IT IS MONDAY, NOT FRIDAY …

I JUST witnessed something.

I went to the tucker shop on the other side of the road to get some flex cards (to top up my phone credits) when I saw a PMV truck from one of our Central villages (I heard them speaking in a language that I kind-of recognised) parked on the side and a crowd was gathering around it.

There was a man at the back of the truck screaming at a woman/mother outside, who was also shouting to others on the vehicle to stop what they were doing – fighting!

Also at the back of the car, there was a young man and another exchanging punches.

Yet another was trying to pull them apart.

I went into the shop, got what I wanted and walked out.

I saw that the fight and shouting were still going on.

They had separated the young man but he was still unhappy and wanted to have another go with the older man who seemed to have been the better boxer.

I could not understand.

This was Monday, not Friday. Such fights and screams are more common on Fridays and over the weekends.

And it was strange that villagers were sorting out their issues with violence, at night, in the city.

As I was passing by, I smelled alcohol, and I understood.

When alcohol is consumed by the majority of people, they throw all common sense out and chaos is the result … and that can be accompanied (in most cases) by violence.

I just thought as I walked away – “if only they can stop consuming alcohol, the mother would not be standing there screaming and the men would not be fighting”.

“If only more people stopped consuming alcohol, what peace we all would enjoy in our homes and neighbourhood.”

“If parents can abstain and teach their children to also abstain, there would be no need for a father attempting to pull apart intoxicated teenagers throwing punches at each other every time they sit around to drink”

“Ah, if only … if only … if only …”