By Jude Atupulazi
What could make grown men (and women these days) behave like kids? What could make enemies jump and hug one another? What could make hungry Nigerians temporarily forget their condition? What could unite the high and the mighty in a moment of delirium? The answer is simple: the round leather game called football.
This is the football season; that season when soccer buffs gather at popular joints to savour the beautiful game, that moment when those we call members of the Free Readers’ Association will gather at newspaper vendors’ tables to analyze matches and sometimes display amazing knowledge of the game.
At such places, banter is freely used against those whose teams are unfortunate to be at the losing end and when you belong to the victorious side, you are literally in heaven.
And so, last weekend, all the above came to pass. It was the weekend my team, Chelsea Football Club of England came storming back from a two-goal deficit away from home to beat fierce rivals, Tottenham, 4-3. It was an exhilarating match with thrills and suspense.
The host team, Tottenham, had quickly come off the blocks and raced to a two-goal lead to the consternation of Chelsea fans and to the delight of rival fans. But when the tide began to change, the atmosphere burst into life and with each goal came wild celebrations.
I suddenly found myself on the floor sliding on my butt as players do when they score and celebrate. I later saw men hugging one another and shaking hands. Others ran up and down the viewing centre like overjoyed kids, while shouting at the tops of their voices. That is what football can do for you.
While making you happy, you temporarily forget everything and let go. This thing that the love of football does is really necessary to those it happens to. These are people who the condition of things in Nigeria does not allow to smile, not to talk about laugh. These are people who have been forced to suffer and smile and wilt away in silence.
It is not only Chelsea fans that experience this. From time to time, fans of other clubs give vent to their feelings and luxuriate in the pleasure football gives.
Thank God for football. It gives me and many others the joy that eludes us in Nigeria;Â Â whether it is Nigerian teams playing or European teams. It is a game that unites us, making us forget where we come from and our social status. It is normally painfully boring when the football season draws to a close. I, for one, usually don’t know what to do during that dry period. But for now, the season of football is still young and won’t be coming to a close before May next year.
As it lasts, we can’t but enjoy the bliss it brings. Let’s go, fellas!
Don’t lie to yourself
By the time you read this it will be ten days to Christmas. With this comes pressure from within and outside. From within, your family expects you to fete them by buying them clothes, procuring foodstuff and the like. It is a good thing if you can do so. They add to the joys of Christmas. But, please, if you can’t, don’t kill yourself because Christmas is for the living, not for the dead.
As they say, strive to cut your coat according to your size. If it is bad today, it may be good tomorrow. Don’t go putting yourself in a situation you cannot come out from because after December, comes the very difficult period called January. A month that appears the slowest of the year. It seems slow because, usually people spend heavily in December and workers often finish their salaries that should have lasted well into the end of January.
This is why it is wise to live according to your means. Don’t try to impress outsiders. This leads us to the pressure that comes from outside. Do you belong to clubs or groups which force you to spend? If so, and if you must spend by hosting them, do so according to your true capacity. If possible, quit being in many groups. They will only cost you money to retain your membership.
Your family’s well-being supersedes that of any outside group. Don’t compete with anybody. Don’t envy anyone too because you don’t know how they made their money. You may be competing with kidnappers, ritualists, fraudsters or armed robbers. Kwelu ka ira (accept your true capacity) and be happy. All fingers can never be equal.
It is foolhardy to steal or kill in order to impress your village people in this period. False living is, indeed, very bad.
But for those who are genuinely rich, try and give succour to your neighbours. It is better to help them, than to waste money on irrelevant stuff. Yes, it is your money and you are entitled to spend it any how you like, but then it is Christmas we are talking about, after all. The joy of it is sharing with the less privileged and making them a part of the celebration.
You cannot be answering Ochiliozua for nothing when your neighbours are hungry. You cannot be answering Akuluo Uno when your wealth hasn’t touched your people. Use your wealth, power or influence to bring smiles to the faces of those around you. That is what this season cries out for.
As for communities and groups, don’t ennoble evil just because you need money. Be careful of those you honour because you could be honouring thieves, fraudsters, kidnappers or ritual killers and ending up passing a message to the young ones that the end justifies the means.
This is because, most times, those in the village know the backgrounds of many of their people and when the bad ones are honoured with chieftaincy titles, their people believe that anything goes. Every group is involved here, including the Church. The Church, especially, should be careful. Everything isn’t about money. Let those who are approached to chair bazaars be people of good conduct, those whose means of livelihood are known.
Why I say the Church should be especially careful is because she is the last bastion of hope for the people and when that hope is destroyed, society is finished. Even when honouring people, the Church should look the way of the poor but good people who have impacted their society well. There are those people whose little contributions by way of services, have kept the Church going.
How about those women who stay back after Mass to clean the church? How about those old men and women who clean up the field and pack chairs after major events? How about those youths who fix the roads to the church? How about those catechism teachers who do the job for free? How about the catechists?
These are people that, when remembered and honoured, others take note and see that money is not everything. They become encouraged to do good and society gets better.
For those buying things at bazaars, nothing stops you from remembering widows, widowers and other less privileged. You can give those items to some of them, depending on who needs them the more. Those who have never experienced poverty and deprivation may never know how some people feel and how much a little good gesture can go in adding more years to their lives.
Secure your towns
Does anyone need to be reminded about the dire security situation in Anambra State? The situation has gotten so bad that many will not be coming home this Christmas. Of what use is doing so only to be kidnapped or killed? But then, every crime is local. These hoodlums don’t live in outer space.
They are right there in the villages, even if it’s in the bush. They should not be allowed to become too comfortable. Even though it is the government’s primary responsibility to safeguard the people, we can see that government has not been doing well in that respect. Thus, communities should do their part and leave the rest to God.
Taking it easy
This one is for the youths, many of who believe in making easy money. They should know that money isn’t everything. Making money by all means in order to show off is stupidity raised to power hundred. Those who live fast, often die fast. They should know this and know peace.
They should take care of their parents and siblings and establish a solid base in their business before thinking of painting the town red. All that glitters is not gold. They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Hard work still pays.
The youths should also refrain from cultism. It helps no one. It is one of the quickest ways to die young these days. There is no point in belonging where you will be perpetually hiding from rival groups and having a heart attack whenever you see the police. Bend down and work hard in a genuine way and God will bless your efforts.
May God keep us alive and kicking.