By Destiny Chukwuma Dickson
Ours is a generation largely depleted of people given to due process. An alarming percentage would rather opt for the shortcuts. On February 10, 2021, I was in a commercial bus headed towards Ketu when a sudden accident occurred. A commercial motorcyclist driving against traffic collided head-on with a motorist. The result was fatal.
A Premium Times report on November 23, 2020, gives an indication of the scale of this despicable behavior. It noted that 44 wrecked cars had been earmarked by the Lagos State Government for auction.
Beyond the transport sector , let us examine our penchant for shortcuts elsewhere.
In 2016, Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM) fever gripped a good number of Nigerians. Reports indicated that about 3 million Nigerians were involved in the scheme, culminating in a loss of about $50million. Since the crash of the MMM scheme after the death of its founder in 2018, similar schemes have been berthed, resulting in massive losses for participants.
In my undergraduate days, a cross-section of Persons with Disabilities got entangled in a Ponzi scheme, with the sole aim of doubling a recently received scholarship grant. As you might expect, the result was regret and a flood of tears.
At this juncture, let’s shift attention to the ongoing registration being carried out by National Identity Management Company [NIMC]. A detailed report by Daily Trust, Saturday, December 19, 2020, revealed that those who followed due process got their National Identification Number [NIN] within 3 weeks, while those who opted for shortcuts got theirs within 24 hours.
It is imperative that our society begin to grasp the enormous negative impact of shortcuts, and run a consistent campaign aimed at promoting due process. The National Orientation Agency [NOA] must wake up from slumber. The debacle caused by the “My Pikin Teething Syrup” in 2008/2009 remains fresh in my memory. The drug manufacturer, Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, was said to have obtained tainted ingredients from an unregistered chemical dealer. It resulted in the death of over 80 children. Suffice it to say that the erring officials were jailed, and the company shuttered. Nonetheless, the death of those children is too heavy a price to pay. We need to be a proactive and not a reactive nation.
A report by Safety Matters Weekly indicate that statistically, “employees are six times more likely to experience an accident or injury as a result of unsafe behaviours, such as taking shortcuts, than unsafe working conditions”.
Impatience, greed, societal pressure and harsh economic times are major contributory factors to this culture of shortcuts.
We must help restore the values often associated with the founding fathers of Nigeria.
A system which encourages shortcuts, instead of due process, must be painstakingly addressed.
As individuals, we must insist on due process, no matter whose ox is gored. Indeed, we must encourage, and make a habit of doing the right thing, at the right time and in the right way.