How much of the land do we need?

Wants! Satisfaction? Human needs are by nature insatiable. They are built to scavenge the earth in search of many things at a time, the one thing that takes the whole fun out from it, is that once that which we have crave for is secured humans devalue in search of the next new thing. Before coming to this conclusion, I took the initiative to research through several literatures and more than half of peoples write-ups over the years have argued against this one point but, how do we explain the action of one man who stole NGN24 billion pension fund meant for the elderly people in the society? How do we juxtapose the fact that a hunter who succeeded in killing an elephant, and antelope and still fill insatiable for the day to hunt for a cricket?

This is a message to humans that occupies the earth, most especially the political class in Nigeria and probably by extension the rest of the world. Only if they have the luxury of seeing the future, I will be confident enough to say that politicians and others like them will be mending their ways without the help of a preacher because, there is no amount of power or wealth, or both that one can amass that will stimulate satisfaction, but rather creates additional void to be filled. If you have any inclination to doubt, examine the Nigerian political class; senators, governors, and even to the lowest cadre, Local Government counselors. These categories of people have alloted to themselves, humongous sum as salaries and allowance at the expense of the citizens, the tax payers and yet at the expiration of their tenure, they still fill completely empty, hence, hustle to maintain their political seat and under worst case scenarios they shift allegiance to secure a position even if it means descending to a lower position.

For lovers of the Christian faith, even the good old scriptures, the bible, have it in good authority in Mark 8:36-37, “do people gain anything if they win the whole world but lose their soul? Of course not! There is nothing they can give to regain their life” If a man constructs a mansion-house with a toilet and a bathroom attached to every single room in it and even decorates the rooms with a wide spread bed. He can only be at one place at a time, sleep in one of the rooms and eventually while asleep, he will end up in a corner on the bed which springs up the question, why gather things we don’t really have need for, where there are so many indigent around the world?

The scriptures even went further when Jesus Christ in his wisdom, took out time to narrate a parable in Luke 12:14-21. Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. He began to think for himself, ‘I haven’t anywhere to keep all my crops. What can I do? This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods.’ Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This night you will have to give up your life; then who will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself”” And Jesus Concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.”

The reason behind this action in humans are prompted by the ostentatious display of wealth by those in power which stimulates the ‘I must get rich by all means attitude’ from the youth neglecting the basics. We need to genuinely answer this one question, how much of the land do we need?