A SHAME WE SHARE HAPPILY

Ayobami Ayanfemi

Years ago, there is a joy we all enjoyed as families in the society; joy of sitting together, dining and even reasoning together. But what has it become of today?

The seats we so much value then, are now tagged occasional. A family where father now looks at his wristwatch to listen and watch a particular news each day, where mother comes for her favourite TV show, where children sit to watch interesting part of the ongoing multimillion.

Reality TV show named Big Brother Naija which is pornography in disguise. The dining table which is like a tradition in each home is now a library desk and a shrine to some compared to the original setting we all know it to be.

These days, it is observed that table manner is like a taboo that no one care to adhere to anymore. A child can stand, dance, talk and even care less to conform in fear to the rules.

The question that bothered me to pen my grievances is “Are we losing our values along with our traditions?”

It saddens my heart that the adventure of technology has replaced the communication in the family when a father updates his Facebook news feed with his latest business activities and the mother changes her Whatsapp status every minute. An advanced technology as the name implies exposes children to tweet celebrities, drain their time with Instagram pictures, change their personalities on Snapchat and even hinder their dreams in exchange for iPhone and 4G.

Communication is a barrier in the home because we are used to chatting. We can’t confidently request for our need until we chat Daddy online. Our assignments are perfect because we Googled it. While my ink was dropping, I asked “what if this degradation of norms and culture eats deep to the last root of the family unit without solution.”

Right there I answered myself, we will wake up one day and see that the country has fallen apart.

Dismayed, I said to myself, “Technology shouldn’t teach the family the moral sense but our traditions and culture.”

If we look closely as a nation, war, corruption, fraud as well as bad leadership and family disorderliness are the shameful acts we cover with our hands and eat with our dirty feet as a nation where technically, the country’s name is vanishing with various fraudulent acts.

My pen ended in sweat and scribbled “A warning to one is a warning to all. Also, the downfall of a nation depends on the stubbornness of the citizens.”