The Executive Director, National Institute for Nigerian Languages, Aba in Abia State, Prof Obiajulu Emejulu, has called on Nigerians to shun excessive pursuit of money, saying desperation for wealth is at the root of the insecurity in the country.
Emejulu spoke at this year’s Odenigbo lecture, an annual lecture in Igbo by an Igbo intellectual and professional elite, organised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri.
A statement on Friday by NINLAN’s Head of Information, Protocol and Public Relations, Chris Nwankwor, noted that the late Chinua Achebe delivered the 1999 edition of the lecture, which is now in its 28th year.
The statement noted that in his lecture delivered in Igbo on the topic ‘Akwa Ana-Ebere Ego: UrunaOghom Di Na Ya’, which means ‘The quest for money: Its pros and cons’, Emejulu, a language and communication expert, admonished Nigerians to show more restraint in their quest for money so as to minimise the many adverse effects plaguing the society at the moment.
The statement quoted him as saying, “Unrestrained and unethical pursuit of money is at the root of kidnapping, human trafficking, money ritual, cannibalism, Internet fraud or Yahoo Yahoo, drug peddling, etc., which characterise contemporary society.
“Prof Emejulu regretted that it is the value placed on money that makes some people vow that whatever it takes, they must get rich. He noted that socio-psychologists have found through research that people who are driven by excessive ambition to be rich may eventually get rich but they are never contented. This lack of contentment drives them on in the mad race for money until they get into trouble.”
While blaming unethical crave for money on penury, suffering, greed, laziness, fear of what people will say, competition, injustice, fear of failure, weak faith, indebtedness, among others, he stated that contentment had been linked to longevity and that money could was not responsible for the atrocities in the world; but men. “It’s good to work hard, but people should be contented, shun greed and avoid living beyond their means.”
