I'm watching this TV documentary/short clip video where Olu Jacobs and wife beget a pair of twins after many years of having their last child. Before the twins are born, there's so much joyful anticipation that their only son is to finally have a sibling. The whole joyous mood turns sour when the pregnancy is confirmed to house two kids instead of one. Sacrilege! Abomination! They scream. Mother is in tears. Father is greatly worried. Villagers remind them of what the tradition says of such an occurrence. Culture regards them as evil demons that should be crushed.

The clip is a reflection of some cultural practices in the past. It is no news that certain cultures despised twins and simply did not tolerate them, because they did not understand them. The same ignorance was the reason why kids were accused of being 'ogbanje', because they died few years after birth, with the same fate befalling subsequent kids in the same family. Now we know better. Better understanding of the biology of twins has rendered such practices practically non-existent. I'm not sure though if the knowledge of sickle cell anaemia and other genetic diseases has stopped people from accusing some kids of being ogbanje.

We humans generally hate what we don't understand. Whatever seems to be against the mainstream views or what we are used to, we condemn immediately. We forget that understanding is like light that keeps getting brighter. We have never known it all, and probably will never do. What we prohibit today might turn out to be totally amazing in future, only for us to look back with regrets.

That's why I usually pause when people scream support for something because it's in accordance with their culture, and when they castigate because it's against their culture. I always ask, "which culture?" Nowadays, culture means little to me. Cultures change due to changing times and understanding. Cultures grow; they get better. You don't stick to dehumanising practices just because your culture upholds them. It is foolhardy, and goes to show limited understanding of the realities of life.

Thanks to mary slessor