Life is full of surprises. In a blink of an eye, we may find ourselves in a situation we do not expect. We should be in control of our anger at all cost. We should not allow it get the best of us.
Let me share a quick life story about someone I know.
Man was scarce for like four to five years, and we had even started thinking he had gone abroad without notice, only for him to show up out of the blues.
Asked him where he has been, and his story went thus:
“I took a bus to CMS, before entering, I asked the conductor if he had change for N1000, and he said I should enter the bus. On getting to the final bus stop, I alighted only for the conductor to pair me with another lady in sharing "change". It was annoying as I was running late for a job interview that morning, so I told the conductor that I was unhappy about it, but instead of even an apology, he decided to hurl insults on me in Yoruba (probably thinking I did not understand the language). It got me even more annoyed, especially considering he was smaller.
"I made a move like I was going to punch the guy, and in reflex, he staggered backward, hit his head on the road and died at the spot. "Agbero" guys came out and said they witnessed me kill the man. Even the lady that was to share the "change" with me disappeared in fear.
"The court process was long, but I managed to escape with manslaughter and a very fair sentence from the judge, as the family of the conductor swore I used their brother and son to do juju, and that is no child’s play in court."
Lessons learnt in this piece are that: we should not respond everytime with anger. We should avoid physical confrontation at all cost. Self restraint is a huge virtue one should really learn. We should domesticate the act of playing in our head the end result of our itching actions before carrying them out.
While anger is inevitable, controlling it will save you from a lot.
Kayode Samson is an ND1 student of the department of Mass Communication
