05/02/2025
After buying fruits from the ever-busy market, I struggled to enter the road from where I was parked. The street was chaotic, as expected.
While I waited for an opportunity to drive out, a man in a Toyota Sienna suddenly stopped and signaled for me to go ahead.
I quickly concluded that he must have stopped because he wanted to take the space I was vacating. But as I checked my rearview mirror, I saw him driving behind me. He never intended to park. He had no other motive—he simply wanted to help.
I felt a sting of guilt for how quickly I had judged him.
On my way home, I noticed a military man in uniform standing by the roadside, looking for a lift. I picked him up. His destination wasn’t far from mine, so dropping him off was no trouble. As he stepped out, he said, “Thank you, my guy. Take this Army sticker, just put am for your car, no police go disturb you.”
I smiled and declined. He insisted, urging me to at least take his number—“In case you get wahala with anybody, just call me.”
I told him I didn’t offer him a lift because I wanted a connection. If I needed one, I knew where to get it. I simply wanted to help.
In his mind, he had already decided that I did it because I wanted something in return.
This is the problem. We’ve become so accustomed to transactional relationships that we assume no one helps without an ulterior motive. And that’s because, truthfully, most people don’t. Many only offer kindness when they expect something in return.
That’s why I dislike hearing “God bless you” or “KAA, you are a good man” whenever I help someone. I don’t help because I seek divine favor. I don’t have a God I do trade by barter with, and I certainly do not want to be known as a good man. That title carries sugar that causes insufferable diabetes to one’s personality.
This is also why people see a post or video born from deep concern and immediately assume, “He’s just doing it for clout.”
Yet, despite how transactional, selfish, and chaotic the world has become, there are still people who are genuinely kind, people who help simply because they care.
Writer: KAA
Host of KaaTruths Podcast.