him because he was using it as a tool to oppress the poor tenants.Although I do not want to engage the government on this topic, I should not lose sight of the tax increase from the federal government to the state government.
The government of Nigeria is using EFCC (Economic and Financial Crime Commission) to oppress the citizens who speak out against the government of the day. The job of EFCC is not to arrest social critics and activists like Verydarkman (VDM). Many ex-governors milked their state dry but they are walking free today. Those who joined the APC government are shielded from the law because EFCC said they have not found a case against him. EFCC has become a tool of oppression which is a far cry from the goals to recover our looted patrimonies from the political class and unscrupulous individuals. The Senate and House of Representative members originated as tools to help democratic government flourish but today they are tools of oppression to use voice not to depose a democratically elected government in Rivers State. The system is rigged against the people so that opposition politics can be eliminated or reduced to a minimal level. May we use the tools in our hands to help one another to achieve their God-given goals? The rich should use the gift of money to develop our community. The intelligent one should help to educate our children and not intimidate the ones who did not go to regular school.
Those who have strengths should organize our communities and help keep them safe. No gift should be abused and no one should be looked down upon because he or she did not have the same opportunity as the rest of humanity.
