Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.  God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It was one of those very high profile events with strict access control, where the privilege to attend was achieved by tagging along behind my boss. One of the speakers at that August gathering was a very prominent former government functionary best known for his political sagacity and uncommon grandiloquence. As he mounted the podium, wild cheers erupted from the audience, many who wondered aloud, demanding to know where he had been. Taking a queue from the audience, he began, ‘I am sure many of you are wondering where I have been, why I have been so quiet and why nobody has heard from me all these years. Well, I will tell you the truth. Shortly after I left government, I wanted to go back to my business. I had to look around for a successful man who would guide me. The man we have come to honour today was the person I zeroed in on.’ Disclosing further how he developed a robust relationship with the special guest of honour, who was to become his business mentor, the speaker noted for extraordinary political perspicacity unveiled an unusual blueprint for success.
Narrating his life transforming encounter with the business colossus, the hitherto prominent public official said to him, ‘Sir, I have observed that your business is running excellently without any one bothering you. Please may I know the secret of your success?’ According to him, the SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS man responded almost spontaneously: “Just keep your mouth shut, when your mouth is shut, no one quotes you and no one bothers you or disturbs your business.” So my dear friends, I had to keep my mouth shut and that is the secret of the flourishing business I run today. I am sure many of you do not know that I am involved in this size of business enterprise.’ It was a pin-drop-silence before the audience erupted into spontaneous laughter followed by a prolonged applause. My boss and a benumbed me, returned back in a daze, gobsmacked. It was an epiphany moment, that a successful business requires the execution of a strict zip code of the oral cavity if the aspirations of the enterprise are to be achieved by the promoters. Any potential breach automatically unleashes the agents of the state on the promoters and their investments by extension.
This apparently explains why elder statesmen have willfully denied the nation the benefit of sound advice, choosing rather to maintain a deafening silence as enemies of our collective peace kick the country around.
Breaking free from the mould, former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma set aside his ring of fortune on March 24 2018, during the convocation ceremony of the Taraba State University, alleging complicity of the military in the activities of murderous herdsmen makes it expedient for citizens to explore self-defence mechanisms. The bold pronouncement, which sent shock waves across the land, not only rattled the military which has promised to investigate the accusation, but has also emboldened others like Prof Itse Sagay to declare that the law allows Nigerians to defend themselves from being massacred.
Irish stateman, Edmund Burke, is fondly remembered for his profound assertion that, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Public initiatives like whistleblowing and ‘See Something Say Something’ schemes have their roots enshrined in ethical practices that encourage people to speak up for the common good and in some cases criminalize deliberating withholding of critical information.
Etiquette as a recipe for healthy and productive relationships flourishes when people rise to the occasion if unfettered information is the prerequisite composite at any given time.
The moral decay in our society today has a major contributor in the ignoble culture of silence, as opposed to the traditional communal life that stipulates the collective responsibility of a community in the raising of a child. Complicit silence riding on the ‘mind your business’ mantra has seen the society evolve from positively shaping destinies to watching people drift to self-destruction.
The salutary effort of the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and her daughter, Zara Buhari, drew attention to the criminal neglect of the apex health facility, the Aso Rock clinic in spite of huge sums running into billions of naira annually budgeted. This rut, which infringed on the integrity of the previous occupants, who looked the other way in order not to rock the boat, has been interpreted as evidence of the disdain of the elite for healthcare of citizens.
Proper behavior code is to stand up and be counted when the silence is not golden. Book your place in the roll call of honour even if the TRADE off is the ring of fortune.
That’s the etiquette advantage!

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