I observed a number of timesbefore, about how little things matter or should matter in life, for they are
as important or even more important than big things. To understand bothproblems and solutions of life, it is important we look for the little thingsabout us; the little things we say/do or we do not. That is a truth rooted indivine revels and in historical wisdom of our people: small sins are no lessthan the big; a tiny piece of a stalk can prick your eye.Words in any language are littlethings in the construction of language – small blocks in the lines of abuilding. but they are as important as any other item in the building. Words ina sentence are like blocks in outlines of a building. They fit into the streamfor the next line to follow on them. Like blocks, words must cut into actualmeasurement in sizes and meanings.
In every language, words are both elusive and deceptive. They are worse in English. Those that sound alike have different form and meaning. Some are direct opposites. Others may mean the same but the degree of meaning can ever be exact, reason writers are asked to be careful with word choice from the diciest English diction. It can mess the careless user to shame or sham; from prism to prison.
I find a common form of twowords in English and Hausa. Share isboth an English noun and a verb. As a verb, it sounds like the Hausa verb type Share (pronounced shaarei), which is why the relationship of the two words from thetwo languages that brings us to point is not in their sounds.
No. It is in their meaning. Theyboth have opposite meanings, with clashing, contradicting values representingeach. And both values of each govern each of two dominant habits of life inNigerian and northern culture.
But the words are complimentaryin Naija or the North. They reinforce each other in meaning and in practice.Both the meaning and the practice are universal though – cutting acrosspeoples, cultures and lives of the world. Sharein English means to give (the pieces or the number of something) to otherpersons – humans – for the urgency of either need or just want.
Share in Hausa means, literalily sweep away but connotatively, it means forget, ignore. in common Hausa usage today, the word is used in mockery to mean abandon or avoid a person, an acquaintance, friend, relation, colleague or family; to ignore their demands, needs; to abandon or avoid them with their recurrent problems.
The recurrent, common use ofboth words in common places make them popular, and it is contentious to say thatthe amount of language or its frequency among groups in society, from peers toinstitutions is capable of having impact on the habits of the groups in a givencontext.
That is not the result of any study anywhere. It is just a personal contention of a participant observer. it is a small individual exercise in change which begins small, from little, commonly ignorable, crazy even, if you like, thoughts.
You already know myunscientific, trivial conclusion: the rare, uncommon habit of giving andsharing in our part of the world, complemented by the rampant habit of avoidingproblematic persons and ignoring their problems are encouraged by the frequencyof use and the function of meaning of the two words.
So while this share encourages giving, helping and caring among persons, the other share discourages them. share gives and share denies, withholds. To ensure the maximum function of their meaning, one of them must be more popular, commoner, more impacting. The English share is unpopular, least used. The Hausa share is commoner, more popular because it is the Lingua Franca – commonly spoken by most persons from all groups most in the vast, populous North and across all the rest of Naija.
That then suggest there is more Shara – the noun verb of the Hausa word share (witholding, ignoring) than thereis sharing in Naija. We so say thatthere is little care, help and assistance to others, including the needy, thehelpless and the desperate. desperation leads to terrible indulgence, which bylaw is no excuse for the commit of any crime. There is just no reason forcorruption, theft, armed robbery or kidnapping, office arson or rustling.
But how can we say that when it is our careless individual use and abuse of value led to heartlessness which led to cruelty which led to corruption which led to inhumanity to humans which led to the destruction of the fabrics of the socioeconomic, cultural and political fabrics of the very society we proclaim and then turn around to deny our actions/inactions in the abuses and deny their consequences on certain underprivileged persons in our mid, next door?
Of course, no individual isbilled to carry the burdens of others; there are many problems for too manypersons and, wait, there is no one in Naija today who does not have a problem,not even the President. Yes. True. This is why we are all poor, hungry andneedy. No one has enough. No one is contented, satisfied. So who should givewho, what, how much, how often, for how long?
No one knows exactly. But everyone knows the problem and the factthat they are individual sources of the problem. Some are researchers who knoweven the remotest issue the rest of us cannot see, think or imagine. Some evenagree but they laugh it off.
Some will never give their wayward, spoil life for any betterment of all. They know and they are learned. They so called academics who claim superiority of reason, morality and thought but they have nothing to give. They instead derail, sabotage and destroy the little left of our honours.
Truth is we have constructed our path to stage. We walked the isle in bipartisan hardwork to get here. No faith, no tribe, region or party. No one can exonerate themselves. We are all involved.
We all have our both handsdipped in the clumsy water that soiled our building of this house. That isreason we are all equal in poverty. We are either poor in cash or poor inheart. We are equally vulnerable, insecure and threatened by the very samethings we all fear.
But the more problem is that weare not equally concerned. We do not feel equal weight of heart about our lackof care, love and giving which brings us to point of vulnerability, fear andcaptivity. Some of us care more than others. Some care less more than others. Some hate those who care. Some applausehaters of those who care and the caring.
They carry the burdens of spoilon their head. They are haggard, disturbed, frustrated by the amount of spoiledthings and persons. Spoiled by negligence in negligence or spoiled by reason ofneglect. They give their sleep, food, cloth, time, ideas, skills to others. Somedo the opposite.
They feel bad, their hearts areheavy and they act or wish to act with heavy hearts, in heavy ways to rightwrongs under their purviews, in and out of office. Others wish and act nothingto right no wrongs in direct purview of their duty and responsibility.
And they get applause for doingnothing. They are celebrated. Many others are afraid to do something helpful.They are afraid of social and economic sanctions, afraid to fall into the ditchof poverty.
This wordplay is meant to pushhome the point that our problems started little, from small things. In livingwith them, we overlook little, small things such that the big things cannot goaway because of the prevalence of little, small things, habits.
In righting the accumulates of wrongs, we need to look at, start from, by doing, little, small things. And our tragedy is in the one who will never do something, no matter how little, small the thing is. You. Yes, you.
Hassan Alhaji Hassan can be contacted on 08032829772/08050551220 (text only with full names and address)a[email protected]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect WikkiTimes’ editorial stance.
