Hi guys, hope we are all doing well. I have to share with you that one thing that pisses me off. To be sincere I am a peaceful and cool headed person. I rarely get annoyed and have received the most peaceful student awards several times back in school. However, I'm not an angel. There are things that piss me off too. One of them is lack of courtesy. Yes, lack of courtesy pisses me off more than anything else.
Courtesy is no other thing than a polite and respectful behaviour exhibited through good manners. It involves being gracious in interactions and other things. On the other hand, a lack of courtesy is an embarrassing and disrespectful attitude.
Respect they say is reciprocal. They also say, a good turn deserves another. I am from Africa, Nigeria in particular where we don't joke with respect. So, I uphold the value anywhere I go and treat people with respect, both young and old. So, it pisses me off when I see people demonstrating no sense of courtesy. I get so pissed when people talk anyhow or act anyhow. There are ways to do things, and we shouldn't fall short of it. Some would just go, take what doesn't belong to them without permission. Some would leave a meeting at will, without making excuses.
Imagine what happened to me at work this week. I was in my office, and a senior colleague approached me. She told me 'Temu' now rewards anyone that invited people, that she wanted to get the reward too. I told her I didn't have interest, besides I had no data. She asked to take a look at my phone, and I gave it to her, as I was going out of the office to do something. I came back into the office to find my phone on the table. Alas! This woman had borrowed #1000 worth of airtime on my phone and subscribed, without my consent, just to download 'Temu' on my phone, leaving one thousand naira debt on my phone. Guys, I was really pissed. This was a person that we shared nothing personal with. I was just wondering how someone that old would be that mannerless. She saw me the following day and didn't behave as if anything happened. She didn't even greet me. So, what value would she pass to her children? I was really pissed.
Some young ones can be so guilty of this as well. Many of them lack courtesy and speak anyhow to their elders, especially to someone that has a small stature. For instance, I am 31 years of age, but could easily pass for 16. I have experienced a lot of younger people underrated me and looked down on me. Nothing pisses me off more than someone meeting me for the first time and talking to me in a very rude manner. In fact, let's forget the age factor, whether old or young, courtesy demands us to be polite in our speech and actions towards others.
I just relocated to another city a few months ago but my eyes have seen a lot, especially in my neighborhood. Nigerian community for that matter. They won't say 'hi ' even when you meet them face to face, and when you greet them, they reluctantly respond. They look at one , as if they are the one feeding one's entire generation. This bad attitude is that thing that gets on my nerves.
I just told a teenager in my neighborhood to just inform me whenever she wants to take oranges because there's an orange tree in my compound. The next day, he came and I plucked for her. Two days later, she came with a lot of her friends, banging my gate early in the morning to pluck oranges. I was so pissed. In fact, I regretted embracing her. It is really good to be courteous, nothing beats it.
This is my entry to the hivenaija weekly prompt.
Thanks for reading.
Pictures are mine.
