I attended an event recently, and what I experienced was a combination of both strange and funny things. You know, when I was much younger and still live with my parents, there's something very common to African parents when they go to events, which my mom practiced very well back then. I don't know if this happens only in my hometown, but several times, I see my mom going to an occasion with a clean nylon bag on which she will pour the party rice that will be given to her. She never returns home from any events without bringing back food.
According to her, either they had excess food and she scooped it from there or she brought back her own share instead. It's not as if my siblings and I were starving or something, but I feel it's just that motherly love that makes her do that. More like, my children should eat what I eat as well.
One day, I remember following her to an event and discovering that almost all the women who graced the occasion came with a nylon. I was wondering where I was seated, watching mothers hustle the remaining food from the cooler inside their individual nylons. I couldn't help but burst out of laughter and then tap my mom and say, Mummy, is this a kind of tradition or something I am not aware of? She only smiled without replying to my question. That's really funny to me. Going to occasions with nylons, lolz, I remember seeing one woman who had all the rice she packed pour on the road on her way home. Obviously, she packed in excess and was imagining how she would devour the food with her family when she got home, and unfortunately, the food couldn't be brought home. These are some funny things that happened those days in my hometown, but then I came to Lagos State, and I still observed similar experiences happening at some events I have attended.
However, the one that looked so strange to me was the recent experience over here in Lagos.
Towards the end of this event, some young guys entered, and two of them approached me where I was seated and pleaded for food. Before one of the guys finished explaining his intentions, he was already shedding tears. His looks alone said it all about how hungry the guy was. They weren't invited to the party but were looking for ways to secure their dinner, at least for that day. I could recognize one of the guys as a bike rider, and I was wondering why he feels so stranded about food. Then he said that no amount of hard work put into his bike riding business is enough to feed himself and his family in this present harsh economy, so instead of stealing, which many of his colleagues have resulted in, he will decide to remove shame and beg for daily bread. This conversation happened so shortly, and I was able to secure food for the guys.
It looks strange to know that people now visit events to cry for food just to live. The funny part is that instead of our government acting on the welfare of her citizens considering the present terrible economy affecting both the rich and the poor, they pushed their attention to changing the country's national anthem. That's funny upon hearing such news because, we have more pressing issues to look into and save lives, but no, the reverse is the case.
I was chatting with a friend today, and she said that people have paused their funerals and weddings because of a lack of food and the present cost of things, perhaps waiting for when things can normalize, but for how long? no one knows.
Still in the event, this paid comedian you see below acted his own drama.
He left the comedy service he was paid for and targeted a full roasted chicken meant for those at the high table, took it, and ran away without looking at his back.
If you trace this funny act of the comedian, it's still not far from the current hardship, or perhaps a bad character of his, but whatever it could be, the action was strange and quite uncalled for.
This post was inspired by hive naija weekly prompt. There's still few hours left to participate if you wish.
All images are mine
Thanks for reading ♥️♥️