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What do you do when you see something going wrong and it’s none of your business? I can almost hear someone saying “I will face my front before someone will call me over sabi.” Okay let’s talk about how to tell the difference between helpful and ‘over sabi’ but first, a story.

“No! No! No! No! No Way!” Screamed Uju. This is not happening to me. Not today. No way” She closed her eyes and allowed her mind drift back to earlier that morning. She woke up with a big smile on her face and looked out of her fathered hut to observe all the servants hurrying around in preparation, everyone was so excited. It was her big day. Ugo her handsome prince and the love of her life had performed all the marriage rites and she was heading to his village tonight to take her place as future queen. This was supposed to be the best day of her life but instead here she was, stuck by the river bank with no way of getting there. Everyone had gone ahead in other boats to Ugo’s village where a big celebration was waiting for them. She was to come with her friends on the last boat to make a grand entrance but alas the boat that was left for her started sinking and they had to return to shore. Now she was stuck, embarrassed and missing her own reception, in her full princess regalia for that matter.

“Uju, the reason this boat was picked for you is because it is rarely used, everyone thought it would be in the best condition”. “Which silly best condition?” Uju snapped at Chika her best friend. “This boat is rickety and useless, it’s been leaking for ages, is it not the one I always used when sneaking to go see Ugo in his village before?!” “Ah ah!” Said Nneka “So you knew there was a leaking boat and you never did anything about it”. Uju starts screaming in frustration “Why are you guys busy interviewing me?! Does Chukwudi ever listen to anybody? Ask him if I didn’t tell him his boat was rickety and useless the last time I used it! Am I a boat fixer or care taker? If he can’t fix his boat, what’s my own? Should I have fixed it fir him?  I will have him severely punished for this. Chei! See my life. Why are we even talking about boats! when…” ! Chukwudi who had been struggling to fix his boat jumped in. “Were don oh! Insulti mi verry werl, so because I could not spoken Engilish very well you tink you are beta than me. Is orait, if you laiki have me behaeded. All I know is that, it is a 3 hour journey to Oma, in 3 hours your people will get there. They will be expecting you for anoda 1 hour, by di time dey realize you are not coming they will now send a boat which will take another 3  hours to come back an look for you. After which, you will spend anoda eztra 3 awas going back to Oma by which time it will be tomorrow morning! You are too big to ezplain it well for me dat day abi? Abegi lemme go and chop garri and sleep. Mstchewww.”

End

Sometimes when we see something going wrong we get angry but not angry enough to do something. I will use the words of Abiola ‘Champ’ Salami here, “Don’t get angry, get MAD (Make A Difference)”.

Maybe Uju felt that she didn’t need to be committed to ensuring that the boat owner understood the need to fix his own boat, after all it was his boat. Have you ever passed by a baby eating from the floor and just shook your head and walked past? Have you ever helped a child across the road? Have you given up on explaining a particular issue that is negatively affecting clients to your boss? Are you tired of trying to get your colleagues to see a bigger picture? Do not give up. Don’t ever be satisfied with doing nothing. If you are the one who sees a problem, then you have a part to play in communicating it and/ or solving it. e.g A 3 year old school girl is trying to cross the road to get to school, instead of heaping curses on the absent mother as you continue driving in your car. Park it, and let her/help her across.

Being the smartest person in the room is not a guarantee that you are the most useful. The most useful person in the room is not the one with the brightest ideas but the one who knows how to communicate the bright ideas. After all:

- What good is intelligence if you can’t solve problems?

- Of what good is wisdom if it only makes you look down on others?

- What good is knowledge if no one accepts it from you?

Here are my two words on this matter: Find It, Sell It, Do Something, Add It.

Having a good idea isn’t good enough… Sell It

Seeing a problem is not enough… Do Something

There’s a way to communicate with your boss that he will understand and listen to you… Find It

Bear in mind that in most cases, even if you cannot eradicate a problem from the face of the earth, there is always something you can add to make things a bit better...

                                                                       Add It

From this, what do you think is the difference between being helpful and ‘Over sabi’? Is there something you feel like adding to your school, office or the lives of people around you? Let’s talk about how you can go about it. Post your comment here or send me an email to uki@poisenigeria.org