Alkasim Abdulkadir: The man, Michael Anthony, died (Y! FrontPage)

by Alkasim Abdulkadir

Alkasim Abdulkadir Y! FrontPage

But what did Michael do? He braved all odds, stopped for a moment to stop thinking about himself avoided the “me-self” pervasive syndrome that has become our bane to walk through blazing balls of fire to save a 16 month old baby trapped in a burning house.

Michael Anthony is dead. The man died. I bet you don’t know him, he is not some party chieftain of the old or the new PDP, neither is he battling to run as APC’s flag bearer. Michael is not a music star and hasn’t died after releasing a great album. No, he wasn’t in Living in Bondage either, if you were assuming he was a Nollywood star. You see, Michael was just a simple 27 year old who fits the mold of the good samaritan in the good book. According to news reports this week, he passed away earlier this week.

But what did Michael do? He braved all odds, stopped for a moment to stop thinking about himself avoided the “me-self” pervasive syndrome that has become our bane to walk through blazing balls of fire to save a 16 month old baby trapped in a burning house.

While recuperating at the Intensive Care Unit, Ward 1, of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Michael in great and unimaginable pain explained how the incident happened.

“I had just returned from work on the fateful day at about 9pm when we started hearing the continued cry of a baby. Initially, we had thought that our neighbour was beating her child but when the cry was becoming unbearable for us, we all ran outside our house, only to discover that our neighbour’s flat was on fire.

“By this time, the entire sitting room was already up in flames. There was absolutely nothing anyone could do if the baby must be rescued, except to brave the odds.

“I just couldn’t stand there doing nothing and wait till the baby dies. So, I tried to assist the little boy as I paved my way into the bedroom where he was and threw him out from the window”

However, the most touching and poignant of his words for me, even while writhing from the pain of first and third degree burns

“I’m grateful however that the attempt was successful. I don’t in any way regret my actions”, he stressed.

Michael’s father, Anthony Anthony, said he was very happy for what my son did.

 

We need to learn from the sacrifice of Michael Anthony, this is not exactly about entering burning houses. It is the elevation of thought bordering on selflessness. Take for instance something as trite as our road usage, in our perpetual road rage we drive without consideration for the next driver, swerving lanes as if we are meandering in our sitting rooms, if only we had a little humane thought for the next driver, or pedestrian, I bet we’ll be more careful. It is this same innate selfishness that makes us charge across Zebra crossings. The same selfishness that ensures the survival of the multimillion Naira fake drug industry, the same drug that the manufacturer or importer can’t administer to himself or family members. The same thought that motivates us to build houses that will collapse and roads will sprout potholes after the first rains. There are a plethora of painful examples like embezzling pension funds, the misappropriation of funds meant for schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.  Like Michael Anthony, our actions and the actions of our leaders should consider the next person, if we are serious about this regeneration, if we are serious about reversing this rot, we must save and not kill our babies here metaphorically meaning our tomorrow. Adieu, Michael.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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