DADDY, MY DADDY, TEACH ME HOW TO LOVE

© Somadina Mbadiwe

Lovers of the late Jim Reeves’ songs will quickly relate the above lines with one of his titles: Daddy, My Daddy, Teach Me How to Pray. Today, my own cry (and I hope you join me) is for Daddy to teach me how to love.

Two incidences that happened recently in my life brought to my face squarely the need for more love. The first was listening to Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the current Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese (more popularly known by Nigerians as Father Kukah). The second was watching the action (reaction, rather) of my co-passenger in a cab as we were coming back home late one night. I will present both experiences here as I share the powerful lessons they have taught me.

DELUSIONS FROM THE PULPIT

Source: christrbc.wordpress.com

It is sad and very unfortunate that our society has gone really haywire and that the rate of morality over the last decade has descended to an all-time low. From the regular street gang armed robbery to the present bold and full-blown kidnapping, and even assassination in some cases; from the regular one-night-stand prostitutes to the 24/7 prostitution by female undergraduate students and desperate ladies at work places; from the normal peaceful protests and threats to the militancy and ‘boko-haramism’ which we now have; from the occasional adultery and second-wife practices to the present-day, and I daresay now-excusable, chains of mistresses and concubines our married men keep – even with their wives’ knowledge; from the frequent fornication with the opposite sex to the brave and mind-numbing acts of sodomy and lesbianism that have now become the order of the day in our society, and the list continues. It has gotten to a point where nobody sees anything wrong with government officials embezzling public funds; instead we all envy them and wish we were in their positions so that we will take more bites than they have of the national cake. All these evil practices which were unthinkable at the start of the new millennium are now sadly the order of the day in Nigeria. But then I have noticed another trend too.