From the foundations of earth’s pillars, man has always tolerated elegant mediocrity. Yet, those who have broken the bounds and ties of the makeshifts of mediocrity have always found themselves at the precipice of man’s wrath.

Goodness, truth, beauty, achievement, good reputation are merits demanding and truly deserving of the highest accolades in human society. Yet, ironically, these minister to the decay of society. They cause the fall of gatherings; not due to a certain loss of virtue in merit or goodness, but because of the hearts and minds of men, disfigured by contempt, envy, maddened by mediocrity.

Be mediocre, be common: be accepted. This is man’s eternal and unerring chant. All who understand this age wherein we breathe and ply our trade, will come to the singular profound conviction: these are times when sinister constructions are put upon distinction and a great reputation is as dangerous as a bad one.

Therefore, let your actions, deeds, thoughts be wonderful, or let them be awful, but, so far as they are uncommon, thou shalt be persecuted. Neither be too good nor too bad. Be mediocre; just be; just exist. Nothing less, and especially, nothing more.

Be good, but not too good. You see!! There are boundaries to these things. Small small good here and there is ok. If you’re too good, you might poke dem: dem things that have always antagonised goodness: jealousy, wickedness, mediocrity, and men too. The last one, will break your back then break you and other things breakable. It is last on the list, but not the last straw,; and we are not talking about camels or their backs either.

You can be bad, but not too bad; be not too evil. Just be an ok-guy in your evil works. Don’t go beyond the boundaries. Do not go beyond the set level, the mediocre level. If you become too evil, you’ll be strung up, burned at the stake. Not because you were evil, of course. You were just more evil. You were just too bad. They burn you at that stake, not because you were evil. You just exceeded mediocrity. Excess is criminal. Excess must be punished.

Even those who think to aspire, who are suspected of aspiring, who are accused of aspiring appreciably above the level of mediocrity are quenched, like a glowing ember doused furiously with buckets of water. Nipped at the bud.

They say Jesus was too good for his own ‘good’, and Hitler was too bad, and that was bad for him too. One fed 5000 Jews, saved more, the other killed 3 million. What about Dasuki; how you go thief $2bn for God’s sake. That’s too much nau. You were too corrupt; you shall be prosecuted. And Nnamdi Kanu; ‘why didn’t you just stay on Facebook like the rest of your kinsmen? Why didn’t you just stay there and raise your fist against injustice behind a screen with alphabets and numbers? You went further, you dared, Nnamdi Kanu, you went further than the others. Your goodness was too daring; you shall be prosecuted.

How can this minority divergents survive? Can they endure the tyranny of the mediocrity, in an age savage and hostile to the uncommon, to merit?

Perhaps, fate must be accepted, unquestioned, unchallenged, blows or pats.

Perhaps, tyranny is the price mediocrity, by cruelty of nature, must pay to genius.

Our political action has always consist of a cain-abelian makeup which seek, as a credo, never to aspire beyond the misery of average, and worse, simultaneously possessing a deranged crab-mentality that drags down to its level those who dare advance.

As noted earlier, the uncommon, good or evil, is harangued. I do not however, place both on the same pedestal. The former is nobler by weight of moral worth. What I do bring to light however is the ‘overlooked’, the mediocre, what we term common; the usual. The uncommon evil should be berated, by all means. But, do not trivialise the mediocre.

Do not say as I heard someone did, “nepotism apropos job acquisition is common, it is everywhere, amongst rich and poor; therefore, do not make a mountain out of it”. Do not crown the common ills with the street legality of ‘everyone-dey-do-am’ Nepotism exists; Nepotism is a problem; whatever is matters.

And please, be mediocre, by all means do; what we desire however is that you do not interfere with those of us who intend to break such primeval bonds. Do not interfere by your actions, and especially by your omissions.

Let me tell you something, we are either born extraordinary, or we take it upon ourselves. Let all the extraordinaire, therefore, whether by nature or nurture, make the best use, that they can, of the things which are in their power, and use the rest according to their nature.

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

Henry Anumudu is a graduate of Philosophy. An avid enthusiast, chasing after the eternal wellsprings of undiluted wisdom. He possesses a palate for the delights of the intellect.