I was wasting part of my life on Facebook one day, as most of us find ourselves doing, when I stumbled upon some pictures that one of my friends was tagged in. The title of the photo album; FOOTBALL THANKSGIVING, stoked my curiosity and I clicked on the link to view the pictures. The sights that confronted me were utterly revolting and mentally revolting! Nigerians ‘doing’ a thanksgiving during a normal Catholic Church service for European clubs!
The first thought that came to my head was the fact that churches are supposed to be solemn worship centres, not given frivolous activities or engaging in actions that will bring the Holy Temple to disrepute. The sight of wildly grinning males and females adoring European football club jerseys and carrying team paraphernalia like umbrellas, footballs and scarves in the House of God struck me as being irresponsible and terribly un-Christian-like.
I had to ask myself… What the hell are these people celebrating? The teams are based in Europe, several thousands of miles away so there’s really no connection between the two groups. And come to think of it, why in this world would Nigerians ‘celebrate’ the success and (or) popularity of European clubs? Is it the Nigerian penchant to jump on the bandwagon of anything that is considered successful? Can the comatose situation of the Nigerian economy, which has seen many an idle Nigerian youth turn to football as a means of temporarily forgetting their sorrows, be blamed for this? Can the slothful and fraudulent football administrators in Nigeria who have killed the local league be blamed for the shift in fan loyalty to the more popular and entertaining leagues in Europe? Let me stop at this point before I launch into an anger-inspired, foul mouthed rant against the rot in the Nigerian Government. I will consciously force myself to hold my peace, but only just…
Back to the topic at hand… Were these ‘worshippers’ right to indulge in such an activity within the hallowed confines of the Church? Should not the Priest(s) who authorized this absurdity be sanctioned? Does this not call for sober reflection on all our parts and a clear distinction on what and what not is permissible in the House of God?
If I may crave your indulgence and digress for the very last time, I remember an incident some years back when two Nigerian fans stupidly got into an altercation over the different teams they supported. To cut the long story short and allow you go back to your boring life, one of the combatants ran into his house and emerged with a long kitchen knife which he stabbed his opponent with. The knife was plunged into the jaw of the victim and the end emerged just below his cheek bone, missing his eye by inches. The media carried this report and somehow, it got to the ears of the manager of Arsenal FC, Arsene Wenger. Did he send money to help out with the cost of surgery or take time out from his extremely busy schedule to come and visit ‘the fan’? Nope! He sent a condolence letter and an Arsenal Fan Club membership form. Why? Because on a scale of 0 to 10, the stupid actions of a ‘fan’ are absolutely none of his business and probably would be rated at 0.000142659!
I rest my case!
