When the news of a certain crime breaks, it is usually welcomed with a lot of outrage and with culprits receiving heavy backlash. Everybody is pointing fingers and we all know who is to blame. But enough of all that hypocrisy. That rapist is someone’s friend, brother, neighbour, or family member.
Character is like the smoke from a fire, it cannot be hidden. Someone knows they are aware of the wrong things you do; they know your weakness but they leave you to it even though you are a potential danger to the society. They turn a blind eye until someone becomes a victim of your evil actions.
No more sentiments of “family or friend” what is bad is bad, speak up and speak out against
evil, stop covering up bad behaviour. Speak up and speak out, help this person find help. That kidnapper/fraudster is someone’s husband, neighbour, brother, or friend. You see him living large, he looks good and spends money, and what does he do for a living? Do we even still question people’s source of wealth in this generation or are we all just minding our business?
Why are you minding your business? Is it because you are afraid to be the one to expose this person? Or because you are a beneficiary of this person? Are you just minding your business because you feel you are not and cannot be affected?
Minding your business is evil! It is a sin to mind your business to the detriment of society. We need to be more discerning & observant, those who do evil things are just in our families, streets, offices, why do we pretend like we don’t know them or we do not see the evil they do?
These people need help! Now is the time to cry out, speak up, and report these acts. It is not enough to only resist evil but to also report it. These people need to be helped, not by our silence but by reporting these acts to a doctor, NGOs, or even to the police. Reporting, not because we don’t love & accept them but to keep the society safe.
Stop assuming or thinking that other people or the police will do nothing, just do your part. The bible says evil prevails when the righteous do nothing. When we say change begins with me, it means that we must stand up and speak out against all forms of wrongdoings, injustice, immorality, and corruption going on around us; in our families, communities, workplaces, and everywhere we are. These things we must do with courage and not with sentiments of who they are to us or benefits we get from them but for the interest & love to keep the society saner.
We cannot continue to say I wasn’t part of them, it wasn’t me, it is not my concern, I am minding my own business. These things enable the perpetration of these acts. Your values and words should be questioned if you can’t defend those values and the implications in the lives of others. Here is the time, demanding on us all to uphold our different good values and become the messenger of our essence–Love.
May we all have the courage to stand up for our values and not keep silent over what is dangerous for the society.
Love is all I have
Atinuke Odjenima
Transformational Growth Catalyst
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