I once asked a Nigerian youth how much it would take to purchase her. She looked offended and answered haughtily “I am a priceless jewel”
“What makes you a priceless jewel?” I asked her politely in a very soft encouraging voice to coax her to answer my question truthfully and as best as she could.
“Well, I am wonderfully made by God”.
I went further in my quest “Do you believe that all men are equal? That all men are priceless?”
“Yes of course”
So I went on prodding “Would you say then that your life has the same value as the man who is hungry on the street and would do anything to survive or the infant that dies at birth because of a lack of proper care?”
Silence ensued.
Some people might feel that putting a price tag on human life is inhumane, because every life is "priceless". However, one cannot help but wonder how much value we have placed on our lives.
The value of life, according to definitions, is an economic or moral value assigned to life in general or, according to political or social scientists, the marginal cost of death prevention in a certain class of circumstances.
From the definitions, the value of life in our great country is questionable as people continue to suffer and die. Those mostly affected are women and children. The statistics on maternal and infant mortality from WHO and UNICEF reports shows that 800-1500 in every 100,000 women due to pregnancy-related causes and 201 in every 1000 children die. It is more depressing to note that majority of these deaths can be prevented if proper actions are taken. However, these figures remain mere statistics until the next victim is our wife, sister, daughter or child. Even then, some still go into denial blaming the devil or their in-laws or the will of God. Are we going to keep watching and lamenting?
Let us step down to our streets which have become corridors of death. Maimed bodies or victims of accidents are seen lying on these roads. A lot of people turn their faces and call on the name of their gods while the bold ones pick abandoned boxes left on the road as refuse to cover what was once a person with rights to life. Also on the streets, without caution and with what looks like a death wish, the popular ‘OKADA’ riders throng the roads singing unheard songs like “I’ll ride till I die”. They are seen taking risks at sharp bends or bursting out of junctions without any sense of responsibility for their lives or that of their passengers who seem in oblivion to the antics of the riders anyway. This shows that people will try to survive at any cost. The life expectancy in Nigeria is 45years. This means that most people are expected to die at the age of 45 years, that is taking at least 25 years off our lives if the Bible’s life expectancy of three scores and ten years is considered.
It has been said that about 60% of Nigerians live below the poverty line (i.e. <$1.00/day). How much can $1.00 do to keep body and soul together? The Federal government in time past has tried a lot of strategies to reduce Maternal, Child deaths and poverty in the country, however, poverty sticks to Nigerians like glue. This is not because we just can’t help being poor, it is because we have refused to do what is right. It is not the job of the president alone to make everything better; we have an important role to play in making life better for ourselves. Every time we throw dirt on the street, we contribute to the morbidity statistics, every time we loot funds meant for the public, we contribute to poverty and death and every time we fail to speak up, it shows we have no care for our lives or that of others.
We need to examine our values and principles. We need to be accountable for our actions. A colleague once asked me what the need for principles is in a society that has lost its sense of moral obligation. Let us not forget that we make up the society. If we fail as a nation it is because we have all failed either by our actions or inactions. Let us start to act right, speak out and work. Our work should be our prayers so that the God we serve will crown our efforts with success. We all have a right to live well till we are old and ripe for death so let us stop contributing to our demise.
Life is precious indeed and we are all priceless in the eyes of God.
“What makes you a priceless jewel?” I asked her politely in a very soft encouraging voice to coax her to answer my question truthfully and as best as she could.
“Well, I am wonderfully made by God”.
I went further in my quest “Do you believe that all men are equal? That all men are priceless?”
“Yes of course”
So I went on prodding “Would you say then that your life has the same value as the man who is hungry on the street and would do anything to survive or the infant that dies at birth because of a lack of proper care?”
Silence ensued.
Some people might feel that putting a price tag on human life is inhumane, because every life is "priceless". However, one cannot help but wonder how much value we have placed on our lives.
The value of life, according to definitions, is an economic or moral value assigned to life in general or, according to political or social scientists, the marginal cost of death prevention in a certain class of circumstances.
From the definitions, the value of life in our great country is questionable as people continue to suffer and die. Those mostly affected are women and children. The statistics on maternal and infant mortality from WHO and UNICEF reports shows that 800-1500 in every 100,000 women due to pregnancy-related causes and 201 in every 1000 children die. It is more depressing to note that majority of these deaths can be prevented if proper actions are taken. However, these figures remain mere statistics until the next victim is our wife, sister, daughter or child. Even then, some still go into denial blaming the devil or their in-laws or the will of God. Are we going to keep watching and lamenting?
Let us step down to our streets which have become corridors of death. Maimed bodies or victims of accidents are seen lying on these roads. A lot of people turn their faces and call on the name of their gods while the bold ones pick abandoned boxes left on the road as refuse to cover what was once a person with rights to life. Also on the streets, without caution and with what looks like a death wish, the popular ‘OKADA’ riders throng the roads singing unheard songs like “I’ll ride till I die”. They are seen taking risks at sharp bends or bursting out of junctions without any sense of responsibility for their lives or that of their passengers who seem in oblivion to the antics of the riders anyway. This shows that people will try to survive at any cost. The life expectancy in Nigeria is 45years. This means that most people are expected to die at the age of 45 years, that is taking at least 25 years off our lives if the Bible’s life expectancy of three scores and ten years is considered.
It has been said that about 60% of Nigerians live below the poverty line (i.e. <$1.00/day). How much can $1.00 do to keep body and soul together? The Federal government in time past has tried a lot of strategies to reduce Maternal, Child deaths and poverty in the country, however, poverty sticks to Nigerians like glue. This is not because we just can’t help being poor, it is because we have refused to do what is right. It is not the job of the president alone to make everything better; we have an important role to play in making life better for ourselves. Every time we throw dirt on the street, we contribute to the morbidity statistics, every time we loot funds meant for the public, we contribute to poverty and death and every time we fail to speak up, it shows we have no care for our lives or that of others.
We need to examine our values and principles. We need to be accountable for our actions. A colleague once asked me what the need for principles is in a society that has lost its sense of moral obligation. Let us not forget that we make up the society. If we fail as a nation it is because we have all failed either by our actions or inactions. Let us start to act right, speak out and work. Our work should be our prayers so that the God we serve will crown our efforts with success. We all have a right to live well till we are old and ripe for death so let us stop contributing to our demise.
Life is precious indeed and we are all priceless in the eyes of God.
This is a blog spot created to inform, educate and entertain on any issue in Nigeria. It provides an opportunity for all Nigerians to speak up about these issues concerning our nation and our people. It calls on young creative minds, experienced hands and all people with a drive to make a better place for all Nigerians to contibute to this blog.