The caption of the trending image read: “We Rise”. But, that was really an irony.
Yesterday a friend snagged my attention from the movie I was fixated on to twitter. Tobi Bakre; the ex-Big Brother contestant – the one who constantly got into a quarrelsome spar with the controversial Ceec – was trending. This time, it wasn’t because of a sophomore attempt at being sexy aimed at redeeming his previously failed try (cue in the #KupeChallenge gone wrong); rather it was an image that looked like a rendition of ‘a knight in shiny armour’, only this time there was no amour, no knight, and a disgruntled horse.
We Rise pic.twitter.com/Yk0vdMhCZ3
— Tobi Bakre (@tobibakre) February 13, 2019
As expected, most Nigerians took to the street of twitter to sling shots at what he perhaps thought was an epic picture.
The horse after the photoshoot pic.twitter.com/gE4Bj73HWU
— nico (@nkereuwem_) February 13, 2019
— Tzar (@TonytheTzar) February 13, 2019
Tobi be doing action film on top the horse..
But how the the poor animal offend you? pic.twitter.com/le2PSqsaFv— Akure village boy (@Chelsea_faka) February 13, 2019
even the horse is scared. pic.twitter.com/LZ559wTKro
— ??????. (@Heydavinaa_) February 13, 2019
To be honest, I laughed to my heart’s content despite the extremist ruining the moment by tagging it “animal cruelty” and making a mountain out of a molehill.
The jabs went on for a while until Tobi decided he’d had enough by posting the behind the scene disaster that led to the equally disastrous image.
The horse jumped when I wasn’t quite expecting. I was losing balance. Horse was losing balance. The picture was taken inbetween trying to gain balance. After which I lost all the balance.
Pls. No animal cruelty here o ?. My country people sha. pic.twitter.com/sXJxXV4CM8
— Tobi Bakre (@tobibakre) February 13, 2019
Well…that explains a lot.
This got me thinking: How many times do we jump into conclusion without having all the facts? How many life-threatening disasters have been created from unfounded, one-sided accusations? Isn’t this, unfortunately, the bedrock of the mob mentality and the bane of our society as a whole?
Can you think of an event in your life that could have gone a different direction if only you were patient enough to hear all sides of the story?
It isn’t the lack of common sense that has thrust humans into this unfortunate curse of perception; it’s our need to be right and not be proven wrong. Like the cliché aptly says, ‘the truth is always bitter.’ Sadly we believe a bitter, yet truthful, pill is worse than feigning ignorance or worse still, touting a lie.
There are two sides to every story, and it’s important to hear it all.