In as much as there is nothing wrong in borrowing from a foreign culture or civilization, what this writer finds hard to understand is the way we have pushed decorum and commonsense aside, perpetrating acts inimical to the African culture, sense and high moral ethos in the name of civilization.
The late sixties down to the nineties in Nigeria happened to be a period a philosopher described as solitary, brutish, nasty and short. Despite the societal cleavages, people still maintained a sense of moral decorum. This writer recall periods in the nineties of how people dared never to smoke in public, for it appeared like a serious crime and shame. Dressing half naked was taken with harsh criticism, while sexual immorality was not taken with kid gloves. Many always had it at the back of their minds that they must not forgot the child of whom they were. Several acts of immorality were done in secret because doing it openly obviously was a shame for the individual and his immediate family.
What stirs us in the face today is a far cry to what it was in the past. We care less about the kind of dress we put on whether it debases the very core of human nature or not. We have turned to dogs whose sexual urge is displayed anywhere and everywhere. Ironically, even dogs these days are far better than many humans today, what with the sexual romp they display in public places. Hotels spring up every now and then with youths patronising them as if salvation exist there. On the streets, hooligans, area boys, vagabonds and nonentities litter everywhere, disturbing the peace of the land. At the slightest provocation, they unleash mayhem unprecedented in the history of violence in the country. Prostitution has become the order of the day and is highly promoted in our ivory towers and marketed on high ways and exotic cities. From Allen Avenue to the heart of Aso Rock, these comfort ladies bestrode our heartlands like a collossus. It even becomes worse when for a paltry sum, just any lady could be lured to bed.
Cigarettes have almost become obsolate as marijuana and all brands of hard drugs are ingested daily and have taken centre stage. Alcohol with the highest percentage value are consumed with reckless abandon by the youth while those who do not take them are usually seen by their peers as novice. Ex-rated films, immoral movies, shows and programmes are displayed on our screens without regulatory agencies willing to censor them, despite their sad effect on our kids.
Radios blast profane music and many celebrate artists who proliferates such profane music. In fact, without these brands of music, many artists are less recognised.
Worse of all are contemporary parents who ordinarily are supposed to be the first pointer towards a better society, busy themselves pursuing needless things at the detriment of their wards. Simply because a parent wants to survive and must bring food on the table, they put their children on the path of danger. When a child has no parental care, he tends to become a social deviant and commits acts inimical to the society at large. The government too with its wanton act of kleptocracy, to-hell-with-the-people and I-don’t-give-a-damn attitude, many Nigerians have suddenly appeared to be their own local government, forgetting their duties to the home and society.
The Western culture we all struggle to imbibe has gotten us nowhere, but rather, continues to destroy the social fabric of our society. The Nigerian youths rather than being productive are either on facebook, tweeting their lives away or even watching football or season films which earn them nothing but stagnation. There is no harm in having fun, but when we do it with so much addiction, forgetting we have a role to play for ourselves and the society as a whole, it then becomes a huge problem.
For the fact that no society develops with it youths playing their lives away, it is high time those responsible for the proper upbringing of our children and our society started thinking straight and ahead. Our society must be devoid of immorality and also wanton intake of foreign culture. The future social fabric of the Nigerian society is fast eroding and if something is not done to nip this ill on the head, we all will have ourselves to blame. It should not be the wish of any nation to have more than half of its population suffering from paroxysm of immorality. It should not begin with us.
Oluwafunminiyi can be reached through: [email protected]
