BY CAESAR IHEJIRIK

In the dialectics of the enigma ;  man.
Of the various classifications of  him
There emerges two genres of man.
They cut across educational  lines                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              They are oblivious to wealth and poverty
Or even religious biases
In simple terms, it is a dichotomy of human dignity.

Those who have the consciousness of being “human”
And those who do not.
Those who see themselves as smart creatures
And those who know they are part of creative force.
Those like animal creatures i.e. animal instinctive.

Who’s only instinct and drive is survival. At all costs.
Survival of their animal nature .
Nothing else matters. Nothing else.
Everything is justified in this pursuit
Owing to their feral origins .

A lot like rudimentary organic life forms.
Whom the term ‘Principles’ have to be invented for.
From eclectic reasoning  we discover
That man has a dual  nature.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       An  animalistic character
And a companion divine nature.
From whence comes  Inspiration and intuition.
Anything lacking of the divine attribute
Is simply  sub-human .

On the other hand you have
Those who are able to perceive
From a divine perspective
Their whole dual nature.
They don’t have to grovel for base survival                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        They are able to strike a balance in the cosmos
Not just in the flight from want
They are constantly aware
Of the finer pursuits.
Much unlike animals ,

Members of  the base specie
Products of inchoate evolution .
They exhibit no limit to their appetites.
They are forever ravenous.
They easily can consume even their own
In a mad display of frenzy.Because of them
We hear of the depletion of the Earth’s resources
The world is peopled by both types
Though in varying proportions
And by some tragic twist

The country Nigeria is teeming with;
Albeit infested with
A lopsided proportion
Of these vapid creatures.
A situation that gives rise to strange phenomena                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              With deprecating consequences.
Such as the culture of profligacy.
Where people pillage and plunder ,
Whatever resource or asset they may find .

Much like pack mice,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Forever foraging and  pilfering .
The popular dictum has it that
There is some good in everyone.
Of Nigeria, I would say
Rather sarcastically that
There is some bad in every one.

You also hear of four-one-nine
The hoodwink fraud.
Ritual murders etc.
Rulers clinging on to power
When they don’t know,
Even the meaning of leadership.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 All these and other varied forms
Of inordinate greed avarice and ambition .

Our only recourse, then is,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            We have to hold out the banner
Of that which makes ‘Man”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           We don’t have to begin anew
The moyen of evolution.
It is a quest, just for the dignity of man
Just to realize what being human is all about.