Chris
was trembling with fear as he narrated the story. It was a sunny day, and Chris
(not his real name) left his house at
Maryland, Lagos in order to submit a document for an employment opportunity at
Victoria Island in another part of Lagos. As he stood under the bus stop shade
waiting for a Bus, sooner than he expected, a commercial bus stopped and Chris
who could not waste any more minute boarded it. Though Chris is from the
Eastern part of Nigeria, experience had taught him that Yoruba people value courtesy,
greetings and respect a lot, so seeing two older persons already seated in the
bus; a man and a woman in their 60s, he greeted them ‘E ka san oo’ (good
afternoon) in a funny ibo accent and they gave him a warm welcome ‘ka san’
which is interpreted good afternoon.
As
he settled down, the woman who was sitting closer to Chris turned to the other
passenger and said ‘e fi le, eleyi o ki n se eran wa’ interpreted ‘leave him,
this is not our meat.’ Chris did not understand much of what was uttered and
therefore did not bother much on what was being said, as the bus moved on, it
stopped to take in another person at another bus stop, as the young man settled
in the bus, he neither recognized nor greeted any of the passengers already
seated. As the bus sped on the free road, the woman said ‘eleyi, eran wa ni’
meaning this one is our meat, she brought out a voodoo from her bag and struck
the new passenger on the head and the young man became unconscious.
Immediately, she ordered the bus driver to stop and let Chris who was already
shaking from fear and anxiety out, telling Chris to continue to respect his
elders.
Etiquettes are rules of acceptable
behaviours. Even though, the word etiquette was said to have
originated from France, in the court of king Louis XIV in 18th century, etiquette in
today’s society has covered civil virtues such as truthfulness,
self-control and kindness towards one's fellow beings. With etiquette, we are indeed ladies and gentlemen.
Who
is a gentle man? Who is a gentle lady?
A gentle man is that senator who
withheld the urge to punch another man on the face when he felt the urge, he is that man who did not disregard the
traffic light on the road, she is that lady who did not slap his driver even though
she determines his take home pay, he is that man who stopped at the police check point to be checked, and he is
that police officer who refused to slap a suspect even when the suspect was at
his mercy. The list cannot be exhausted but if one
has done contrary to these, he or she has disobeyed the rules of ethics and has
undermined his citizenship. Day by day, we see these principles being broken, in
fact, I have broken some myself many times, but the fact that I do it or you do
it does not make it right. Never right
the wrong!
These
basic principles of etiquette, and civility or manners guide us through all of
our activities. Moreover, it lets us present ourselves with confidence and
authority in all areas of our professional and personal life. It may include:
being gracious, being pleasant, being courteous, and being considerate.
When
you are driving: in the process of claiming your right, accidents do occur;
etiquette prevents a lot of mishaps from happening to us.
Every
citizen should have a high standard of behavior, high standard of civility
which include not only courtesy but everything which has to do with good
citizenship.
A gentle man is a man of good breeding, courtesy and kindness; hence, a man distinguished for the sense of honour, strict regard for his obligation and consideration for the rise and honour of others. (Anonymous).
Thank you for reading today’s
episode
