Abuja – Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called for the sustenance of good neighbourliness among Nigerians in the true tradition of the people’s age-long communal lifestyle.
Some residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday decried the ugly trend of solitary living in view of the security challenges prevailing in the society.
Mrs Rhoda Samson, a grandmother at Kpaduma, decried the solitary living which she described as an alien culture that `some Nigerians are adopting’, alleged that it has contributed to increase in crime rate, insecurity and sexual abuse in the society.
“People now prefer to live like the `Oyinbo’ and mind their business even when we see something wrong going on in the lives of our neighbours, we prefer to keep quiet or pretend not to notice in order to avoid trouble.
“All these are some of the reasons we hear about atrocities going on in the neighbourhood, where rape, molestation and other criminal activities have increased,” she said.
She, therefore, stressed the need to shun such lifestyle, which was gradually becoming the norm in the society, as well as superstitious beliefs that have pervaded the minds of the people.
“ A lot of people are so superstitious nowadays that they believe anything that happens to them is due to some kind of things, all these have made us mistrust each other and relate negatively with people around us.’’
Similarly, Mrs Jummai Elisha, a retired teacher, decried the effects of solitary living on young children, which according to her affects the way they relate with people outside their family.
“We cannot deny that we have a lot of challenges in our society that have contributed immensely to kidnap, child molestation and other forms of abuse.
“ But that does not mean we should keep our children under lock and key when they come back from school all in the name of protecting them from such crime, which can happen anywhere even in the home you are protecting them,’’
She, therefore, advised parents to allow their children mingle with others under strict supervision, as well as teach them about ways to recognize and inform them of any kind of sexual abuse and crime meted against them.
Similarly, Malam Abdullahi Maihatsi, a resident in Kpaduma village of Asoskoro extension, also said interacting with others would not in any way affect one, as long as you set a boundary that should be respected.
“ Some people tend to use bad experiences as excuses not to mingle with others, not knowing that when they face difficulties it is the people who live closest to you that first come to your aid before other relations or religion members.’’
Maihatsi told NAN that his neighbor recently assisted him when he was not around and some parts of his house was engulfed with fire due to high electricity supply.
“When my house caught fire, I was at my shop, some of my older children were in school, except for my wife and the last two babies and it was my neighbor that first noticed the smoke from outside and quickly rescued them.
“He even sustained some injuries as a result, but he didn’t care and was more concerned with saving their lives and retrieving my properties because we have been in a good relationship in spite the fact that we are from different religion and tribes.
He, therefore, stressed the need for peaceful co-existence among people and the need for frequent and mutual interaction irrespective of social status, religion or ethnicity.
Mr Emmanuel Ugwu, a resident in Karu, attributed the breakdown in social interaction between neighbours to the ethno-religious differences and mutual suspicion.
“ We have allowed sentiments to cloud our relationship with people in our society to the extent that our children no longer mingle as we used to do in the past due to ethno-religious differences,’’ he said.
Ugwu appealed to religious leaders to support government in preaching peace, unity and the need for regular dialogue between neighbours in resolving perceived differences or disagreement on any mutual issues. (NAN)
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