The Governorship Debate:)
This is just one clip of the governorship aspirants debate in Lagos state! Its hilarious!
It is only in Nigeria that the issue of age has any bearing in the public domain. In many 'yoruba' homes a child born one day before the other is 'older' and this difference in age is stressed throughout the lives of the pair. In many instances the prefix 'sista' or 'broda' is appended before the given name of the child, for example sista Yemi or broda Kola. For unfortunate brides who happen to be married into families where 'tradition' rules they cannot call children born before they were married into those households by name. Pet names are thus thought up and proffered by the hapless bride who is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea so as not to cause offence in trying to navigate how best to treat her in-laws who should by right call her 'Sista'.
I once had a colleague who was much older than me, I did not know how old he was, but his balding head and grey hairs were a testament to this fact. He always made it a point of duty to remind me that even though we had the same job he was my senior both in the profession and in age and to make matters worse he was lazy and shirked his duties at every turn. My one word for him "Agbaya"!
I value the traditions of giving respect to those older than you but not to the point where the fact of being older is used to shirk duties and generally make the lives of the young ones miserable. Being older is a blessing but it can almost become a curse when you do not live up to the expectations that come with being older. A 20 year old man who spends time in bars and hanging out with the 'boys' is thought to be having fun and learning the ways of the world. If he is still 'learning the ways of the world' at 40 he is thought to be a fool! Age is nothing but a number in many parts of the world but in others it marks you and counts as a meter of how you should truly behave.
I do hope the governorship aspirants would focus on more important things than how much older their opponent is or how they feel they should be treated. The post of Governor is not one to be taken lightly!
It is only in Nigeria that the issue of age has any bearing in the public domain. In many 'yoruba' homes a child born one day before the other is 'older' and this difference in age is stressed throughout the lives of the pair. In many instances the prefix 'sista' or 'broda' is appended before the given name of the child, for example sista Yemi or broda Kola. For unfortunate brides who happen to be married into families where 'tradition' rules they cannot call children born before they were married into those households by name. Pet names are thus thought up and proffered by the hapless bride who is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea so as not to cause offence in trying to navigate how best to treat her in-laws who should by right call her 'Sista'.
I once had a colleague who was much older than me, I did not know how old he was, but his balding head and grey hairs were a testament to this fact. He always made it a point of duty to remind me that even though we had the same job he was my senior both in the profession and in age and to make matters worse he was lazy and shirked his duties at every turn. My one word for him "Agbaya"!
I value the traditions of giving respect to those older than you but not to the point where the fact of being older is used to shirk duties and generally make the lives of the young ones miserable. Being older is a blessing but it can almost become a curse when you do not live up to the expectations that come with being older. A 20 year old man who spends time in bars and hanging out with the 'boys' is thought to be having fun and learning the ways of the world. If he is still 'learning the ways of the world' at 40 he is thought to be a fool! Age is nothing but a number in many parts of the world but in others it marks you and counts as a meter of how you should truly behave.
I do hope the governorship aspirants would focus on more important things than how much older their opponent is or how they feel they should be treated. The post of Governor is not one to be taken lightly!
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