COMMON SENSE GONE ON SABBATICAL.
You have this bad habit of "targeting" a local bakery for 9 pm for hot loaves of bread...so you encounter a young lady on holidays from a nearby public university. She was well into her twenties before "JAMB finally heard her prayers. She stands right there in the middle of the large hall unmindful of the intense heat and smoke and after a brief response to her greetings, you gently reprimand her of the danger she exposes her lungs to by freely inhaling the smoke. You do a quick take of the hall. Blackened oven doors.
A more blackened ceiling! No chimney or any ample form of air escape. A huge pile of firewood tightly packed against the wall! Now you know the source and cause of the smoke. Your training as a doctor propels you to tell the young woman yet again..."see, no chimney... no exhaust for noxious smoke...take a look at the ceiling...see how blackened it is...incomplete combustion...I'm sure the workers lungs are equally black"! You become so emotional about it so you pull her by the arm as she resists your pull and propel her in the direction of the exit. And as you release your grip and let go of her arm, she simply goes back right in, mouthing..."Daddy, I'm used to it. Leave me alone!" You mentioned the incident to her mum as soon as you reach home and she shrugs it off, her facial expression and general body language saying..."Now, what's the big deal?!" She utters no word but her irritation is palpable! You make a hurried escape before she starts "rejecting and binding in Jesus name!"
You navigate towards your house, your tail in between your legs. You tarry a while in your compound presumably to cool off and get a hang of what just happened. You finally head for your front door. You fumble in your pocket for your keys...finally sortring through the lousy bunch for the right key. As you finally settle down trying to grapple with what just happened, you move to switch on the tv. You left it at AIT...now you remember.
And what do you see? A middle-aged man lying on a hospital bed. Surrounded by a plethora of hospital equipment. He looks pitiable enough...as he pleads to "well-meaning Nigerians to donate towards his kidney transplant surgery scheduled for an Indian hospital"! He would be needing 8 million naira. His request comes with a complete compliment of name, bank and account number! You wonder what just assaulted your senses.
You recall that such requests are pretty common these days. You know how medical rejects by way of auxiliary cadre "saa pe" as they load willing patients with diclofenac, ibuprofen, indomethacin and paracetamol for pain !
And you wonder why common sense has gone on sabbatical among Nigerians....
Dr Tosin Akindele is a medical practitioner and public affairs analyst.