The alarm buzzed and Tade hurriedly jumped out of bed. “God am late!” he exclaimed. he jumped into the bath and within minutes, he was dressed. He couldnt have been any luckier as his mum had his breakfast ready and served. “Hi mum” he said as he settled to eat the three slices of bread and egg sauce on the dining. Suddenly he screamed “mum this is shit! his mum looked at him with great disbelief “there is too much oil in egg, i dont like oil” and before his mum could reply, Tade picked up his bag and within split seconds, he was out of the premise. His grandmother who had been seated at the table relatively quiet wondered how any child could speak rather offensive and rude to an adult let alone a parent. she wondered if African values have truly been eroded. She remembered with nolstagia the year 1946 when she was just a child. Her father had come back from hunting and shouted “Omo Kan” which meant “let any child come” all eight (8) of them abonded whatever it was they were engaged in irrespective of the importance and rushed to their father. “That was the way it was in those days” she said to Tade’s mum. Tade’s mum in apparent defence of her son retorted for the umptenth time “mama” she called, “things have changed, we live in a globalized and educated world, things have changed mama” she finished. And of course Tade’s mum couldnt have been any more correct. Things have changed apparently. The question however is simple. How much have we changed things?
We live in the 21st Century, thats no longer news. And ofcourse living in this period infers new ways of doing things, of seeing things, of interpreting things. The 21st century has ushered in a significant level of scientific and technological breakthroughs, globalization has had the most profound impact on our world and we cannot but marvel at the brilliance of the human mind, the true genius of our very existence. How can anyone not respect the contributions of civilizations? its simply breathtaking… especially for Africans..
Political Colonizations has longed been history for most African nations but not mental colonization, not attitudinal colonization .They have stucked deep like parasitic microbes. The have become the very standard by which we assess our culture, by which we judge our fashion. They are the prime determinant of what an ideal marriage is, even though in the United States of America and according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce. Every look across the Nigerian Street, Office, Courtroom, home, schools and even in the Nigerian Marriage, i see people across the country looking at the mirror and imagining that they carry a white skin and curly hair.. Westernization has affected our music, our culture.. and sometimes i ask myself ‘how is this possible?’ yet, i find the answers staring hard at me in the face. We have forfeited our Afican Values for Western craze. We have rejected our culture of love, friendship and fashion. By our very actions, we have decided that our black skin is inferior and our values outdated. We have concluded that the best revolution that ever happened to us was westernization. We have said no to our identity.. the African Identity!
I wish i could reintroduce africanilism into every corner of our life. Every night i lay on my bed, i dream that one day, every coast of our nation would understand what being a true African means, i dream that our schools in Lagos would embrace our traditional attires and dispose with the shirt, pants, ties and blazers (definately not compatible with our weather) , that every sphere of our business environment would embrace African corporate values and ideals. I dream that one day, we would discover our identity and finally excel in science,technology, astronomy, IT and every of other area of life that brings respect, dignity, recognition and unrivalled brilliance. However, i wake up every time and realize that this just another dream!
