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TRUTH
The task of documenting history is a daunting one, especially for the writer who desires to present the truth in its pure form. Certain discoveries may prompt such a writer to either halt the writing and publishing of a particular story, or damn the consequences of setting his/her life in danger.

Individuals view occurrences through peculiar lenses that are created by a plethora of factors unique to each person, hence the emergence of different subjective views on each issue that generates opinions.

While documenting historical occurrences, a writer may be influenced by the opinions of other persons, some form of bias or attachments to certain sentiments.

Even if a writer was an eyewitness to an event he intends to write about, he/she may interprete things subjectively if his/her mind is not free from all things that may clug the wheels of objectivity.

A writer may also yield to the temptation of writing what certain people want to read, or what such people want the public to believe, even if many lies are told in the process.

We see examples each time something tragic happens and the government publishes narratives that are in sharp contrast with what individual eyewitnesses say.

Considering the foregoing, one who consumes information must be careful to verify all that is read. Due diligence must be set in motion, to obtain and compare narratives from different credible sources.

In the absence of deliberate moves to ask very serious questions and persist till meaningful answers are obtained, genuine pursuits of truth will always culminate in futility.

© Ogbole Agala