It is painfully disturbing to admit the intensity of the pungent stench currently emanating from the sewer of our present social existence. Where certain questionable characters are being criticised, it is sad to note that the present society has decided to turn a blind eye; accepting the abnormal as a norm.
A popular saying among many is, “The way one dresses is the way one will be addressed.” There is no gainsaying the wisdom of the advice therein. Since time immemorial it has been culturally ingrained in us to learn to dress appropriately. But, with the twist in our present-day definition of norms in the name of freedom of identity of person, character and expression, the sanctity of dressing like sane individuals has been misplaced.
A perfect example is the just concluded reinforcement of dress code policy as released by the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State, on the 18th of January 18, 2023. This policy emphasised the need for lecturers to deny any indecently dressed students from attending lectures; forbid the wearing of transparent dresses, tattered jeans, wearing tops with obscene or seductive inscriptions, body piercings and tattoos; forbid the wearing of lousy, unkempt, extremely bogus hair or coloured artificial hair amongst others. Sensing the incipient insurgence and deliberate disregard for the image of the school, the university employed these measures in a bid to not only create an atmosphere of discipline but also one enabling the reformation of the mind as well. Despite the presence of rules such as these, some defaulters make it seem like fighting a losing battle.
The use of hard drugs is another bone of contention. This treacherously looking powder fondly called “the white lady”, also popularly known as cocaine, is an all-time addictive personality. However, its indiscriminate use has caused the downfall of many. Its twin, the Cannabis sativa, otherwise known as Marijuana aka ‘igbo’ is no stranger to the nostrils of many. Needing no invite, its offensive smell finds its way into every nook and cranny of our environs; thereby upsetting the ecosystem. It is, however, also disheartening to realise that a majority of these drug users, despite being aware of its health deficiencies, are tied to the apron strings of these drugs, continuing their usage regardless. After smoking a wrap or bowl of these substances, you never know what to expect from or with them as they are given to displays of different shades of temperament.
Another crack in our wall of perfection is the despairing state of a certain body of the executive arm of government. Every day, you will see them lined up on the sides of the roads lining their pockets with the sweat of unfortunate ‘customers.’ They derive so much joy in glorifying bribes. As a budding student, who is well versed in the knowledge of the rights and wrongs of a socially and politically balanced society, it is of no use standing up to these officers as the mantra of most drivers plying these roads is, ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you do not.’ One can never tell if the next set of officers would demand an arm or a leg. It makes the appointment of these personnel suspicious as one cannot tell those who got in on merit from those who smooth their way in.
Innocent students are not spared the discomfort either. Randomly, they are handpicked from buses, atop bikes; roughly handled, and searched rigorously for ‘imaginary contrabands’ or even questionable bank alerts. This begs the question: What is the core duty of the police?
It will be a great injustice to not mention another of our heartaches: the association of louts, commonly known as ‘touts’; though semantically misconstrued. These louts display a level of unashamed confidence when they say, “I be staff…you no see my I.D card?” It is no longer possible to see eye to eye with these lot.
Funnily enough, after downing a few droplets- for some, a bottle of spirits, they somehow develop the gall to disrespect anyone using the backing of their supposed ‘I.D card’ issued by deified godfathers. These godfathers whom Niyí Osundare says “come armed with sweet words, inflated promises and a chest that bribes with countless prostrations like the agama on the rock.” Alas, there are many ways of killing without a sword.
In conclusion, it is imperative to admit all these shortcomings as a fault of all and sundry and remove all that might be in our line of sight with regard to ‘righting’ as many societal wrongs as possible. This is, therefore, a call for us to go back to the drawing board and build a positively enabling society we can proudly call our own.