Long legs

People with long legs are those who like to jump protocol to get whatever they want. They are never patient to wait for their time or turn; they are always in a hurry to get what they want. They are willing to do anything to get to the top. They never care about the feelings of others; all they are concerned about is how they can get their selfish interest and their comfortability. Long legged people are often self-centred, cunning and “trickish” (treacherous). Long legs are of different styles: we have those who are good in destroying people’s names in other to get what they want, they do it so tactically that you would not notice that they are looking for favour, they believe that if they are able to destroy the person in question they would outshine him/her and get to the top. The second style of long leg people are those who are good in eye-service, people who would only do their work in the presence of their boss. But if the boss is not around they are nowhere to be found. The third style of long legs are those who like using money to bribe to get what they want; and lastly those who are capable of using their bodies to get what they want. In whatever style as mentioned above none of these long legs are ideal or pleasing in the sight of God. These people are found in every sphere of life; the family, among politicians, educational sectors and even in the society at large.

In a family, we find people with the attitude of long legs. Family as an institution consists of father, mother and children. In a situation whereby the parents are not ‘just’ to the children – they would prefer a particular child to the rest of the children due to the fact that such a child has a special gift or is more brilliant than others or the father or mother is having a favourite among the children, this attitude can lead to one of the party (father or mother) using his or her influence to favour the so called beloved child in the family. The attitude of using long legs would come into play when the so called beloved child is not entitled to a particular favour because he/she is not qualified for it. The father or mother who loves the child so much would do everything possible to see that such title or gift is given to the child they love most. In Genesis Chapter 27, we saw how Isaac who was very old and wanted to bless his beloved son Esau before he would join his ancestors, more so he was partially blind and found it difficult to see clearly. He (Isaac) loved Esau very much and wanted to bless him. On the other hand, Rebecca his wife loved Jacob and overhead Isaac telling Esau to go and prepare a meal for him so that he would eat and bless him. Rebecca used her long legs by telling her own beloved son (Jacob) to go quickly and prepare the food so that he would receive the blessing. Despite the fact that he was not entitled to it, the mother used her long legs to get an animal skin for him so that he can look like his brother’s skin that is hairy. In verse 21, when the father (Isaac) heard the voice of Jacob he noticed a foul play and asked him to come closer so that he might feel him, he said your skin is like that of Esau but your voice is that of Jacob. All these negative attitudes took place in this family because the parents were discriminating, preferring a particular child to the other. Using long legs brought division into the family of Isaac and separated the two brothers. 

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As Christians, we should wait for our turn, not form the habit of jumping the queue because of what we want to get. Parents should serve as good examples to their children and not destroy them because of their own selfish interest. It is the duty of the parents to bring up their children in the fear of God and it is in the family that children should be taught how to do the right thing. More often than not, children copy bad behaviours from their parents because they are their first teachers. The home is the first school. Showing of good example is very important because these children also believe whatever they see and hear. Long legs should not be practised in the family, so that the children would not get used to it. They (children) should be taught how to struggle and get things done properly and not jumping the queue or looking for short cut to success. These children should be treated justly without bias to avoid hatred. 

Similarly, among politicians the issue of long legs is not left out. The attitudes of the politicians revolve around lobbying, cheating, rigging and long legs. They are never faithful to their manifestoes. They prefer doing things in crooked ways. Most times during election you would find all manners of attitude all in the name of I want to win. None of them would want to accept defeat. To them, they see defeat as failure so they are always ready to employ any other means to get to power. When a leader is not genuinely elected, it would affect the whole system because his entire cabinet members would also be from the same source (long legs). Our system of government is faulty due to the fact that the right people are not put in place. Many people are placed in the wrong position today due to the issue of long legs (man know man). You would see people who studied engineering becoming ministers of education, people who studied education are working in the banks; all these are happening because they are able to use their so called long legs to work things out worst still, some uneducated (illiterate) people are also placed in high positions all because they are able to manipulate their way with their long legs and lobbying. Politicians without long legs would not get a good position; in fact he/she would not be elected. Long legs could be seen as the order of the day.

However, in the educational sector, we still find people using this instrument (long legs) to make their way. Especially in the areas where some are not academically sound, this serves as another means to achieve their academic pursuit. These long legs could either be in the form of cash or kind at least to make up for their deficiencies. Those who have no cash to give may offer their bodies; the bodies they put in line serve as their long legs to make up for what is missing. When a teacher or a lecturer is not qualified, it becomes a big problem as you cannot give what you do not have. Students would be at the receiving end and also face the consequences. Using of long legs in the field of education kills the true spirit of learning.

Long legs have been a serious problem in our society today. It has eaten deep into the flesh of the masses. It has even become the order of the day. Nothing would work out for you easily if you are not ready to use long legs. To a corrupt society, it is the key that open doors to many opportunities. People never see anything bad in it. The young sees it as the normal way of life that you must give one thing to get another. People no longer wait for their own time to get things done. When seeking job opportunities you have to use your long legs or else getting it would be difficult. There are particular amount you pay when you are looking for a federal job, state and also local government. The amount you pay would serve as lobbying or using of long legs. Many Job seekers are still jobless because they have no money to pay in other to get the job. Not that they are not qualified, only few people get jobs on merit. Some parents have gone out of their way to look for favour for their children. They (parents) do this in various ways: They can use their long legs to get admission for their children, get job for them, get husbands and wives for their children or even positions. No wonder the mother of Zebedee’s (James and John) came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him (Jesus) (Mathew 20: 20 – 28). From this scriptural passage we would see that this woman had come to seek favour ahead on behalf of her sons begging Jesus to put one at his right and the other at his left because she did not want them to wait for their time. She saw that mere looking at the situation of things that her children may not have the opportunity of entering heaven or more still other disciples may overtake them in the process, so she decided to use her long legs to acquire heaven for them before time. But she had forgotten that God’s ways are not our ways. The mother of these men (James and John) gives a typical example of what a selfish mother will do for her children, she did not think of the opinion of other disciples or consider their plight; all that concerned her was her personal interest, how her children would be placed in better positions in heaven. This almost brought division in the company of the apostles. Thank God that Jesus quickly intervened by giving them words of encouragement that using of long legs or lobbying does not exist in heaven but only begins here on earth and ends here. Many mothers can go to the extent of doing anything for their children as they wish their children well and never want anything bad to happen to them. As Christians, we should try our best to avoid all forms of long legs follow the normal procedure and also do the right thing as there is no short cut to success.

By Sr Margret Ogbebor SSMA, a Catholic Nun, working in the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. She is the Head Teacher of St Martin de Porres Nursery and Primary School Katsina. [email protected].