Opinion

• "PASSING SIX, NOT PASSING SENSE": 
• A Mirror of Self-Assessment

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‎By Pascal Chimezie 

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‎There is a world of difference between classroom learning, also known as, formal education, and "street sense," variously called, in local parlance, "No. 6", "native intelligence", or "common sense." In a more technical sense, it is about the difference between "acquired learning" and "infused knowledge." 

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‎My late less literate father, Sir Louis, used to say, "passing six no be passing sense." He would make such a remark each time we committed one thing! (And trust us we always commit something...) My father, not really high-handed, would excoriate or chide us for our foolish mistakes. But his rebuke would not be complete without saying, "passing six, no be passing sense." The import of his words, as at that time, was lost to us. We never really understood what he meant. In our childish innocence, we were also patently naive.

‎But now, in my adulthood, I can clearly discern and connect to the hidden wisdom of my father's old cliche. 

I have seen people, presumed normal, who throw pebbles and stones, figuratively speaking, at the market place, not caring a hoot upon whose head the missiles might hit. I have seen people, presumed elders of communities who act like the proverbial dog that eats bone that is hung on its neck. They betray trust reposed in them by their aborminable acts. 

I have equally seen people, highly placed individuals, presumed to be well educated and enlightened, who, being carried away by their temporal status and positions in society, bully others and mock their helplessness, forgetting the wise saying, "no condition is permanent." The quest for power and material possessions can drive those who have lost their conscience to extreme. It can make people condescend low to do things that are not worthy to speak to ears. It can make people behave childishly and irresponsibly, even foolishly to the utter consternation of those who know them. 

They act with impunity, and play God. All too often they forget they are still mortals. They forget that people look up to them for good moral values, and like Caesar's wife, they must live above board. When all that a leader does is to give bad examples, the  moral fabric of the society is utterly destroyed. 

Just take a look at the conduct of some of our leaders. What positive value can the young ones learn from them? No doubt, they are well educated and supposedly enlightened. Which is why they occupy all positions of authority, from executive to legislature, to judiciary, parastatals, ministries and departments, etc. They pride themselves as "learned." But, in actual fact, most of them lack common sense! "Passing six no be passing sense", the words of my father.

Look at our politicians, men and women of politics. Everything for them is politics. They find it difficult to draw a line between decency, integrity, what is socially and morally acceptable and what is not. They don't care about what people say about them. They don't to give a damn about their reputation, or even a legacy they would leave behind. If they can steal the whole country into their pocket (some actually do), all well and good. They do not mind. They can rationalize anything, putting up a straight face to it like unrepentant criminal. 

Of what use is your education and knowledge if it is only for a dubious purpose? Of what use is one's training if it cannot serve the common good of the people? Those who acquire education and knowledge should also endeavour to acquire "common sense." That man or woman is a fool who spends his or her life endeavours, cornering wealth and resources of his or her people for himself or herself alone, at the great expense of others! Remind him or her that he or she could cease to breathe in the next second. Life is fleeting. Get sense.

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‎Look at those often referred to as elders, whether statesmen or community leaders and their culture of silence and lies. Who will call them to order? We know there is so much hunger in the land. But that should not be enough reason for anybody to sell his conscience or compromise truth? I remember the immortal philosophical words of one of the Nigeria's foremost jurists, late Justice Ephraim Akpata, who said, "What is regrettable in life is not what dies in us when we are dead, but rather what dies in us even when we are still alive." Only those with "sixth sense" will understand what is meant here. It is just as my father would say, "passing six no be passing sense."

Our politicians are giving scandals, and they should stop. Their aides and spokespersons, --- those who must say something in praise for their masters to justify their relevance, or their pot of porridge, appear worse. It does not matter if what they say stands logic on its head, a deliberate distortion of truth and lies from the pit of hell. It makes one wonders, do these people ever care about their image and reputation? Does honour mean anything to them? Do they have families, communities, faith societies and groups to which they belong and interface with? And, what kind of counsel, rebuke, correction, guidance, if ever, do these various socialization groups give to them? Or do they just excuse their embarrassing conducts, fearing that they might offend them because of the food their conspiratorial silence puts on their table? Remember, it is often said that the hottest part in hell is reserved for those who maintained silence at the time of moral disorder. Keep speaking out to condemn what is evil, even if the incorrigible one refuses to hear. Gone seems to be the days when good name is better appreciated and more valued than riches. Today, who cares? 

