For a people or society to progress there has to be some level of trust among the people.
Your yes has to be yes and your no is no. If you tell your friend you will be there at 4 pm, it has to be 4 pm, not 4:30 pm. If you have to be late, call your party in advance to tell him you are running late. That is how civilized people behave. The thought of “African time” in our mindset is the foundation of underdevelopment.
Don’t intentionally mislead people. If you pass through a sliding or closing door, courtesy requires you to hold it for an incoming person, it is not a requirement but it is part of cordiality.
As a man, when you are with a female, civility demands you assist with a heavier load, you don’t expect the woman to hold the baby, carry firewood, and cook and perform chores, she is human and should be treated better.
It is important to draft a formal contract in every transaction, but we should grow to also know that we have to keep our part of the bargain even if there was no contract but a mere gentleman’s handshake. Build
While we blame our leadership for turning a blind eye to the people suffering, the people too need to have a level of morality. We also have to learn to show human compassion for one another.
A professor who fails a student for failing to sort or buy a handout is worst than these thieving politicians we blame every day. An office Clark who stalls your work for failing to bribe him is worst than these thieving governors. If you cannot be faithful in a little, you cannot be faithful in plenty.
You have to be able to trust a person that he will do the right thing even when no one is looking.
You have to be able to trust your friends that they will not poison your drink when you turn away.
We are so used to scams so much that even legitimate asking for help is feared to be a scam.
National healing will begin in Nigeria the day we develop trust for one another and cause the world to trust us as a people.
What then is trust? It is that assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. It can be described as one in which confidence is placed. Can your next-door neighbor place any trust in you that you will always do the right thing even when no one is looking?
As Nigerians, do we trust our leaders that they will always do the right thing, and does the leadership trust us as a people? If not, how do we build trust?
Princewill Odidi is a social commentator.
