One may likely be guilty of oversimplification in trying to say that the Nigerian value system has collapsed, as it does not even exist. The truth is, everyone operates as he/she deems fit. There are no universally accepted moral codes, norms, or ethnics regulating the behaviour of Nigerians as it used to be in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And If this is what renaissance means to Nigerians, then it is a negative one.
Meanwhile, there is hardly any time nowadays, that I peep into the social media that I will not find terrifying stories that depict the moral decadence of the postmodern Nigerian society. For instance, there is an increasing trend of Nigerian youths in their 20s marrying white women who are more than twice their age.
New post (Nigerian man who made headlines after marrying elderly white woman shares …) has been published on – https://t.co/jJLK1xV60o pic.twitter.com/Q8f7gEiBCD
— Nigerian Hive (@nigerianhive) September 26, 2017
I am sure that this would have been classified as an abomination when the Nigerian society still held to its traditional values and as such could have warranted a punishment like banishment depending on the community, but definitely, it would not be ignored like the current postmodern era that is shifting grounds to accommodate other foreign cultural thoughts.
While the Nigerian youths who marry their “grandmothers” have relied on love to justify their anti-culture behaviour, I personally feel there is an ulterior motive beyond the argument for love. If not, why are they only focused on white women or some other racial stocks who reside in Europe and North America? If they are truly honest about their love anecdote for grannies, why are they not interested in the old widows in Nigeria?
Photos: Young African man thanks God for giving him a “woman of honour” as he weds white woman https://t.co/SeIxipfDVT
— Nigerian Wedding (@Nigeriawedding) April 9, 2019
Without beating about the bush, the intention of these Nigerian youths is very clear, which is to use these unsuspecting white women as a means to an end. Put differently, the Nigerian youths that are marrying white women who are more than twice their age are doing it in order to travel abroad or to secure the green card.
There is nothing wrong with inter-racial marriage and as a matter of fact, I am not against it. But in a situation whereby the Nigerian youths are marrying white women who are old enough to be their grandmothers, I am against it, because it is going to corrode what is remaining as value in our society. More so, it is going to further dent the image of Nigeria. Already, the comity of nations has a negative perception towards Nigerians, no thanks to the internet fraudsters, drug peddlers and other despicable characters who have at one time or the other tarnished the image of the country. Hence, our focus should be a positive action that will redeem us from the international stigma.
Apart from this, once the other Nigerian youths who are desperate to leave the country or get green card see that the strategic marriage with the white grannies is producing the desired results, there is every likelihood that they will no longer want to pass through the legal means of migration –the new plan will be, get a white granny, marry her and then travel to Europe or America.
Consciously or unconsciously, if this trend is left unchecked, we are going to be building a new ultra-liberal society where anything goes. Values, like hard work, sincerity, process, respect, and contentment will disappear naturally. Which means, we are inviting anarchy. But in order to avoid this, the elders in our society should come together to arrest this trend before it gets out of hand.
