By
Obododimma Oha
There was a day that two kinsmen who were both herbal physicians (one was popular in treating and healing insanity, the other a general practitioner) were responding to an issue. The one that was known to heal insanity was noisy and aggressive in his reaction. The general practitioner was quieter and diplomatic. The general practitioner turned to the healer of insanity and said;”Dear friend, whenever you give a medication to an insane patient, please, endeavour to taste the medication first.” The audience laughed and understood that discursive weapon of advice.
That advice later became a proverb in our village. I heard it several times on the lips of my late father. The proverbial advice is asking for restraint and caution in cautioning. We are all fallible. Even those that claim to be infallible are indirectly showing that they are incurably fallible! That advice is also not asking us to be just trustworthy as physicians, for we have to trust a physician before asking for the physician’s medication. It is taken for granted that the physician has already tested the medication for efficacy. So, the advice is saying something more than its words can say. Luckily, it was processed by listeners and understood.
It is good to understand the limits of our humanity and to respect it as we brag and say how excellent we are. We are still capable of enacting foolishness. We can be as holy as the angels, even holier, but we can also be very foolish and unholy sometimes. The human being is still human. With that understanding, a physician needs to taste a medication before administering to patients. Many would not like patients to indulge in self-medication or mix their prescription with another one without their approval.
That advice is worth reflecting upon more. Does it not ask us to pinch ourselves first before pinching others? Does it not invite us to try to understand ourselves? Many do not try to assess and comprehend themselves. They only focus on others. Yes;only on others. As if others only exist and are alone in social action.
So,that advice is asking us to examine and pass first before examining and declaring others a success or a failure. A good teacher should not set examination questions that he or she cannot even attempt,what more scoring high. An examiner is not a trapper looking for a careless animal to catch. A teacher,an examiner,is only asking candidates to think and tries to find out how they think. In other words,we can think of an examination as an experiment meant to find something out in a reliable context. So,taste the medication before administering it to candidates,to patients.
I like the simple ways that local Africans couch their advice. They can send somebody home to think. They give us assignments to think and rethink our talk.
So,when next you want to talk about local Africans, make sure you have tasted the talk on yourself, and have given it to yourself as a medication, and have seen how it works!
Obododimma Oha
There was a day that two kinsmen who were both herbal physicians (one was popular in treating and healing insanity, the other a general practitioner) were responding to an issue. The one that was known to heal insanity was noisy and aggressive in his reaction. The general practitioner was quieter and diplomatic. The general practitioner turned to the healer of insanity and said;”Dear friend, whenever you give a medication to an insane patient, please, endeavour to taste the medication first.” The audience laughed and understood that discursive weapon of advice.
That advice later became a proverb in our village. I heard it several times on the lips of my late father. The proverbial advice is asking for restraint and caution in cautioning. We are all fallible. Even those that claim to be infallible are indirectly showing that they are incurably fallible! That advice is also not asking us to be just trustworthy as physicians, for we have to trust a physician before asking for the physician’s medication. It is taken for granted that the physician has already tested the medication for efficacy. So, the advice is saying something more than its words can say. Luckily, it was processed by listeners and understood.
It is good to understand the limits of our humanity and to respect it as we brag and say how excellent we are. We are still capable of enacting foolishness. We can be as holy as the angels, even holier, but we can also be very foolish and unholy sometimes. The human being is still human. With that understanding, a physician needs to taste a medication before administering to patients. Many would not like patients to indulge in self-medication or mix their prescription with another one without their approval.
That advice is worth reflecting upon more. Does it not ask us to pinch ourselves first before pinching others? Does it not invite us to try to understand ourselves? Many do not try to assess and comprehend themselves. They only focus on others. Yes;only on others. As if others only exist and are alone in social action.
So,that advice is asking us to examine and pass first before examining and declaring others a success or a failure. A good teacher should not set examination questions that he or she cannot even attempt,what more scoring high. An examiner is not a trapper looking for a careless animal to catch. A teacher,an examiner,is only asking candidates to think and tries to find out how they think. In other words,we can think of an examination as an experiment meant to find something out in a reliable context. So,taste the medication before administering it to candidates,to patients.
I like the simple ways that local Africans couch their advice. They can send somebody home to think. They give us assignments to think and rethink our talk.
So,when next you want to talk about local Africans, make sure you have tasted the talk on yourself, and have given it to yourself as a medication, and have seen how it works!
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