What is Change?
The word Change can either be a Noun and Verb.
As we all know, a noun is a person, place or
thing. Therefore, Change as a noun can mean a different or fresh set of ideas
or clothes or anything else for that matter.
A verb on the other hand is an action, something
we do. In this instance, change is defined as to make or become different in
nature or form; to exchange or replace with another, to transform, alter shape,
position or composition. It can also mean to lay aside, abandon or leave something
or someone for another.
I was in church the other day and a Deacon was
making the announcements. It was a particularly joyous moment as he announced
the births of several babies. ‘Hallelujahs and Praise the Lords’ rent the air,
you know the birth of a baby is always a joyous moment. When he announced that
a couple was blessed with twins, the whole place became charged with electricity
and everyone was in frenzy. The joy on the faces of the congregants was a sight
to behold. Those who knew the father of the twins and all those around him,
rushed to hug him and shake his hands. It was obvious that he was the man of the
moment. In that moment, all the other new babies paled in significance.
Come Testimony time, only Papa Ejima came out to
testify and there was another round of shouting hallelujahs and backslapping. He
moved like an achiever, he spoke like one and beamed like one.
Somehow, I found myself thinking back to Mary Slessor’s
time in Southern Nigeria when twins were hated and killed. Hapless mothers had
their twin babies snatched from their bosoms and taken to the evil forest to be
killed because for some reason, twins were considered evil. No man would have
dared shared such a ‘taboo’ testimony at that time.
However, Change happened. It was not easy and didn’t
come cheap but today, many couples desire to have twins and even triplets. People
actually ‘sow a seed’ for multiple births, whether they have the means or not
and in fact, everyone believes twins are special and attract special blessings
from God. People randomly ‘dash’ twins all manner of gifts and it is not
uncommon to hear a proud Iya Ibeji confess that she has never lacked anything
since she had the twins.
How about the dominant left hand? Apart from a few
‘recalcitrant’ cultures, the once reviled and shunned leftie is now considered
special and genius.
Time was when nobody would accept something offered
with the left hand, because it was considered disrespectful and it believed
that it was used to clean up in the toilet and other silly notions. People with
a dominant left hand were considered sinister and dodgy.
I am a Southpaw and I have had my fair share of
jeers and condemnation for using my left hand to eat and write but today, people
routinely say they are sure I am brilliant just because I am a ‘lefty’.
We are told most American presidents are Southpaws
and most scientists and other geniuses are southpaws. Although some Nigerians
still cling to this notion of ‘right good and left bad’, the rest of the world
knows and recognises that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a dominant left
hand.
Modernity is the quality of being current or of
the present.
Nigeria too will get there.
This is why I don’t give up. I believe that
someday, men and women will be judged on the quality of their ideas and their
contributions to the world and not their genitalia. I believe that one day; a
woman won’t be blamed for ‘failure’ to give her husband children especially
males. She won’t be asked ‘what did you do or say to anger him’, when her husband
is physically abusive and she won’t be made to kneel down and apologise for
making him angry enough to strike her. She won’t be shamed and asked what she was
wearing or what took her to his room, when she is raped by some scumbag.
One day, most if not all of the burdens imposed on
women by religion and tradition, abi culture will be removed by modernity. No matter
how long it is resisted, it must come to Nigeria too. Nigeria will catch up
with the rest of the world in this and many other issues. We will hopefully let
go of those harmful, retrogressive, archaic ideas that serve to keep us perpetually
as hewers of wood and drawers of water, as consumers and never producers, as
importers but not exporters. The only thing we seem to have in abundance which
we export is Religion, a different brand from the one brought down by the
people we now export to. Sadly, it still does not help us because it has only
served to make us lazy dreamers.
Still I hope, still I fight for change. I have
started my own walk towards it so that I am ready to embrace it when it comes. I
have started in my little corner with the way Modernity is the quality of being
current or of the present.
I am raising
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