Life! Some consider it a precious gift, others an entitlement among other
things. It has so many facets that need to be observed for anyone to fully
enjoy their life as an individual and also enjoy the lives of others.
There are many individuals in the world, many are the times when we are
bombarded by debate after debate about the sanctity of life, when life begins
or when life should end. Everyone seems to have an opinion on all these things
and at the same time, have supporters, and even in some cases fanatical ones at
that.
These arguments are based on rights and not responsibilities. Before the
1980s rights were more or less non-existent in the African context especially.
People were forcefully evicted from their homes, beaten and maimed, deprived of
their freedom and even forced into situations that only benefited a handful of
people. It is during these times that people were more relentless in their
resolve to achieve, focused in uniting together for the greater good of not
just themselves, but generations to come. The arguments for this kind of
approach to life were clear and indisputable as captured in the words of our
national anthem-“Ee, ndio wajibu wetu”
With the advent of more highlights on rights, the focus on responsibilities
seems to have taken a back seat. There are more unethical practices leading to
squandering of public resources, more court cases, more relationships breaking apart,
the family unit is continuously being eroded and the rich keep getting richer
while the poor continue to wallow in poverty simply because u n I have decided
that we are not responsible for anyone other than ourselves.
Let’s
think for a moment, consider a scenario where your parent decided at your
tender age, that they were not responsible for you. What would have happened to
you? Would you be where you are today? Would you have what u have today?
Take
another example. Right now in your life, whether u accept it or not u play a
number of roles; you are a friend, a son or daughter, a cousin, niece or
nephew, a husband or wife, a parent, an employee or an employer including the
various other groups you may be part of. Recall the number of times when you
have decided not to do something you had agreed on with someone else and not
communicate this to them. What was their reaction? Did they hug you and say
well done for keeping them in the dark? Did they give you more activities to
carry out on their behalf? Just how frustrated were they?
You have a
responsibility no matter how small or insignificant you may perceive it, no
mater whether others appreciate it or not, and in most cases whether no matter
whether you like it or not.
In order
to enjoy this precious gift that is LIFE, life demands that we be responsible
to ourselves and to others!
