For What Is A River Without The Benevolence Of Its Source?

The River Niger. Africa's third longest river and the very source from which Nigeria was christened...While on a trip days ago, my vehicle got on a bridge built over this river, and you see, for a moment, I was engulfed in aquatic ethereal beauty. Children watched over by women washing clothes, played by its bank, and fishermen armed with sprawling nets and sturdy oars, paddled on its endless surface, in preparation for their next catch. I have seen rivers. I have ridden across the Cross River, locked eyes numerous times with the stare of River Kaduna, and viewed the Benue in all its glory, but you see, there is something about the Niger. It flows with certainty, with gracious unruffledness , and every flow and ripple echoes grandeur. But you see, the River Niger, magnificent as it is, did not birth itself, neither can it lay a personal claim to its existence. This river, geographers say, has its origins in the Futa Jalon highlands of Guinea. From this very source, it intially flows northwards, traversing countries like Mali, Niger, Benin, and of course Nigeria, before emptying into the Atlantic.<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/1000611691.jpg"/> For what is a river without the benevolence of its source? Without the Futa Jalon, there would be no Niger. Every grandness this river can boast of, it owes to the benevolence of its source highland. And this is not merely about rivers. It is about us, for we all have a source. We are nothing without the benevolence of our source. A well carved wooden structure is a product of the parent tree, and of course, the artistic mind and hands of the sculptor. Man, no matter how powerful he eventually becomes, came into this world a weakling having not even the slightest ounce of strength, and had to be nurtured and catered for. The Igbos capture this truth in a timeless proverb: Eze nwekwara nne mụrụ ya -Even a king has a mother who gave birth to him. No man is self made. We all are products of care extended, sacrifices made, prayers whispered on our behalf, and faith placed in us by others at different points in time and even the mightiest of us, stands upon the foundation laid by others.That day will never come wherein I will refer to myself as a self-made man. In this short lifetime of mine, I have been greatly helped by God and by man- family, friends and strangers whose names I may never know.To assume a self-made stance will be to walk in the stead of that proverbial mouth that bit the finger by which it was fed. For what is a river without the benevolence of its source? Nothing. Absolutely Nothing.

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