Can You Get Rid Of That Surplus Belonging?

A few weeks ago, I watched a clip of a television interview where the guest was advising Nigerians to manage the current biting hardship in the land by getting rid of everything they do not actually need. This includes that surplus room in the living apartment (in order to reduce rent) as well as any dispensable cost-accumulating belonging.

Whether one agrees with this submission or not, one irrefutable truth in it is that not all that we accumulate is actually useful when it comes to practical everyday living. Even though such possessions may look precious in the face of it, they may indeed be worthless as far as our actual need is concerned.

Going around Igbo villages, one sees many exquisite mansions unoccupied from year to year because the owners are either living in cities or even abroad. Some of them, at most, are briefly occupied during Christmas periods. Some are literarily abandoned and have been deteriorating through time. Similarly, in cities and villages, there are many occupied houses but with one, two, three or more rooms unused for so long that their surplus status should no more be in doubt.

The easiest time to see that you have lived with so many belongings that you do not actually have need for is when you’re packing from one apartment to another. As you ransack all corners of your house collecting and packing your belongings, you will see many things you haven’t used for years. Some you never used since you actually bought them, and some you may have forgotten they even exist. Surplus belongings! In fact, this is when you realise that some of the things you thought are of value to you do actually belong to the dust bin.

Think about this: If for any reason you are packing out from a bigger apartment and moving into a smaller one, you will quickly realise that some of your so-called valuables are there simply because you have the luxury of space. The larger space you occupy, the more surplus belongings you’re likely to acquire. Similarly, the more money you have at your disposal, the more likely you are to buy things you don’t actually need.

But why are humans of today tending to acquire more than necessary? The answer is simply consumerism; the culture of consumption for consumption sake, acquisition for acquisition sake. This culture is being fuelled by capitalism where profit-minded businesses literarily manipulate us into buying. Through advertising and other marketing strategies, the habit of consumption is being planted and nurtured in people. For instance, the strategic manner in which products are laid out at shopping malls are such that people find themselves often buying things they never planned to buy in the first place. Hence, the more a person visits such malls, the more they are likely to be stockpiling surplus items in their house.

The above exposition calls for a deep reflection by all of us as to our consumption habit. Can we shed ourselves of some surplus belongings? Can we be a bit more charitable by offering some of these valuables to those that lack them? That extra television you hardly switch on, that fanciful set of plates and cutlery that has remained securely sealed in its carton for years, that extra laptop that is at risk of damage due to non-utilisation – all can alleviate the pain of someone at the next door or next building. You may have received these surplus property as gift, but the fact that you were freely given is the more reason you should freely give.

That property constitutes a surplus in your house may be the scarcest commodity for which your nextdoor neighbour is enduring so much pain. That extra belonging that has offered no value in your apartment may be the most valuable item your friend has painfully craved for all this while.

Let’s ponder deeply and act charitably!

This is my meditation this midweek.

Henry Chigozie Duru, PhD, teaches journalism and mass communication at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.