Is It Practical To Be Honest?

Day 9

At the end of day 4’s Post, someone told me that was my best post ever. At the end of day 7, somebody else said the same thing. At the end of day 8, someone else said the same thing. I love criticism and comment, but i think i should apologize if i can’t continue in same stead that i wrote those ones. My aim, is not to better my last post, but to express myself explicitly.

Waking up this morning, i was yet to get a theme for today’s post. Minutes after i woke up, i heard a knock on my door, a jehovah witness guy wanted to preach. I politely told him to come later but he ended up dropping a ‘Awake Magazine’, January 2012 edition for me. Bidded him bye and i took a look at the front page. It practically leapt at me. ‘IS IT PRACTICAL TO BE HONEST’. Any writer would tell you that writing comes from split second inspiration/s. At that very moment, i knew the angle i had to write from.

Back to issues at hand, Is it practical to be honest? Shaking your head and wondering what to choose. Huh? Yeah, it involves much thought to settle on an answer. The pressure to be dishonest is on everyone. Be you a christian, muslim, atheist or buddhist. Nobody can claim not to have cheated ones. Be it an examination, or in a game or in a cunny way to get money. Youths of today are prone to this and the elder ones are not exempted.

“Honesty in business, is a relic of the past, and those who practice it are doomed to failure” – Unknown. The above quote should ring true for us all especially in this country of ours. Be it in the ministry, corporate bodies, private business, just name it it’s there. Even the government are the chief culprit of it.

What gain is there in being dishonest? More financial gain? More recognition? More Prestige? Or what? We all are not satisfied with situ of things in Nigeria. Why? Beause of CORRUPTION. The major form of dishonesty in this country. This cuts across all sectors, a youth already involved in cyber-crime, will not think twice before tking out of the national treasure or national cake like it’s generally known.
Personal temptation, Pressure to maximise profits, pressure from others, culture and environment plays a key role in choosing between honesty and dis-honesty. People’s perception of honesty, has more to with what they can get away with legally than what is actually the truth. Like they say, It’s not cheating until you get caught.

In Nigeria, it’s customary for business transactions to be accompanied by an exchange of ‘gifts’, where workers demand kola before they can perform their duty. Anyone who ever tried getting a passport or driver’s license would understand this better. Irrespective of size of ‘gift’, the boundaries of honest practices can be easily blurred.

My opinion now, when in Rome, act like a roman. Imagine this, you are a civil engineer, dealing with road construction, you seek contracts from government. And there will have to be greasing of palm or to call a spade a spade, bribes will be given. Will you abstain from seeking contract and look for another profession in wee hour of one’s life or will you swing along? Now picture yourself as the government official, will you seek to obtain bribe, inflate contract and get almost double or triple your annual income in the blink of an eye without batting an eyelid? Hard choices. Virtually caught in between two devils. Well, what would it cost you or rather, us, to be honest? Eating fro your sweat, reaping the fruit of your labour. What happened to reaping what we sow, why wanting to reap when you didn’t sow?

In the end, someone out there will wonder why I’m forming innocent guy, no, I’m not. I’m also caught up in this rat race. But, knowing what’s right and doing what’s right are two different things. Or, aren’t they?
Ending this with a quote, “It’s always a challenge to differentiate a gift from a tip”.

@StraitTwistedMe
14th April 2012

Nigeria In Focus!!!

Yeah, i don’t need to be told… There’s already cobwebs on this blog… Blame it on me losing my writing mojo and thanks to @Kemmiiii for unconsciously helping me rediscover it… Well, let me go straight to matters at hand cos there is no time to waste fuel (typing this on a laptop and charging it with generator). And, i hope @The-Nerdy_Chick does not see this as a Pessimistic write up.

1. Happy New Year to all of us… i hope it brings smile to our faces… And, if the world ‘ll come to an end like everyone’s saying, let us be more religious and drop all those sinful acts especially the sexual ones.

2. Fuel Subsidy:- Little did i know that the fuel i bought at N65 per litre on Jan 1st would be the last at that price. In contrast to ‘Happy New Year’ greeting across the globe, it seems GEJ is hell bent on making it a sad new year. Or what else will you call removal of fuel subsidy on Jan 1st. A period when most have travelled cross-country. Cases of most people selling their properties to get back to their various destinations have been reported. What happened to his promise of Due Consultation and implementation by April 1st 2013? Why hasten it??? Was he in a hurry to end the yelutide season joy or what???

