It is quite disturbing to realize that humanity is hastily heading in a direction where empathy is becoming quite a scarce commodity.
There was a time when it was commonplace to help a stranger only to realize that he isn’t quite the stranger. Help was rendered without bothering about religious or political inclination nor ethnic divide.
Empathy is defined as the ability to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from the other person’s perspective.
The level of violent crime and the lack of love, care, sympathy, concern shown to victims of such is sickening. A lack of empathy used to be the telltale sign of a sociopath or psychopath.
This is a tenable explanation for some criminals and explains the need for proper psychological healthcare to prevent some crimes, but with the rampant way Nigerians casually discuss how they’ll steal public funds if given the chance, or have their way with a girl if left alone with her, or murder someone who is standing in the way of their wrongful “progress” if they could get away with it; I am not being prophetic when I say we are on the precipice of a humanitarian disaster in this country.
True enough, empathy is supposed to be inherent, but I believe the time has come for parents to begin to double down on their children’s empathetic side. Maybe we should insist our children share their toys and food, make them interact more with their peers and deal more with people from diverse backgrounds.
It could be down to us to ensure the next generation doesn’t end up like Sodom and Gomorrah.

Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator and Creative Writer.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. @IJoswil

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