MAN AS HIS OWN GREATEST ENEMY.

By:
Ajukura, Fidelis O.
ajukurafidelisobi@gmail.com
14th September, 2023

Man, like other animals is a being condemned to struggle: he must struggle before he eats, struggle to stay alive: his life is besieged by uncertainty. Many things lie in wait to take his life thus he must work tirelessly to protect it. In the sun, he works to keep himself from hunger and dehydration. In the rain, he saves his body from cold and his head from being bludgeoned by violent storm. Man has no rest! Even in the quietness of the night, his brain ticks ceaselessly like a clock.

In a man's life, many things conspire to precipitate him into pain or even snatch his life from him. He is always on the run and must continue in it if his precarious life must stretch a little further.

One befuddling issue about man is the intricate interplay of freedom and bondage in his life. While he parades himself in the regalia of freedom, the chains of thralldom restrains him. He must yield to that innate calling. In this wise, even education and religion stand surbodinated to the compelling power of the immanent traits which more often than not are self-serving. Put differently, innate traits have the upper hand and must chart the course. A naturally quick tempered man will not hesitate to, through his action announce himself when the chips are down. His faith and learning is submerged in the current of his naturally configured weakness.

Among all the forces that threatens man's existence, his debilitating nature is his greatest undoing. The pain and misery that he inflicts on others as well as himself via the workings of his consciousness is a burden he does not know how exorcise.

Natural disasters and other human frailties like sickness, old age etc are nothing compared to the wickedness that emanate from the heart of man. From the heart of man comes strife and war. War is the greatest calamity to befall man; it has consumed more human life than any other tragedy in history. The interesting thing about this situation is that the instigators sometimes end up losing their own lives and those of their loved ones. Another thing that has impacted negatively on the live of man is maladministration which is often fueled by greed. This situation, from time immemorial has destroyed human lives in a large scale and will continue to do so until something drastic is done. Covetousness is an act that flows from no where else but the heart of man. By covetousness, men inflict immeasurable pain on their fellow men and sometimes, themselves. It is covetousness that compels people to crouch in the dead of the night to attack and dispossess others of their hard-earned properties and money. A man obtained loan from a bank, rented a large portion of land and farmed rice on it, when the rice became matured for harvesting, a band of thieves stormed the farm during the weekend when the owner does not visit his farm, cleared the farm to the last grain and went away. This is what a man can do to his fellow man! In a similar case, an elderly man who retired meritoriously from work after the compulsory 35 years of service had his retirement benefit cleared in his bank account by fraudsters. Only the grace of God saved the elderly man from committing suicide. The list of man's horrifying savagery to his fellow man is endless.

In human history, nothing has threatened man's existence as man himself. Man is a problem unto himself. He is the most vicious predator unto himself: he kidnaps, maims, kills and even eats the flesh of his fellow man. Even in this contemporary age, cannibalism is still practiced in a large scale. But the good news is that, the inexorable law of nature eternally remains sacrosanct and intact. Those who, in the pursuit of their selfish interest or desire increases the pain and suffering of others will certainly be consumed by a more terrifying blow.

Be not deceived, whatever a man sows, that he will reap!