THE DEATH OF THE LAGOS "IYA OLOJA"; MARKETS LOCKED FOR TWO DAYS

So let me begin my story with the recent lockdown of the various Lagos Markets for the burial of the Market Matron.

I passed by the Mushin and Oshodi markets and I was utterly surprised at the total and complete lock down of the market and I could not help but wonder at the reason for a total and complete lock down of the markets. Needless to say I was unable to buy the stuffs I wanted to buy because someone had declared a public holiday for the Lagos traders.

Further information and news gathered revealed that market traders were forced into submission and compliance by officers of the police and the association that was meant to represent them the (traders).

Someone or some set of people decided that they must honor their Market matron by closing and taking out the means of livelihood and cutting off trade for the entire Lagos economy.

A simple question to ask is this: how can the death of one person be made to be the cause of hunger and loss of livelihood of millions of Lagosians who depend on daily sales?

Why must people be forced to close their shops and forego their means of daily livelihood because of someone they probably had never met?

I believe strongly that we need a change in our mentality and we need to respect the rights to individualism and respect should be paid to the rights of traders to not be made to forcefully mourn the death of a stranger. The “mama Oloja” did not help traders pay shop rents neither did she help stock their shops with wares for the Lagosians that were forced to have a 2 day public holiday.

If the Lagos economy took stock of how much money its economy lost within those 2 days they might likely inform similar associations to stay clear of declaring a compulsory lock up shop to all traders.

You should read Prof. Wole Soyinka’s article on “THE VILLAGE MOURNERS ASSOCIATION”

Let the family of the dead bury their dead in whatever fashion they may please, but it is absolutely wrong for you to force the entire Lagos residents (buyers and sellers) to mourn with you

The Mind of Absolute Trust

The Mind of Absolute Trust from a literal translation by Robert F. Olson The Great Way isn't difficult for those who are unattached to their preferences. Let go of longing and aversion, and everything will be perfectly clear. When you cling to a hairbreadth of distinction, heaven and earth are set apart. If you want to realize the truth, don't be for or against. The struggle between good and evil is the primal disease of the mind. Not grasping the deeper meaning, you just trouble your mind's serenity. As vast as infinite space, it is perfect and lacks nothing. But because you select and reject, you can't perceive its true nature. Don't get entangled in the world; don't lose yourself in emptiness. Be at peace in the oneness of things, and all errors will disappear by themselves. If you don't live the Tao, you fall into assertion or denial. Asserting that the world is real, you are blind to its deeper reality; denying that the world is real, you are blind to the selflessness of all things. The more you think about these matters, the farther you are from the truth. Step aside from all thinking, and there is nowhere you can't go. Returning to the root, you find the meaning; chasing appearances, you lose their source. At the moment of profound insight, you transcend both appearance and emptiness. Don't keep searching for the truth; just let go of your opinions. For the mind in harmony with the Tao, all selfishness disappears. With not even a trace of self-doubt, you can trust the universe completely. All at once you are free, with nothing left to hold on to. All is empty, brilliant, perfect in its own being. In the world of things as they are, there is no self, no non-self. If you want to describe its essence, the best you can say is "Not-two." For the mind in harmony with the Tao, all selfishness disappears. With not even a trace of self-doubt, you can trust the universe completely. In this "Not-two" nothing is separate, and nothing in the world is excluded. The enlightened of all times and places have entered into this truth. In it there is no gain or loss; one instant is ten thousand years. There is no here, no there; infinity is right before your eyes. The tiny is as large as the vast when objective boundaries have vanished; the vast is as small as the tiny, when you don't have external limits. Being is an aspect of non-being; non-being is no different from being. Until you understand this truth, you won't see anything clearly. One is all; all are one. When you realize this, what reason for holiness or wisdom? The mind of absolute trust is beyond all thought, all striving, is perfectly at peace; for in it there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, no today.