A Call For Peace

I was asked to post this article, written by a great friend and colleague in Nigeria...

Some great philosopher once said “The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing” I believe in this quote so much that I write it down and say it whatever chance I get. It also influences the way I live, work and relate to those around me, speaking out against injustice and influencing my own small way my immediate spheres of influence by what I do and what I say. At least I try to the best way I can.

This way of thinking was severely tested many times and on many occasions and in many ways but nothing prepared me for what I witnessed on the morning of Monday the 15th of March when on my way to work contemplating a busy hospital schedule that involves saving lives. Already despondent about all the brutality in the land, I was very unfortunate to witness the last moments of a hard working family man, a taxi driver brutally chased by a mob killed and burnt accused falsely of being a child thief by some motorcyclists that he had an altercation with. It is an experience that I am certain would remain with me for as long as I live. Many good people did nothing that day either from fear, helplessness, and apathy or just not knowing what to do. I still recall the fear in his eyes and his voice as he shouted pleading his innocence trying to flee from the monster of a mob.

The feeling of helplessness that one goes through at moments like this is hard to imagine, looking back it is difficult to have imagined how I could have helped but it still doesn’t make the anguish any less. Sad to think, this is just one victim too many in an existence where life has become so cheap, where people turn into cold blooded killers in a twinkle of an eye. Innocent people are killed every day, people who wake up in the morning like a majority of us with nothing in mind but how to navigate through the rough terrain of existence, feed their families, send their children to school. Even innocent children are not spared in a land where life has become so cheap.

Be it in ethnic clashes, religious clashes, in maternity wards on the roads, in our homes while we sleep. Evil continues to flourish because good men (and women) do nothing. It is time that we think of our roles in the society and what they can do and how best we can do it. Some of us are in a position to do something big, but for those of us who aren’t we can start by showing love and tolerance and peace in not only what we say but what we do. We can talk to our children, our neighbors, our friends and our kinsman. There is too much hate and by doing nothing we may just as well share in the blame.

I just thought I could trade in my stethoscope for the pen today to reach out further in my bid to continue to live by my principles if I am able to convince even one person today then perhaps the anguish I feel will lessen a bit.
Best regards

Dr (Mrs) Yashua Alkali Hamza
Sharada, Kano