By Edward Oloukun
The best way to understudy people is through culture. Study the mode of dressing, listen to their music, observe the dominant colors, and watch their sports and movies. These snippets open a window into the life style and values of a bloc of humans, and sometimes into their belief system.
Let me begin with the beliefs; in ancient times, nations physically carried their gods along into war fronts because they believed the strongest god won the battle, while the weaker gods were captured and later restocked in captors’ cultures.
The example was Dagon, the god of the Philistines, who seemingly helped the Philistines defeat the Israelites and then captured the Ark of the Covenant and then roomed the Ark in the same shrine with Dagon, only to find Dagon face down the following morning.
Likewise was Assur, one the gods of the Assyrians, who suddenly turned itself into a regional battle axe, leveling and tearing down other kingdoms, until YHWH humiliated and terminated her and her patrons.
Heathen kings had boasted and cursed opponents in the name of their gods, and in the spirit of fair play, the best side did not always win the battle because everything is fair in lawless cultures. In an unfair state, the wicked boast of devouring the weaker ones, and no one comes to their rescue.
Such is the Banana Republic, which has zero value for life and property.
Talking of value, respect from younger ones to their elders and ultimately within hierarchies and authorities can easily be observed watching movies and mode of dressing of a particular culture and so is the rule of law. Of concern are clashes of culture, globally, in which the stronger ones are winning, notably, nudity is fast becoming a norm in weaker cultures as well as talking back to elders. How far can we get?
How about the choice of words, the tone of communication, and the locus of delivery that are cursors into where we have been and where we are heading as a people? You may want to listen to their music. Consider their lyrics. Imagine their creative motif and motives, and then you can tell who they are, and why they are who they are.
Watch their sports. How violent, friendly, regulated, honest, and sincere are these people? What are the rules, did they play by the rules? Observe the passion of both the audience and the players and the officials, and then you can almost measure the caliber of people you are observing.
And this brings me to colors. No better indicator of value than the national symbols and colors. I would so highly rate Red, Blue, and White as royal and dignitary. But among all other colors competing for attention, stands out the verdant–the Green color, which signifies growth and freshness. Green for growth and white for purity.
Those are Nigeria colors. 🇳🇬
If 75% of a continent’s population is youth, then the future is bright, but that was not what I saw in the last AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS (AFCON).
I saw hate. I saw envy. Instead of celebrating the imminent growth and the bright future of the Black culture, Nigeria played against the grief and wrath of the entire continent without any grievance other than Nigeria is the Giant of Africa, and Yes, it is because regardless of its mismanaged economy, her GDP towers above every others’ in Africa.
And thus Nigeria must roll over for the little ones to placate them in all spheres of life. To the point of locking out Nigeria Super Eagle’s supporters out of the stadium that consisted of 99% of the rioting and raging orange nation, playing the final against Nigeria. How best to judge hospitality, fair play, and sincerity of purpose?
Nigerian teams have drawn strength from traditional music and costumes, emanating from the bleachers or spectator’s stand since time immemorial. it’s our tradition. It’s the pride of our nation, yet the officials as well as the host nation decided to lock out this essential aspect of the game yesterday, February 11. Thus the guys were already defeated psychologically before the game started, adding salt to the injuries of already embattled people whose leaders have robbed them of daily bread.
While I understand that soccer is played on the turf, not in a dancing hall, I also want to remind you of our culture, namely singing and dancing and dressing in national attires and costumes. It’s the only sport that unites the nation and you robbed them of that fun moment as a people- a people seeking monetary balm to soothe their wounds.
And yet this isn’t enough excuse for the unpreparedness of our boys, nor does it explain the ineptitudes of our technical crews, but it signals a deliberate and concerted effort of a group of people bullying a visitor, for not just any reason other than jealousy and fear of competing on a leveled plain field.
Thus, I strongly call on AFCON to look into this allegation and propose a deterrent to forestalling such an unAfrican behavior, robbing an entire nation of fun, pump, and pageantry, a lackluster approach to a blockbuster event, into the bright-looking future of soccer in our continent, and globally.
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