What can the righteous do if the foundations are destroyed? Truth is shrinking in Nigeria. Lie and more lies are becoming entrenched at the roots of the foundation of my beloved country. I worry. Shouldn’t I?

I worry not even only at the institutionalisation of lies at the top echelon of leadership. We blame our woes on leadership and institutionalised corruption but if the immediate and far future is the hope we nurse, I worry that this upcoming generation is becoming a lying generation.

In less than 48 hours, I had three different experiences that got me thinking how fast truth is becoming unfashionable amongst these young adults. Lying is becoming a way of life and I fear that honesty is struggling to find space.

I drove in to a filling station to buy diesel in a 25 litre keg. The attendant should be in her early twenties. Before me, she sold N1000 worth of diesel to another customer also in a keg. She decided not to wipe the meter before serving me but I pretended not to notice.

After paying N8,000 for a N7,000 worth of diesel, I said a big thank you to her but she became uncomfortable because she knew she had cheated me. I seized the moment of her discomfort to counsel her to be more truthful to other customers but I worried that truth is shrinking in my country.

Less than 18 hours later, I drove in to another filling station to fill the tank of my car. My bill was meant to be N6,847 but the attendant decided to punch N9,847 on the POS machine and asked for my PIN. My guy should be in his early thirties. I called his attention to his ‘mistake’, he feigned ignorance, apologised and did the right thing but I worried that truth is shrinking in my country.

The first two experiences could pass for youthful exuberance but the third got me really scared because of the damage it could cause. I was to travel with my car and my dashboard indicated that one of my tyres had low pressure. I stopped to get a vulcanizer to gauge all my tyres to be sure that they had the right pressure in accordance with the manufacturer’s specification.

The vulcanizer claimed that all the tyres needed air, according to his gauge, all in a bid to pump all my tyres even when there was no need so he could collect my money. He pumped all the tyres and I paid him only for my dashboard to indicate that the pressure in all the tyres were too high. I became curious.

I stopped to check with another vulcanizer. Unknown to him that his colleague few meters away had just pumped my tyres, his gauge indicated that all the tyres needed air, all because of the money he would collect from me for pumping air in my tyres that could be dangerous to my journey. I did not allow him to pump my tyres because I knew he lied. These guys should be in their late twenties and early thirties.

I was shocked to discover from the third vulcanizer that all my four tyres already gauged over 50 apiece as against the manufacturer’s specification of 35. I simply requested him to deflate all the four tyres to 35. He didn’t have to pump any of the tyres but I paid him for his truthfulness. It was only then my dashboard found peace and spoke the right language. The third vulcanizer should be in his early to mid fifties. I hope that sinks, compared with the ages of the first and second vulcanizers.

I imagine the risk involved in putting the car on the road if it has no means of detecting that the tyres were over inflated. Do we wonder how innocent lives are lost in collapsed buildings because of extra cash guys want to make from simple transactions at the expense of the sanctity of human lives?

Leadership and corruption have been identified as two major problems bedeviling my beloved country but the followership challenge is as big as the leadership challenge if not bigger. This menace permeates the entire system. I worry that truth is shrinking.

©️Akin Oluwadare Jnr
22 November 2021