Few weeks ago Nigeria’s minister of information, Lai Mohammed, in a statement to highlight the potentials of Nigeria’s tourism and cultural sectors suggested that dressing masquerades can create Thousands of jobs a week in Nigeria. A statement, which is undoubtedly very true, but was taken out of context by patrons of social media. Many young Nigerians who could have benefited from the call rather twisted the statement to mean that he asked them to join masquerades. Sometime, I feel that some of us Africans, especially the younger generation, faced with very poor appetite for reading and literary works have problems with comprehension. In a bid to jump to conclusion and earn social media popularity we end up underscoring our weaknesses and humiliating ourselves.

As of today none of the Nigerian beaches and pockets of islands generate any meaningful tourism revenue, whereas the economy of countries like Jamaica, and states like Hawaii largely depend on tourism. Our cultural industry (which Lai’s statement highlighted) is almost moribund except for pockets of poorly organized street carnivals. I don’t know the last time anyone saw the advertisement of a Nigerian cultural troupe coming to do a paid performance in a major event center such as the ‘Kennedy Center’ in Washington DC? Perhaps this generation is too young to know veteran cultural ambassadors like Pa Hubert Ogunde of the National troupe, who exported Nigeria's culture abroad and earned hard currency. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans were projected to spend up to $6.9 billion on Halloween sales in 2015. These sales included costumes and candies. Has any of you really Googled what ‘Halloween’ is, and what’s the difference between Halloween costumes and masquerade costumes, yet there are companies that specialize in manufacturing these costumes abroad thereby creating jobs?

Perhaps Lai Mohammed’s call would have been well-received if he announced the distribution of free laptops and iPhones to Nigerian youth so they can sit all day wasting their time and potentials on social media chats and mundane comments to generate ‘Likes’.

A cultural outfit, be it a drama troupe, a dance group, or a masquerade group can create employment through:

1). Registering it as either a business organization or cultural promotion NGO
2). The manufacturing of modernized costumes and export of such
3). Research and manufacturing of improved African musical instruments and exporting of such
4). Paid performances at events organized at home and abroad
5). Organizing paid annual carnivals, parades, festivals and shows with corporate sponsorship to attract tourists
6). Production and selling of quality DVDs and CDs

Are there not people who went to universities in Nigeria to study fine arts and theater arts? If you don’t believe in yourself and strive to think outside the box, no one will do that for you; you will continue to follow standards other set forever.

Yes! Masquerades can create jobs if well managed.

Below are few examples of well-managed cultural parades and carnivals abroad, same as masquerade outings in Nigeria. Why can't we modernize ours, showcase them like this and be proud of them?

"I am here as a pastor, but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own."... ...Confinement is not the same thing as exclusion".

- Pope Francis while meeting with inmates at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia today, Sunday, September 26, 2015

The Other Side Of A Tough Man....

In a quiet little suburb of a city a young immigrant family was passing through a trial of their time. The man, an Insurance Agent made enough to give himself a decent lifestyle as a single man, which helped attract a pretty lady he married later. But things suddenly went upside-down shortly after their wedding. Struggling with mounting bills, a heavily pregnant wife who was not working, yet taking a certification course, the man racked up credit cards, which ruined his credit history. One day he started returning from work late sometime beween11:30pm and12:30 am. His wife accused him of infidelity, as he often came home tired and worn-out. Conflict ensued. She called relatives, pastors, friends to intervene. She monitored his calls, texts, even internet searches just to get any clue who this other woman could be. None of that deterred the man, as he continued coming back late. Few months later, after his wife gave birth, completed her certification program and got a small job to assist her husband, things gradually returned to normalcy. He no longer came back late.

One Saturday morning, the woman was doing family laundry when she noticed a bright red apron with the name tag of a grocery store bearing her husband’s name secretly tucked away inside the wardrobe. The woman was a little puzzled that during their courtship her husband never mentioned that he once worked at a grocery store as a Truck Loader. At the end of the year, there was even a bigger surprise when his W-2 tax report came in. Yes, the truth came out !- The man was not cheating on his wife rather he took a secret part-time job at a grocery store as Truck Loader to help pay his pregnant wife’s school fees and feed his family. He never wanted her to suffer. However, he was too ashamed to make it known that a respected, suit and tie-wearing Insurance Agent could descend so low to work as a Truck Loader at $9 per hour at a grocery store. For months, he got off his first office job at 4pm and drove to a 2nd job at the grocery store 5pm - 11pm. The woman broke down in tears when she realized the sacrifice her husband made, the insults he took, the unfair accusations, and curses he got from her for doing everything to take care of his wife’s needs.

This is the story of many men out there. For some men, due to pride and ego, life is an internal injury they have to endure the agony secretly. I have seen men lock themselves inside office bathrooms to cry in pain and grief, come out clean their faces and still put up concealing tough appearances. Each day young men are caught and jailed for shop-lifting because they tried to get impressive birthday gifts for their girlfriends, yet they get dumped at the slightest chance some women get to be with a richer man.

The cry of a man sometimes is deep and internal. May God bless that vitreous woman who knows that, appreciates his sacrifices, accommodates the frustrations of his life he expresses through anger tantrums sometimes. Remember according to research he has a shorter life-span, most likely to smoke and drink himself to ill-health and will die earlier due to stress than his woman. Please welcome him home each day with a hug, a kiss; use your hands to wipe off sweats on his face and let him take a rest on your laps. He may not be sharing all he’s passing through!

May God bless your marriages; heal and restore your relationships!

- Godwin C. Nwaogwugwu

lezz:
Interesting submissions, but still ,why did the traditional Igbo religion survived during and after the colonialist but the OSU's role as the custodian of the igbo religion was completely forgotten or distorted?