Thank you for the lesson, Jigs

By Prof. Francis Gentoral

I always looked forward to conversations with Prof. Jigger Latoza. Minutes with him were not wasted with all his ideas and lessons about anything and everything from strategy, urban poor housing, communication, religion, climate change, smart business and education, environment, leadership, good food, family, to health and others.

Too bad, our intelligent conversations were ended in part by the coronavirus last week, but unexpectedly being continued through the stories of friends and colleagues I read on social media about how Jigger touched them. These stories are highlighting in a new way our interconnection with one another, something which all of us, friends, and colleagues of Jigger wanted, us to be well aware of. These stories are lifting us from the prevailing heaviness and sadness.

Our interconnectedness, Jigger would declare, is not just about our lives but also with our vulnerabilities as we relate with the myriad of organisms which we are part – including COVID-19 virus – that has jumped across boundaries and showed our weaknesses

Jigger would surmise that much of the public discussion about COVID-19 is about issues of justice and political experimentation.  The most vulnerable suffer directly from this disease

Now, the COVID-19 is asking us to remain distant. It’s a self-emptying sacrifice of love, that brings pain of absence – the pain of not being able to be present with those we love or even gather in communion for burial of the dead. Dying alone is not the kind of death Jigger would wish for.

His thoughts and concerns on these issues showed how enmeshed our lives are and how extremely hard it is to try and address these fears. COVID-19 aside, one important lesson Jigger was teaching us is that our lives are entangled with each other and this is the source of both our unique strength but also our vulnerability.

We will best remember Jigger by learning to take our interconnectedness with God and each other, much more seriously. We take comfort in the fact that even the deepest and darkest suffering is not beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace, thus providing an occasion for change and renewal.

Thank you for the lesson, Jigs.

The author was Prof. Jigger Latoza’s teacher and mentor way back when he was still a student. They later became partners and co-consultant in various projects. Prof. Latoza, Daily Guardian’s editorial consultant, passed away on May 20, 2021.