Wither this Nigerian mentality?

The manner and the extent to which many Nigerians go in celebrating one form of achievement or success has developed over the years to a staggering level; some conveniently qualifying to be listed as new world “standards” in the Guinness Book of Records. Victory in elections, winning sport competitions, excelling in examinations, wedding, childbirth, birthday […]

The manner and the extent to which many Nigerians go in celebrating one form of achievement or success has developed over the years to a staggering level; some conveniently qualifying to be listed as new world “standards” in the Guinness Book of Records. Victory in elections, winning sport competitions, excelling in examinations, wedding, childbirth, birthday parties, turbaning ceremonies, and induction into professional bodies are some of the many events Nigerians celebrate. 

Like sadness, happiness is a natural universal experience. It’s not wrong to express joy. That which is weird is the height to which some of us take our ecstasy. Besides the huge cost involved, it cannot be called celebration when, for instance, students celebrating their graduation after their last examination paper lose their lives. 

This brings to mind how many states in the country have in the past recent weeks continued, one after the other, to ban graduation ceremonies particularly at the end of nursery, junior and secondary education. This followed the reckless nature of such celebrations that are not worth the prodigal cost that come with them.

To lead others in the ban was the Imo state government, which in an official statement issued by the state commissioner of education announced a graduation policy that banned graduation parties for kindergarten, nursery and Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 students; citing the financial burden such ceremonies place on parents and guardians. The memo which was addressed to parents, guardians, and school proprietors clarified that only pupils graduating from “Primary 6 and Senior Secondary School (SSS) 3 students are permitted to hold graduation ceremonies in line with Nigeria’s 6-3-3-4 education system.” 

It’s relevant, however, to remind the Imo State education commissioner that given the structure of the 9-year basic education, there’s even no graduation at the end of primary education as the country’s national policy on education makes it mandatory for every pupil to continue his education until the end of JSS 3. Six years of primary education and three years at the JSS level both make up the 9-year basic education. This is why there’s no certification at the end of primary education. The approval for graduation ceremonies should not, therefore, have included ‘graduating’ primary school pupils.

Other states that soon followed suit in the ban include Edo, Benue, Ondo, and Ekiti. In Edo, the state government announced a measure restricting graduation parties to only pupils completing Basic Education at JSS 3 and those completing SSS 3. Such ceremonies, according to the state commissioner for education, must be modest, while elaborate parties remain banned. The same ban has been re-echoed in Benue, Ondo, Abia, Ogun, and lately Ekiti state where government urged schools to focus on improving the quality of education and to stop organising elaborate parties.

Celebration has been part of humanity, but not in the way it is organized today. That which probably helped its negative progression to a level that is ethically intolerable today is attributable to cosmopolitan factors that broke cultural barriers, which hitherto remained impenetrable for centuries. Until the beginning of the 1980s, for example, many communities in Nigeria had no idea of a tradition called ‘Anko’ or Aso oke’; both of which are words believed to originate from the Yoruba language. They both refer to a tradition of wearing matching outfits on special occasions to symbolize unity and social cohesion. Had globalization not broken the cultural barriers, the ‘Anko’ or Aso oke’ mentality would likely have remained unknown in most Hausa-speaking communities of Nigeria. They would never have also had the opportunity to borrow the word ‘Anko’ from the Yoruba.  

In the past, people wore dresses of their choice to celebrate all categories of events. Gradually, the idea matured into an elitist, selfish, and status-symbol tradition where celebrants choose the colour of the dress, its style and design, which all invited guests would wear to an event. Sometimes, too, the type of the headgear (for women) and cap (for men) are all decided for all invitees; weeks or months before the occasion. 

When this mentality which I believe is Nigerian by birth and female by gender crossed cultural borders into northern communities, it was initially confined to wedding ceremonies. It’s a Nigerian because no part of the world is celebration carried to the level Nigerians do to express joy. It’s a female because women naturally have more time to celebrate than men who, according to Qur’an 4: 84, “are the maintainers women.” 

Little by little, however, the tradition penetrated other forms of celebration including social, educational and religious occasions. The burden of graduation ceremonies of ordinary kindergarten pupils which parents are made to bear began to take elaborate dimensions that are obviously too extravagant when compared with the celebrations of those conferred with Masters and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees at convocation ceremonies organized by universities. 

The cost of the Aso oke for family members, the cake, the food, the drinks, and the gifts are all part of the unnecessary expenditure incurred by affluent parents even as many of the neighbours of such parents do not always know where their next meal would come from. If not because God gave some of us brain though without intelligence, what academic achievement is anyone celebrating in a child that is moving from kindergarten class in to nursery one? Where schools make participation by pupils in graduation ceremonies compulsory, low income earners among parents are compelled to take loans in order to meet up with the financial demands of their children’s graduation.      

While the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) exhorts us to exercise moderation in all we do, Allah (SWT) mentions in Qur’an 17:26-27 that “… and do not squander wastefully. Surely, squanderers are fellows of the Shaytans and the Shaytan is ever ungrateful to his Lord.” Spending hundreds of millions of naira on graduation from a kindergarten school or a birthday party does not only defy commonsense, but a clear manifestation of ingratitude. Let’s stop being excessively wasteful and ungrateful to Allah. Let us invest in the future of the persons and things we needlessly celebrate. Such funds could be used to construct few blocks of classrooms, build or maintain a mosque, or provide medical equipment in a health facility. 

If celebration as defined by some Sufis (mystics) means appreciating Allah, there are several ways we can happily express gratitude to our creator. Engaging in different voluntary forms of worship including fasting, prayers after midnight, giving alms to the needy, and settling the medical bills of the sick. May Allah guide us to discard Nigerians’ mentality of celebration, Amin.