Could I be wrong? A million dollar question (2), By Sunday Adelaja

No matter the feelings or opinions we might have about anything whatsoever, it would do us good to always give others and ourselves the benefit of the doubt. This is one quality that is not too popular with us Nigerians. We do not give ourselves or others the benefit of doubt

Let us examine this principle further.

Benefit of Doubt: It’s when we regard someone as innocent until proven otherwise. Or lean toward a favourable view of someone. That is to say: whenever you are not certain about something, or there are no proofs, facts, figures or statistics to support your arguments, it is better not to blame, accuse or judge. In such instances, you must rather lean towards a more favourable judgment, in favour of the opposite side. 

I believe that if Nigeria were to be great, we must adopt this principle, not only in our judicial system, but even so in our daily conducts with each other. It is in the absence of this fundamental value of human relationships that we often find ourselves suspicious of each other. For example, many people assume that I supported the Tinubu ticket simply because he is a Yoruba man like I am. And, I wonder: what a bold move, how could you just assume that? Could there be any other possibility why I supported his ticket? Remember, this is despite the fact that I wrote about my reasons for supporting the ticket. I don’t care where anybody is from, I simply supported the quality of the candidates and not their ethnicities.

I can only imagine how Nigeria would change for the better if this principle could be taught in our schools, from the primary to the tertiary institutions. This singular principle, if it becomes a value system and mindset of our people, could stop the ills of our society like violence, Boko Haram, militancy, armed robbery, kidnapping, etc.

---

It is the same reason behind our suspicions of Northerners, Igbos, Yorubas. We don’t want to give people the benefit of doubt, that they could have good intentions in their deeds and actions. At times we are not even willing to consider the probability of other Nigerians from other parts of the country as being as good or as sincere as we are.

I have heard Southerners saying that Northerners want to rule Nigeria by force, and as their birth right. That is prejudice! If that were true, they would not have voted for President Obasanjo for two terms. If that were true, they wouldn’t have voted for President Jonathan in 2011. We don’t give people the benefit of doubt. It would really be helpful for the general advancement of Nigeria if we could sometimes ask ourselves the question, could I be wrong in my argument and assumptions about other Nigerians?

A vivid example is this: while growing up in the Western part of Nigeria, I always heard that Northerners spoke bad English (in reference to their accent) until I traveled abroad and discovered that we all speak bad English (in terms of our accent). A typical Nigerian would not even consider that his assumptions could be wrong. A similar example that comes to mind right now is a popular phrase also in the Southern part of Nigeria, which the people often tell each other: “The North is the problem of Nigeria”, “They have taken all our wealth”.

I did not have any way to prove or disprove this until I traveled to the North for the first time and discovered that the standard of living in there is much lower than it is in the South. The Northerners are less privileged in a lot of other things than I have witnessed in the South. The sight of devastation that I witnessed in the North made me almost weep. Most of this people in the South who have never been to the North naturally assume that they are enjoying, while we are suffering in the South.

“If we could look into each other’s heart and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently with more love, patience, tolerance and care.” – Marvin J Ashton.

Yes I know all about the fact that Northerners have ruled the nation more than Southerners, etc. But the problem of Nigeria is much more complicated than that. We would do ourselves a lot of good if we would be less bashful in our assumptions about each other. This attitude of COULD I BE WRONG? could save us from a lot of that.

EI INCUMBIT PROBATIO QUI DICIT, NON QUI NEGAT is a Latin expression which means that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. It is mostly known and used by the judiciary. However, this principle of presumption of innocence is so powerful that any society that wishes to build a prosperous and civilised nation must adopt it. We must adopt it not just into our judicial and legal practices, we must go further than that. We must intentionally popularise this value of “presumption of innocence” in our daily dealings.

“Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” – Aristotle

The down side of this principle that we see in some advanced countries is that it could often lead to political correctness. When it now becomes a taboo to condemn anything or criticise anybody for their actions, all in the name of being nice to everyone.

So where is the balance? The balance in my own view is when we correct, rebuke or criticise only on the basis of truth or fact. We must make sure we have our facts right before we claim anything whatsoever. Even when we are convinced in our hearts, we should refrain from declaring anything until we can factually prove our convictions.

That is the beauty of the concept of Innocent until proven guilty. There is always room for correction, rebuke and criticism after the facts has been proven, not before.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty: is one of the most sacred principles of the American criminal justice system, holding that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. In other words the prosecution must prove beyond any reasonable doubt each essential element of the criminal charges.

When it comes to the way this principles could help us build a better nation, it is to always know that we can speak the truth only when the truth is established or there are facts to back our arguments. Otherwise we should intentionally refrain ourselves from any form of condemnation, judgmentalism and castigation. *

“Half of the time, the Holy Ghost tries to warn us about certain people that come into our life. The other half of the time he tries to tell us that the sick feeling we get in a situation is not the other person’s fault, rather it is our own hang-ups. A life filled with bias, hatred, judgment, insecurity, fear, delusion and self-righteousness can cloud the soul of anyone you meet. Our job is never to assume, instead it is to listen, communicate, and ask questions then ask more, until we know the true depth of someone’s spirit.”- Shannon L. Alder

COULD I BE WRONG? A simple question that could help us build a better nation. A nation where peace and unity reigns.

Sunday Adelaja is a Nigeria born leader, transformation strategist, pastor and innovator. He was based in Kiev, Ukraine.