The culture of respect for elders is universal, and so is the decadence that crept through globalization which made it easy for societies to copy others’ through movies, television, travels and at the turn of the new millennium, the social media.
The younger generation are especially the victims of menace of borrowed culture aided by modern mothers whose cultural reference are daytime soap programmes like Days of Our Lives and similar ones on Telemundo and Zee World.
We have recently witnessed the total switch of the modest mode of dressing of the typical Northern bride to the western style. A craze that has exposed the weakness of our society in general.
Nothing is wrong with accepting and adopting other cultures, but only if they are superior to ours. Tight fitting or translucent dress that exposes the curviture is way out of our cherished Northern culture. I may be an old school, but reality television “stars” are not the best role models to emulate.
The boys too need to be rescued, for they totally need cultural reorientation. A son now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his father – talks back any how and some even shout down on their parents.
Growing up and without being taught, it was and is still “yes sir,” when I am conversing with elders. Today, with luck, the melenials will manage “okay” as if they were talking with their peers.
There should be El-Rufa’i in everybody. Nothing wrong with that. Not even our extremists would argue with that, because it is not the same as prostration. Proudly African!
We should not let yesterday to be better than today.
Iyawa is Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Mexico
