Neighbourly Ethics: Balancing Community Needs and Personal Convictions

I woke up one morning to find that the house opposite mine in our small estate now had a new owner. Happy and hopeful that a new neighbour with kids was now in our domain, I looked forward to the new friendship, dashed by the news that he planned to convert the four (4) bedroom, duplex into a school.

Shocked by the thought and inconsideration, I wasted no time alerting my estate chairman about the news, not forgetting to state why a school should not be in a residential estate that didn't have that planned ab initio.

My Chairman wasted no time contacting the new owner to set up a meeting where we finally communicated our disagreement to convert a residential space into a commercial space (school). Despite our communication, Mr Adam (not his real name) decided to carry on with his plans because he had made significant investments that could not be wasted at the detriment of our concerns, leaving us the option to approach the authorities concerned or take the matter to court.

Managing estates in Nigeria, especially those inhabited by residents, can be quite challenging, especially in terms of finances. This is primarily due to the consistent issue of residents defaulting on their service fee payments, which makes estate management a significant undertaking.

Consequently, the Chairman informed me about the scarcity of finance to pursue the matter, so I decided to take it up since I would be most affected by the concerns I raised regarding the establishment of the school.?

The first step I took after praying and deliberating with my wife was to engage a lawyer who contacted FCDA on my behalf. The second step was the engagement of another lawyer to file the matter in court on behalf of the estate.

With lots of interventions, FCDA finally responded, carried out their investigations and issued a stop work notice with an instruction to Mr Adam to return to the initial design of the residential building.

I almost made a victory dance when I saw the notice from FCDA only to be interrupted by the site manager, with whom I almost engaged in a physical fight because he paid no attention to the notice, saying they have their way with such things and beckoned on the workers to continue their work.?(I was shocked at the audacity he had to defy authorities in Nigeria, especially when he mentioned in parsing that it was their business to sort that out).

Since the matter had not been slated for hearing and my growing impatience with the school, I proceeded to find another way by checking up a few contacts that could link me to the no-nonsense current minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike.

Succeeding, a team was sent to take another look at my proposal, and they agreed that it was wrong to site a school in the proposed building. But they also found within the estate other buildings that would be affected if I truly wanted equity.

According to the estate plan, some of the buildings were slightly extended beyond their initial markings and may be demolished even if they were not causing any harm to lives or other regional infrastructure plans. The decision was now mine, according to the officer. In his words, 'Since you want the right things to be done in your estate, we could ensure that Mr Adam's house remains a residential building, but we cannot guarantee that other houses in the estates will not be demolished following the current ministers plan to ensure FCT's development is compliant with its designs'.

I may be wrong in my numbers, but the current estate I reside in is over 14 years old, and I only moved in three (3) years ago. In the same estate, we own a small retail shop; A. O.Chiezie Tradings and it has enjoyed patronage from almost every resident who smiles at my family and me for the thoughtful initiative. My biggest dilemma since this threat of possible demolition of some houses has been, If I continue to pursue this and some houses get demolished, will these neighbours understand that I just wanted justice or think that I plunged them into misfortune for something I could have tolerated?

I lost a few nights of sleep pondering on what was best to do. I tried sharing my concerns with some stakeholders in the estate who didn't have words for me other than, 'In the end, this is your decision'. I have never really known what it means to be on your own until this time.

If people's houses get pulled down, especially now that I do not have resources to compensate them, will they dare call me their neighbour again? What will they whisper on the streets to my kids' hearings when they mount their bicycles or run around occasionally as they play?

Well, I haven't made up my mind yet, but I have been thinking lately about what Jesus would do in my shoes and what Mahatma Gandhi would do after I read a story about his compassionate style of leadership.

To end this discourse anyway, I have a few notes of concerns to share.

1. I establish that even though we all have selfish desires to satisfy as humans, Mr. Adam is very selfish because he chose to pursue his purpose to the detriment of his neighbours.
2. It is important to note that Lawlessness will become synonymous with patriotism if the law is selective towards justice. Is this currently a Nigerian thing? No, because there are no perfect places, but in Nigeria, we make the law look like it is optional for us to obey. If we continue this practice, we will be brewing anarchy in small bits. Remember, everything huge, good or bad, starts small.
3. We seem to be losing our ideas of collective responsibility. I love my neighbours so much, but after this ordeal, I made an intense prayer;?'Almighty God, please bless the works of my hands so much that I can get money to build my house in an estate where the people could have each other's back.' The words from scripture, 'better a neighbour nearby than a brother far away, didn't make so much sense here because I funded everything that I felt concerned the entire estate.?
4. Again, to the law, we must remember that even the strongest can weaken. Those were the words of Gandhi. When the current leaders destroying this country are eventually not in power, my wish is that they receive the same blow dealt to them so they can complain about how weak they have made our laws.

I have my selfish desires, but whenever I can, I pray I do not pursue them against the collective good of the people.

I am still reflecting: What would Jesus do with Mr. Adam? What will Gandhi do about Mr Adam?

Shalom.