The Thin line between Respect and Fear in Nigeria(1)

·         % Respect your elders

·         # Where does respect end and fear begin?

·         *  Oga in a Nigerian company

·          *     Is it a Yoruba thing?

·         $ Is it inferiority complex?              

·         (  What can we do?

What an old man sees sitting down, a young man cannot see standing up.

Or so the adage says…it is one of those age-old sayings I have heard on various tongues. It connotes the awe-inspiring wisdom of the grey-head. It tells the young one that his wisdom is foolishness to elders; innocence and naivety rule his world, he is blind to understanding.

In more ways than one, this is true. The bible tells us to respect our elders, it is just the right thing to do. We ought to respect them. We ought to respect them because they’ve ‘been there, done that’. Their variety of experiences dwarf ours.

Where does respect end and fear begin?

But where does respect end? Where does fear begin? It seems there’s a thin line between respect and fear in our Nigeria. I will try to make bold the differences:

Scene 1

You pass by your boss and forget to greet because your mind is totally occupied with some assignment you have to finish. You remember you did not greet a few seconds after he’s passed. You silently regret not acknowledging the presence of such an achieved person. You like his charisma. He’s one of your mentors. RESPECT

You pass by your boss and forget to greet because your mind is totally occupied with some assignment you have to finish. You remember you did not greet a few seconds after he’s passed. You go around to make sure you run into him again to loudly greet him and smile sheepishly.  You cannot afford being in his bad books. That will be ugly. FEAR

Scene 2

Senior ITK asks you to go fetch water from the well…it’s a 20-minute trip to and fro. You really need to get to class to study. You have a Chemistry test tomorrow. You explain calmly to her that you have to study. You could fetch it for her after studying, if she still needs it then. RESPECT

Senior ITK asks you to go fetch water from the well…it’s a 20-minute trip to and fro. You really need to get to class to study. You have a Chemistry test tomorrow. You curse loudly in your mind, look blankly at the buckets and pick them up. You do not frown because you could be punished. FEAR

Scene 3

Your Father is obviously teaching you something wrong. He has been teaching you something  outdated in this course, you have read recently in school that the technology has been improved. You calmly and humbly explain to him that the class is not necessary, you have learnt the subject. RESPECT

Your Father is obviously teaching you something wrong. He has been teaching you something  outdated in this course,you have read recently in school that the technology has been improved. In a shaken  voice you try  to explain you have been taught what he’s explaining. He shouts back at you. You endure the long unnecessary session(lol): FEAR.