Every now and again we are supplied with metaphors and symbols that help remind us about some fundamental principles of living. The system for ensuring that a newborn baby receives quality nutrition kicks into operation while the program for his/entrance into the world nears. The mother’s milk factory waits for the tiny mouth to take its first suckle and begin its journey outside the womb. This metaphor has numerous variants in life as we look more closely at things happening around us.

Whether by design or otherwise, it was observed that many of the looted warehouses, were sited in high density areas. Within easy reach of many nationals who joined the bandwagon of ‘pallia-thieves.’ While many persons in and out of government have condemned the actions of the ‘pallia-thieves,’ others have justified them. Some even went as far as saying that when people steal food strictly to quench their hunger, there is no case!

While the back and forth argument continues, the symbolism of the location of most of the plundered warehouses, should be given more than a passing interest. Those persons who ‘collected their own share of Covid-19’ palliatives did not have to go far. For most of them it was simply a walk to a site nearby. Many were shocked that ‘What they were looking for in Sokoto was right in their Shokoto,’ as it were. They didn’t know that the items which would quench their hungers was within ‘easy reach.’ While the questions still persist about the ‘methods’ there is no question about the message contained in the symbolism. The answers to some of the pressing problems people face, especially the problem of hunger, is nearby.

If we formed the habit of looking near and around for solutions more deliberately and intensively, instead of faraway and abroad, we may begin to notice some of the best gifts by which providence has long endowed us. Whether it is to quench physical hunger or any other kind of hunger!