We were not idle when we were with you nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day … so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
2 Thessalonians 3:7&8
The Taimako Phenomenon. It's a term I coined to describe a concept that I think is key to the persistent poverty of the people of rural Northern Nigeria. "Taimako" is the Hausa word for the verb "to help". It seems to permeate just about everything they do and say from the marketplace to the motor park to the hospital. "Help", "help", "help" in all it's different inflections is all I hear from sunup to sundown. Nothing wrong with a culture of looking out for one another but, in this case, what is sacrificed in the name of help is probably not worth it.
I was doing my "farewell" rounds earlier today, visiting some of my colleagues of the past one year for one last time. One staffer took me to his place and showed me his drug store. It was a pretty rundown affair with a rickety old chair, dusty shelves and a very spare stock. He showed me several-year-old records of debts owed to him by friends, neighbors and relatives - all members of the "Taimako" society. Bad debts, the vast majority of them.
On my part, I remember having to say a firm "No" over and over again to different people I came across over the past year only to see their jaws quite literally drop in horror. They were shocked! How could I say I would not help?! How evil of me!
What is worrying in all this is the attitude I think this "help" mentality engenders among these people. They are very laid back, if not downright lazy. Not many are industrious and very few will go out of their way to struggle for what we may consider a better living. Why work hard for anything when you can get help next door? A pretty simple philosophy.
You know, I tremble with trepidation to be critical of anything the Early Church did, seeing as they were so filled with the Spirit, but from a limited perspective, it is easy to see how their experiment at communal living was fraught with so much trouble. Acts 4 says, "From time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." Now extrapolate this scenario across a few years and an exponentially-growing population and you have a pretty messy, if not desperate, picture.
To the same extent that we as Christians encourage ourselves to lend a hand of help to the next person, we must also encourage him to stand on his own two feet. Perhaps that is the best way you can help your brother - make him help himself. You may not have to look far. Perhaps all you have to do is to submit somebody's CV, introduce a new business concept, encourage someone to finish his education or invest his money. In truth, like a friend has taught me, financial security is not just about having enough money to take care of personal needs. It goes beyond to include a "shell" of financially-dependent people surrounding you. I'm not secure until the people around me are secure.
So, like the proverbial fisherman, don't give me a fish. Take me to the waterside.
With love, Doosuur.
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