[OPINION] Money: The Spiritual Snobbery That Hoodwinks People’s Credence

by Orukotan Samuel

At the beginning before the beginning began, there exists an entity with scarcity but was very priceless. The value was upheld to a great degree of importance and worth but suddenly the wind of civilization blew away the values it carried. The many side of this entity was sold for a penny, the wind was like a divided red-sea, it brought to the doorsteps of people choices, the wind was blowing ferociously, some people were against the tide while others were flowing along with it. This choice is not farfetched from a Q&A session (Question and Answer session).

Do you like money? Do you love money? These were the question to discern who truly was “for” the wind and against it. The rational beings picked their own option and the irrationals was also not left out.

The comparative analysis used for comparing and contrasting suggests that the wind has stopped blowing rather the clouds are forming. The rain wants to fall wanting to destroy those against the tides of the wind, the reason for adding this addition as part of the creation package has been totally revolutionized, the will-o’ the wisp has been reconfigured, a new shortcut has been created, a lot of inhabitants now dogmatically take it as the only object of worship. The tubby, svelte are more concerned about having money by hook or by crook. This is another abnormality that civilization brought to us in a nation in itself. This is another challenge caricaturing us on the face again. People want sweet but they don’t like to subscribe to sweat.

Sweat is akin to labour or constructive effort. The earth and its many stopover. Who caused this glitch? Money, no doubt is the lifeblood of any nation but yet it corrupts and stagnates the vein of a nation that cannot maintain its heat and motion when it comes to the moral problem of our age which is the “love of money”. It has many virtues but its vices are too enormous to discuss. Many of our political office holders are a victim of what i call “greediness and self-love.”

The presidency has stated publicly the desire to halt corruption, which definitely rose up from the love of money, but our anti-corrupt agencies are lacking the necessary support from the government. EFCC claimed a while ago that it lacks fund to prosecute tomfooleries.

How do you solve corruption with insufficient funding?

The public civil service is another den of forgery and bribery. Our judicial system has lately and consistently exchanged justice for acceptance of lies at the expense of the truth, even, our examination bodies has fallen short of their oath of office and service. our political system is another system on its own filled with rogue, thugs, touts and even shenanigans. What do you expect from this various kind of people than evil? So, our leaders have failed the city in that respect and it will be very expedient if we remove our bad glasses and use the eagle type of eye in viewing things.

This exchange demands stern and tasking responsibility from our leaders.

First, some ox must be gored to make sure the complex process of changing this anomaly is effective.

Second, our yes must be yes and vice-versa. Why am I suggesting solutions? Will they listen? Will they change this bad and rotten political system? Honestly, I don’t see that happening in this generation. I am not a pessimist but my heart is getting sick because of our hope that is deferred on daily basis.

The various kidnappings of the east, the countable abduction of the west, north and even south all boil down to one thing, “Money”. Kidnapping is a form of vice, the end-product of this “vice” called kidnapping is the “virtue” called “money”. People are looking for alternative means of eking out a living when the government cannot longer live up to his bidding, they yearn for survival and they don’t care what becomes of them except Darwin’s theory never existed.

A nation with great panorama is gradually segregating into segments all because of inept and in-sensitive form of leadership. The Presidency has the necessary administrative acumen and propensity to check all over again what is killing us as an entity.

Mr President Sir, a new synergy is needed from you and your cabinet.

Baby factory all over the place, this is another problem caused by insufficient remuneration, unemployment et al, a lot is not done while you think it is being done sir, I heard you said sometimes ago that you created jobs of over 12,000 in 2013. Don’t quote me because I am not sure of this figure. Sir, if what you said is to go by, the various social vices in this country ought to have reduced but it is greatly on the increase. Our dailies are my primary witness to this fact. Probably, you shared the responsibility sir, check it all over again, you will discover that a lot were not employed; the few ones that were employed got it mostly via lobbying and bribing which is also another crime on its own.

What is now the fate of the poor in this new scheme of things? Are we building a partitioned state where only the influential will control the activities of the state? Isn’t this another form of apartheid? This time, it is the segregation of affluence from penury.

Please sir, do something about this menace that is making us recognise mediocrity at the expense of excellence.  When are we going to start compensating the competent that went through higher education of learning with “thorns and tears” just to maintain the standard of excellence? We can’t be dreaming of a new Nigeria having a mediocre mind, we can’t be yearning for a better Nigeria without the involvement of expertise and this expertise is the excellence that will are failing to recognise and sometimes celebrate.

Even, in the religious set up, we see the love of money growing like a whirlwind. Our men of God ranging from pastors, apostles, bishops, evangelists and prophets who should be “servants of God” have succeeded in repackaging their calling. The salvation that was given free is now being sold to people, a lot of commercial prophets have emerged, a lot claim to have a calling from God whereas God never had their identity number not to talk of calling them, many of them flashed God but yet they are doing the work of God with deceit. Is flashing the same as receiving a call?

Baby factories here and there, it is another alternative means of making money, the living is being exchanged for the non-living, the so called “weaker” vessel are the fore-runner of this man-made factory, our women that should rise up to the challenge of the 21st century are pitching their tent in sin.

Honestly, the government is not to be totally blamed here but the conscious and sub-conscious mind that has refuse to do its normal job of “pricking.” The conscience is no longer there to prick them when they go wayward. Can a bag of money look for you in your old age? Can a bag of money look for you when you are dead? Definitely, it can’t. It was the crazy love of money that brought us the dilemma we are faced with as a nation.

The carrot and stick approach might not be an ideal approach in solving these increasingly daily vices. I am an advocate of paper money but it must also represent what it professes on its face. Enough of telling us that the tool that brought us beauty and freedom is now leaving us in bondage of debts and borrow, enough of printing lies in form of money, enough of biting the fingers that brought you to prominence and power.

Many live in affluence while many Nigerians are living in self-pity, a lot of our elite can afford to bribe their ways through the inconveniences of life while many less-privileged Nigerians are crying in agony and pain.

What is the essence of gaining this whole world and yet lose your soul? What is the essence of acquiring wealth and spending it all on sicknesses and diseases? What is the essence of being earthly relevant and yet, you are not heavenly conscious?

Vanity upon vanity, all is vanity. Let not your ambitions mock our useful toil, let not our homely joy and destiny obscure, let not grandeur hear with a disdainful smile because this is the simple but fleeting annals of the masses.

You are blessed to be a blessing, you have that money so that you will minister to the needs of myriad of Nigerians who want to prepare their last meal and die, the money you have today will never follow you to the grave neither will it pay for your borrowed life.

How are you living your borrowed life? How am i servicing my borrowed life? Money is like manure, if you spread it around, it does a lot of good but if you pile it up like a dunghill, it stinks like hell.

Money might be a defence, it might answer all things but it can also fail and it did fail in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan (Genesis 47:15).

More so, that a time will come when there will be nothing to spend than for us to rob Peter and pay Paul. Beware!

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Orukotan Samuel is a columnist at SamoluExpress (http://samoluexpress.co.uk)