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‎A visibly angry friend of mine told me sometime ago that he had stopped recharging his pay-as-you-view television. I asked, why? He said he had become tired of watching and listening to what he described as "too many lies and propaganda from our shameless leaders." I could understand his frustration. But who cares? They seem to take delight in condescending low, not minding the exalted offices and positions they occupy that deserve respect and honour. Sometimes you mistake their rantings for lunacy. And those who still care for their neurotic sanity would have no option but to opt out. 

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‎Corruption is not merely the stealing from public treasury. Or taking bribes to pervert justice. Or giving out millions, in the midst of grinding mass poverty, to buy the consciences of electoral managers and security agencies. Corruption is a serious moral disorder. It is the basis of all the various manifestations of decay in our society. It has to be fixed, and urgently so, before any other thing can be fixed.

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‎My father was right, "passing six, no be passing sense." The word keeps ringing a bell.

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‎In those days, "form six", what is today known as elementary or primary six, was highly regarded. It was the days of the colonial masters. Education was not as bastardized as it is today. A form six 'graduate' instantly gets a job. Employment market was not as oversaturated as it is now. They are employable, unlike today that a university graduate is unemployable. 

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‎Today, most of our graduates can hardly express themselves, or defend the certificates they parade. But not so for the "form 6" in those days. When they write, you instantly fall in love with their beautiful cursive style. They were largely the bedrock of our early civil service, recruited into various government establishments; some as school teachers, some as court clerks, constables, etc. The villagers respected them, because they conduct themselves honourably.

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‎Not only because they earned a rare certificate, or because they could speak and understand Oyibo man's language, but, more importantly, because they had not lost their "common sense," a sense of probity and shame, in the course of service, or while hobnobbing with the white man. Can that be said of our today's public office holders? 

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‎It is true though, not all our public office holders have lost it morally. There may still be few who would like to be counted. They should keep it up, and continue to make their voices heard, even if no one seems to be listening. When good learning combines with "common sense," the result is always an exceptionally wonderful being. When it is otherwise, you have people who constitute themselves public nuisance, everywhere. When they talk, act or behave, you cannot, but to feel ashamed for them; fools at forty!

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‎But, make no mistake about it, "common sense" is a deceptive term. It sounds as though it is common, cheap and easily accessible to everyone. Far be it. 

‎Common sense is wisdom from above. It is the scarcest and rarest natural commodity. Education cannot buy it. Old age does not necessarily guarantee it. 

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‎One of the striking characters in the Book of Job called Elihu, shut up the rantings of Job and his other friends by his profound remark. He said, "I am young, and you are old, so I was afraid to tell you what I think. I told myself that you ought to speak, that you older men should share your wisdom. But it is the Spirit of Almighty God that comes to human beings and gives them wisdom. It is not growing old that makes people wise or helps them to know what is right" (Job 32:6-9, gnb).

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‎Elihu has answered the question, how can men acquire true sense? It comes, first, by having a reverent fear for God, because the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Thus, James the Elder, one of the authors of the new testament scriptural books, recommends, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should pray to God, who will give it to him; because God gives generously and graciously to all" (James 1:5). 

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‎Dear friends, let us not give up completely yet on those to whom we have looked up to lead us aright, but instead are "falling our hands" in utter disappointment. Let us continue to pray for them, as St Paul advised us in his first letter to Timothy. "Pray constantly for your leaders and those in authority" (1 Tim. 2:1-2). But we must constantly remind them that while we appreciate their efforts in trying to fix our broken systems and national infrastructure, they should try as much as possible to fix their moral decadence. Our children are watching. 

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