Losing Our Culture will make us Sick!

Dance Africa

We dance, we wrestle, we farm, we meet and socialise or have certain ceremonies and festivals, we cook for the community to have a feel of our creativity in cooking and dress in different colours and styles. This is the uniqueness of every nation. Africans do the above in unique ways, we have a mode of worship and prayers (not evil or causing harm), we agree on acceptable norms in our villages and model our children to grow healthy, honest, brave with good and strong morals. If we lose all these, we may fall sick. Been sick is not limited to bodily disease, it includes the inability to understand ourselves anymore, the inability to understand our relations and community; and this is the beginning of the end for many. If we lose this togetherness that culture brings, we gradually lose trust in ourselves and in our relations or community. With time, life will have little or no meaning - but for the wanton chase of money and material gains. Many nations will lose this values and humans will seem like mere machines. Should we lose our spirituality, togetherness and uniqueness, we would lose ourselves, relations and community in this wanton chase. Everyday, we think we just need to make one more effort to be there, whereas, been at that place (maybe at the top) does not make us any bit happier when our relations and community is in despair. Our culture has a way of bringing everyone together regardless of status; make people understand basic morals and respect for constituted authorities and norms of the land; and create a deep sense of belonging and security in our communities. We could take advantage of the good modern technologies and lifestyles to better our good cultures. Cultures that unite and not divide, cultures that builds love among relations and community and not hate, cultures that prevents evil, cultures that protects and not destroy, that promotes and not demote, that forgives and not condemn in perpetuity, cultures that brings joy - are desirable. This we must protect. We should dance in our usual fashion, wrestle in community squares for entertainment, have ceremonies and festivals, cook for all, dress our styles, trust each other and be proud of ourselves. We want money, but we need people, our relations and community.

Onuigbo D.M, 28/05/2019