A don’s secret to living life with ‘moral glove’

A review of Jacob Ayantayo’s book, Handling 5 Fragile Aspects of Life with Moral Glove by Kingsley Alumona.

WHEN Jacob Kehinde Ayantayo delivered his inaugural lecture entitled “Rescuing God from His Abductors” on April 26, it trended for weeks. This professor of religion and conflict studies, who believes that man should engage less in prayer and more in doing good, has published another must-read book for the enlightenment and betterment of humanity.

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The book, “Handling 5 Fragile Aspects of Life with Moral Glove,” which was presented recently at the eighth edition of the Esther Folorunso Ayantayo Foundation (EFA-F) annual lecture, held at the University of Ibadan, came at the right time when the world and its systems have degenerated into a conglomerate of absurdities and immoralities.

In chapter one, the basic concept of fragility as regards the theme of the book is clearly defined. Here, the five aspects of life: Body, Character, Name, Relationship, and Vision are arranged in alphabetical order.

Given the roles they play in the society and the ethical standard they set for people to follow, they are considered from moral context because they are virtuous, honourable and good. Thus, they should be handled with glove of moral texture.

Chapter two, Body, does not only deal with the physical self and parts, but also with the spiritual dimension of the individual. Here, the author accentuates that the fragility of the mouth and the stomach could be judged by what go in through them. He explains that indiscriminate use of certain food and drinks, and inappropriate sexual behaviours could damage the body.

He also explains that the human heart and soul could be damaged through uncontrolled anger and malice against oneself or their neighbours.

In chapter three, Character, some nuggets from the authors 2017 book “Character Speaks,” would suffice to buttress the fragility and importance of human personality, disposition and mentality. Here, the author explains that character, which is a behavioural act, once carried out or performed, speaks volume, and that the consequences associated with it are unquantifiable. With recognition that character is fragile and delicate, he advocates that one’s character should be jealously guided. He concludes this chapter by itemising 37 ways moral glove could be employed in handling the fragility of character.

Chapter four, Name, is one of the important chapters in the book because everything has a name, and name is associated with character. Here, the author categorically emphasises that name could single out the identity of an entity by directly pointing to it. He cites some example to make this clear by saying that a man known for betraying could be called Judas Iscariot, while one who doubts a lot could be called Thomas. This chapter highlights that the fear of God, keeping one’s promise, learning from one’s mistake, and being true to one’s word, among others, are some of the ways one could handle a fragile name.

Chapter five, Relationship, explains that relationship is inevitable in the journey of life, and that man depends on one another because nobody is self-sufficient. Business, family, spousal and communal relationships are elaborated here. This chapter also underlines that relationship, which is characterised by good or bad traits, could easily be broken. The author accents that in handling the fragility of relationship, one should possess wisdom, relate with one another with patience and honesty, have respect for life and property, among others.

In chapter six, Vision, which concludes the book, the author explains that vision, which is synonymous with ambition, is something good everybody wants to achieve. He stresses that what makes vision fragile is because it is a mental image which is yet to come to fruition, and which could be truncated when handled carelessly or with kid glove.

Here, according to the don, handling vision with moral glove entails avoidance of materialism, being courageous, adequate time reckoning, self-education, among other.

The beauty of this unique book is that it employs simple literary style and appropriate bible passages to tell the story of morality that encapsulates all aspects of life and society in an easy-to-read manner. It is a well-researched and quotable book that showcases the author’s expertise and prowess in moral and ethical issues in the society.

Just the way he used his inaugural lecture to intellectually rescue God from his abductors, he has also succeeded in using this book to positively shape the five fundamental aspects of human life and society with moral glove. Without mincing words, this topical book is worthy of recommendation to all and sundry.