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It has been three weeks since my wife gave
birth to our baby. Every single day of these three weeks, I have had cause to
wonder why or how the ‘Bad People’ label seems to have stuck on us. Almost
everybody in my neighbourhood has shown us some love one way or the other. And
to be honest, I do not know half the people who have come to my house to
felicitate with us these past weeks.
Just this morning, my wife told me of the
plantain seller who gave her a bunch of the plantain she was selling just
because she learnt she had given birth. And my wife confessed that she had
never really bought anything from this woman. The only relationship they share
is that she runs into her sometimes on her way out.
Well, if you are wondering if I live in a
rural area, I am sorry to say I do not. I live in the heart of
Lagos. Maybe I live in some part of
Lagos where communal life
is still pronounced? Well, again, I am sorry to say that I do not really know
more than two or three people on my street. I mean, I do not know anybody to
the extent of going to visit him or her. I learnt one of my neighbours is the
owner of ABC Transport, but I have never seen the man face to face, and I have
never had any cause to go and see him. And I have lived in this neighbourhood
for close to eight years. Yet, when my wife gave birth, everybody came to
rejoice with us. And many brought something, irrespective of the value.
One elderly man who lives across the street
with his family even told me I could ask his wife to do anything I needed an
elderly woman to do for us. His wife sells bread, among other things, and I
cannot count the number of times the woman has sent loaves of bread to our home
in the morning. And when my wife told her we needed 25 litres of groundnut oil
for my baby’s naming ceremony, she sent it promptly without asking for money. It
took us several days to remember that we had not paid for it. But she was there
all the time, and is still there, to help out with whatever needs to be done.
Sometimes, she sends her children to run errands for us.
Naturally, I am an introvert. Most of the
time, I do not go out of my way to make friends. So, I know people have not
given us all the support they have given us because I am a very friendly
person. If anything, I believe it is the communal spirit in us. I saw a bit of
it when I was in the university – you could walk into anybody’s room and ask
for garri or toothpaste, and anybody could walk into your room to ask for
anything, irrespective of tribe or religion.
Now, if you think this is happening only in
our neighbourhood, consider this one: When my wife was pregnant with this
particular child, her greatest challenge was passing out at the slightest
trigger. If she ate hot food, she would pass out. If she ate cold food, she
would pass out. If she stood for five minutes under the sun, she would pass
out. We sought medical help but were told it would stop only after she had
given birth. My constant prayer then was that she would not pass out in the
public where there was no help. But as much as we guarded against it, it
happened at a bus stop when she was with our three-year-old daughter and far
away from home.
Surprisingly, the man who came to her
rescue was a taxi driver. She had put a call through to my friend, after
standing at the bus stop for sometime and did not know how she was feeling. But
before my friend could get to her, an elderly man who had been watching her
from the nearby taxi park walked up to her and asked her to come and sit in his
car. When he realised the taxi seats were not convenient for her, he went to look
for a better seat to put near the car so that she could take as much air as
possible. Of course, she did not know when my friend came and took her to the
hospital. But the elderly man had bought the water and everything that was
needed to revive her, and had taken care of my daughter until my friend came.
I had to go and look for the taxi driver
the following day to show my appreciation. And to think he did not think he did
anything special! He only insisted I must let him know whenever my wife gives
birth so that he would come and greet the baby. Sadly, he was away in his
village to bury his mother about the time my wife gave birth. But he has not
given up on coming to see the baby any time he is back.
I know I have been a distrustful person
most of my life because of our peculiar circumstances. But I have realised that
our people are not as bad as we think; we are a caring people. There are some
bad Nigerians, all right, but they definitely do not outnumber the good ones
who are ever so willing to show love and care. I believe life will be easier and better
if only we will learn to concentrate more on our good points and be less
suspicious of one another. I could never have imagined that people I do not
really know – of course, they are all Nigerians – could be this nice to my
family and I.
As for me, I am grateful to every member of
the
Nigerian Village Square, my friends
and everyone in my neighbourhood who have shared in our joy these past weeks.
May the good Lord bless you all.
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Authors 
Posted by Robot| 14.02.2008 20:59