BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
Someone came and told my father that a friend of his was speaking behind his back. The reporter expected my father to show bitterness and then attack the attacker. I was surprised when my father’s only word to the reporter was, “Do you believe him?” The reporter said, “No, I know he is lying.” My father said, “Thanks.” At the same time, my father started asking him about the welfare of other relatives and how the country home has been. The topic eventually switched into another thing that has nothing to do with gossip or backbiting. The visitor was very surprised that my father was careless about the gossip. Before he left our home that night, he asked my father what he thought about the gossip and the calumny on his name, which my father replied with the above caption, “Always be better not bitter.” And the reporter left.
The situation reports presently in Nigeria and Anambra state leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth. On a very good day, you will hear about two kidnapping cases, three bandits’ activities, one terror attack, and five corruption cases from the president and appointees. One may quickly ask, so what would a bad day sound like? A bad day has those events happening under our noses, sporadically and unlimitedly. But we can be better and not bitter. We want to change the government in power; we want to elect a good person or a better person compared with what we have now. The only way to be sincere to ourselves is to take the first simple step of not complaining but looking for a way to get our PVC (Permanent Voters Card). Complaining cannot change government, bitterness cannot change government, but a PVC can do that diligently and lawfully.
There is no need to be bitter; rather, be better. Bitterness harms your well-being. But being better upholds your being and helps you to think proactively. The fact that you do not get all you want is not a license to be nasty to yourself and the people around you.
When you are bitter, you are less effective and less productive; to the contrary, when you are better, you add value to yourself and the people around you. Now, if you watch television from Monday to Sunday, it will be a strange thing for the ruling party, APC, not to mention Mr. Peter Obi. Most of the time, they would be lying about their people (the Igbo people of Nigeria), mostly, domiciled in the eastern part of the country. On the other hand, they will be attacking his personality, since there is nothing to attack in the 8 years of his governorship in Anambra State. Such lies and attacks make you wonder what kind of people seek power in Nigeria. I have come to accept that the political terrain in Nigeria is very toxic and have decided not to be bitter but better.
Galloping inflation has moved me to be more generous and open-minded. If you are placed in an advantageous position because of your business or work, just see it as an opportunity to help more. Do not engage so much in the business of complaining, but engage in the business of helping. Every help need not be material; some moral advice, political advice, economic advice, and emotional support have gone a long way to lift people. A friend of mine was telling me how he was driving the villagers to a place where they would get their PVC in 2022, in preparation for the presidential election. I was so surprised that he could do that, but a few months later, in another place thousands of miles away from where my friend did the act, another person was using that act as an example of being proactive in a bad situation. I asked the speaker how he came about the information; he said that someone sent it to him on Facebook.
In the same way your goodness can find the social platform to go viral, the bad behavior can also catch fire and go viral too; therefore, be careful with your words and actions, let your proactive action catch the fire of the internet, not your bitterness. There is an alternative to everything: for hate it is love, for death it is life, for hunger it is farming, for stinginess it is generosity, and for bitterness, be better. The choice is yours to make. We are always making decisions with our actions daily. Nobody is perfect, but we can always do better. If you look around your neighborhood today, there are many things you can do to help the community; likewise, there are many things you can do to hurt the community, but always stay on the right side of history. We will be judged not by ourselves but by others.
Finally, remember that we are dealing with human beings, not angels. When expectations fall short, do not come and kill yourself, according to the Nigerian market language, remember that tomorrow is another day, and your people need you. Remember that NDC (Nigeria Democratic Congress) does not belong to Peter Obi; it belongs to Seriake Henry Dickson. Do not think that Sariake does not have a special interest; first, he did not form NDC for Obi, he formed it for a particular agenda, so Obi must concede to some of Dickson’s plan, which may or may not align with the Obidient-Movement. I said it clearly in my article when Peter Obi joined ADC (African Democratic Congress) that I did not see his vision being materialized, since the people in that camp were the same group of people we are trying to get rid of in our polity. Yes, Peter Obi is the best candidate. Peter is a powerhouse today in our political space, but he needs a space to stand on so that we all can elect him. The democratic space is shrinking, the political space is toxic, and the political actors have become so greedy to the point that governance is the last thing to be done. Yes, it is sickening, but it is not a hopeless situation. When there is life, there is hope. I have watched and listened to the language of the public, and I have made my choice. I will make all the physical attempts and contributions to make sure that the best candidate is elected to power come January 2027, but I have also come to understand that it is not the end of the world if my candidate of choice did not win, since the electoral officers were appointees of the ruling government, APC. We will try our best and leave the rest to God. With God, you can always be better, not bitter.
