A society that doesn’t value the life of its citizens can never do well. This is a given. Is it the danfo driver who stops abruptly? Not because he’s arrived at a bus stop but because his overriding interest to pick up passengers is the only thing that matters, thereby giving not a second’s thought to whether his action may imperil those coming behind him. Or is it the importer of medicinal drugs who in cahoots with equally unethical manufacturers, sells fake drugs to the unsuspecting, not giving a toss (kindly mind my language) about the potentially dire consequences? Or do we look at recent happenings where some hapless Nigerians bought what they thought were return tickets to Russia to watch the World Cup only to discover to their total dismay that they had been conned? They were in fact only one way tickets. What may eventually happen to these innocent people doesn’t matter a jot to the culprits. It certainly doesn’t keep them up at night. The only thing that may well keep them up is the excitement that comes over them as they consider the array of goodies they can use their ill-gotten largess to spoil themselves with. “Yes o, it’s my turn to ‘show them’!” “These haters go gba!” All at the expense and possibly the life of others.
Can you really blame them all though? It’s not only children who learn to do what you do rather than what you say. Adults do too. It’s not the tired, empty and what at times appears to be a pre-recording of the mantra, “we will leave no stone unturned” that will convince the people of government’s genuine concern for them but simple, and I mean simple actions. Simple because all you need do is the right thing and in most cases even a child knows what that should be. I daresay that by now there can’t be any more stones in Nigeria standing the right way up. Surely they must have started turning stones in neighbouring Republic of Benin, Niger and so on too.
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It’s common knowledge that the US army will risk the lives of tens of soldiers just to save one civilian life. They choose life. And we wonder why the average American is so patriotic; willing to go the ends of the earth to defend his country. I was amazed when I visited the US for the first time in 1992 and noticed the unmistakable star spangled banner proudly hoisted outside almost every other house. I couldn’t really fathom it then but I certainly do now. Even the Thais have outdone us. It was as if the whole country remained at a standstill until they finally rescued their boys from the cave. Needless to say here that a Thai diver lost his life in the process. He was fully aware of the risks but he too selflessly chose life.
Ethics is anchored on the most basic of principles and that’s the Golden Rule which says “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. I don’t see anyone in his right senses and this includes the culprits in the afore mentioned cases, wishing that he would be at the receiving end of all these thoughtless and often callous actions and yet they don’t think twice before doing it to others. The two most prominent theories of Ethics, Utilitarianism and Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative, clearly spell out what they believe amounts to a morally correct act and what an individual should consider before taking a particular course of action. The former says you should ask yourself what would produce the best result for the greatest number of people while also producing the least harm. This in fact represents a major guiding principle of the legal system. What are the rules that will ultimately benefit society and the majority of people in it?
The latter says you should not only refrain from treating your fellow man purely as a means to and end but you should treat him as an end in himself; as he is a human being after all, which makes him a sentient being( beings that have feelings). Secondly and just as importantly, you need to apply the Universalizability principle which says you should ask if it was to be made a law for everybody to do what you are about to do, would it be acceptable to you? So if you think it’s okay for you to lie you must will it to be made a law that everyone must lie at all times. Let’s see if you’ll like it then! Somehow I don’t think so. Kant’s belief was that we should always do the right thing for no other reason than it is our moral duty to do so. I believe so too.
Dapo Akande, author of the acclaimed book, “The Last Flight…a personal journey to rediscovering values”, is also the Founder of MINDS Reform Initiative, a NGO focused Character Education. Contact:[email protected]
