
I remember when I was in Ikeja, Lagos working for Thisday newspaper. That time, around 1998, there was no mobile telephone. What was in vogue then was table phone, though a negligible number of privileged Nigerians had what was called cellular phones.
I remember when I visited a well-established office around Apapa and met a handsome young man behind a sizeable table, with two phones on top of the table.
I remember when a call came to one of the phones, the handsome young man picked it, placed it on his ear and before you could say hi, the handsome young man had fallen on his stomach, prostrating and answering yes sir, yes sir more than a dozen times before the next line of conversation.
I remember that when the ‘frightening’ phone call ended, the handsome young man was sweating profusely. He sat back on his chair, panting as if he had just climbed zuma rock in absolute haste.
I remember when I asked him who was that that called him on the phone and he told me it was his oga, meaning, Managing Director.
On many other occasions, I had witnessed the display of unquestionable respect, and even worship of elders, ‘ogas’ and parents by Yoruba people across Nigeria. I had always admired such culture. In my own way, I had tried to imitate them, because, my belief always has been that a small prayer by elder for the younger one has a way of imprinting in the spiritual realm.
But I have been seized by surprise and disbelief lately seeing and hearing the way young Yoruba people are openly insulting and cursing their elders and even parents.
For instance, the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, by all standards, a young man, has been in the news lately, insulting former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Olowu of Owu in Ogun state.
Of course, when Fayose was disrespectful to Muhammadu Buhari before and during the last campaign, I was not so surprised because, I thought, after all, he did not owe Buhari respect because he was a bloody Fulani man. That was even with my reservation that he, Fayose was missing out something very vital, also in the spiritual realm.
But, for Fayose to throw caution and even the well-respected culture of the Yoruba race into the air in the name of politics and things of this world by constantly abusing Obasanjo is one of the strange things happening at the turn of this century.
As a matter of fact, Obasanjo is old enough to born Fayose as a son; meaning that Fayose, by not feeling the guilt of abusing Obasanjo in whatever circumstance, can as well abuse his father. And abusing one’s father amounts to inviting the wrath of the ancestors, and of course, God.
For God sake, where is that undiluted respect Yoruba were well-known for? Has wealth, power and other things of this world swept it away, like whirlwind? Or is the world coming to an end? [myad]