3. Boko-Haram inhumane Acts:- This is no longer news to us, also, GEJ’s reluctance to wield the big stick on them. Who’s he protecting? The God-Fathers behind them or the populace being bombed??? Do WHATEVER it takes and stop this senseless killings and save this country from unnecesary loss of lives.

4. GEJ:- Thank you for telling Nigerians to vote wisely next-time rather than voting for the man without shoes. Your selflessness in your contribution to the growth of unemployment rate is highly appreciated. Thanks for proving Rita (Koko Mansion) right that truly, “Nigeria is not safety enough”. And, we hope you win your Second term bid and if possible third and fourth term bid. Help us tell your wife, that she should continue what she does best which is a comic relief to our constant gnashing of teeth. By the way, i suggest you go to google, and type in “Most Cursed President”… Hehehe….

5. Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala:- Someone should tell her that she can’t serve two masters, because she will end up lying to one. And Nigeria is the one being lied to. Her annoying claim of cutting recurrent spending rather than tackling the main issue, is now very grating to the ears. I recall an article i read in The Nation’s ‘People and Politics’ column written by Mohamed Haruna, he asked that is NOI using Nigeria to further her bid to be President Of Africa Development Bank??? Recent developments are indeed pointing in that direction.
And, i commend IMF for installing a puppet in person of NOI so that they can help reform our financial fiscal policies in line with what is beneficial to the WEST.

6. #OccupyNigeria:- Twitter went agog with this TT (TrendingTopic) and it took me a while to agree that it could work cos i was of the believe that the GEJ adminstration was beyond salvaging. Thanks to that compulsive or rather, threatening DM from @omojuwa and logical reasoning from @DipoOginni to make me see the light in it.
For those who took part in the NationWide Protest, i envy you because you guys can at least tell your children that you played a part in struggle to #OccupyNigeria and for those of us that took to twitter to register our displeasure, more grease to our elbow. To those who sat on the fence, may God Be With You.
And to those who lost their lives in the struggle to #OccupyNigeria, Rest In Peace (RIP)!!!
By the way, someone should ask TWITTER why #OccupyNigeria has not trended worldwide…

@StraitTwistedMe
8th January-2011

#Nigeria….. Fool @ 51???

Nigeria @ 50…..

Nb:- This was written a year ago…

It’s often well said that a fool @40, is a fool forever…..
!t later became a fool @ 18 is a fool forever…
Whichever1 it might be, what do u say of a fool @50???

They Said in 2010, all will be well, but now, we thinking If all can be good in 2050…
Giant of Africa… We all keep saying that, but where will u rank South-Africa, or Ghana…
Say the Name Nigeria to any1 on the street and the response is something of either a shrug or acceptance of the absurd state of living….

The labor of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain
If only the founding father of this ‘Great’ Nation can see how it all is now, I wonder if they would have fought 4 independency….

It’s a different thing to be under a colonial master and it’s another thing to be under the shadow of our own people…
But is there really any difference…
In both situ, the weak are oppressed…
And the multitude are afraid to protest…

This damage did not just start…
Nigeria ate the forbidden fruit when She discovered Crude Oil…
Greed erupted with discovery of oil
Don’t blame them, If a Child who is used to little is given something large,
We know how the end result ll be…
Had we jut stuck to Agriculture, It would av been a different story 2day…

Just look at us.
Everything is backwards.
Everything is awkward.
Doctors destroy health,
Lawyers murder justice,
Universities destroy knowledge,
Governments destroy freedom,
The major media destroy information…
And so on 2 mention a few…

Craving!!!
Of wanton lusting…
Greed pitted against reason…
And conscience lost to treachery…
This best describes Nigeria…

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Every1 is expecting a change…
And yet, every1 is afraid to start the change…
It can all start with us…

A frnd asked me ‘When will it get better’???
I told him it can’t start with this generation of ours…
Children of 2day, Leaders of tomorrow….
A teenager who is already into Cyber Crimes and every other fast means of making money,
Will definitely nt think twice b4 taking his own share of the National treasure or National Cake as it is known…
Who then are we looking 4wrd 2 as Leaders of tomorrow!!!

What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.
Not until we tackle d greed in us, and stop blaming the leaders above can Nigeria progress…
Well, it all dies down to prayer and good deed…

God bless Nigeria…
If only i mean that the way an American means it whenever he says God bless America…..
God bless Nigeria!!!

@StraitTwistedMe
9-25-2010
3:04pm….