Is Orderliness UnAfrican?

What is it about Nigerians and the seemingly innate desire to bypass or simply ignore queues? It's something I've been unable to fathom for ages now. What infuriates me is that when they get out of the shores of this country, they usually conform to rules and queues, but back here in Nigeria, they just think queuing is a myth or plague or something. I have a strong feeling it has a lot to do with selfishness on our part, because if a person isn't so selfish, he or she would consider those they met on a queue and respect that fact that they had been there for longer.

The most annoying ones are those who step out of a queue in traffic and face oncoming vehicles just because they feel it will get them quicker to their destinations. Well helloooooooooooooooooooooo, everyone has somewhere to go to, so kindly stay put in your lane and allow things flows properly instead of disrupting queues and making yourself a nuisance on the roads and in the lives of others.

I get really dismayed when I see people scrambling for stuff when they can simply queue and allow things move fluidly. While I understand that poverty, hunger and desperation could sometimes call for disorderliness ; case in point the women scrambling for food provided by the First Lady at Aso Rock last December, it was really painful to watch what could have been easily organized disintegrate into something so shameful. There are far better ways to organize giving handouts that would ensure chaos and panic doesn't set in.

Imagine my displeasure at getting the text messages below from Etisalat, a leading Nigerian Telecommunications Network, urging people to "jump the queue" in order to get better customer service. Now while they might not literally mean pushing and shoving to get to this oh-so-glorious service they are offering, I think the use of that particular choice of words is wrong on all levels. Stuff like this is what others need to make them think jumping queues are cool. They. Are. Not!!!

Contrary to certain selfish beliefs, the truth is that most things would get done easier and quicker for everyone if each person would just maintain a single file on any queue they find themselves.