My desire today is not to sound like a moralist. But then, no devoted parent or committed partner would sit back and watch immorality continue to multiply in the society, to the point of threatening to destroy the lives of young adults, who are the future of the country.
Clearly, moral decadence, aided by social media, is galloping and this is quite worrisome. Some years ago, songster, TY Bello, sang that “The Land is Green.” But the truth today is that the land is no longer green (virgin and unspoiled). Rather the land is bleeding in red and crying for cleansing. Who will cleanse the land? Who is that person that can lead in the battle to change mindset, attitude and begin to do things positively to purify the land?
From reading social media posts and engaging in discussions with colleagues and friends, it became very necessary to create awareness about certain illicit affairs that thrive between men and women on social media. The most recent instance was posted by Mr Babafemi Ojudu, a former commissioner in Lagos State, who shared a story on his Facebook page: “A lady sent me a message, to say, “Let me spice up your day,” and this was followed by a video of hers shaking her bum and tweaking.
Ojodu responded to her this way: “You can only spice up my day with your intelligence, your creativity, what you can do to become a successful person and impact the world; not shaking of bums. Intelligence is sexy; leave the entire bum shaking and make a lasting impression of yourself with your brilliance. There is more to life than bum and boobs. It is time our young ladies begin to cultivate respect for their persons and think of what to make of their lives. This epidemic of low self-esteem must stop. No monument is built for the sexy.”
What a beautiful thing it would be if all men could respond, to obvious solicitation by a lady, in the way Ojodu did when they receive rubbish via their social media platforms. Then the level of sexual immorality in our country would begin to dwindle. Punishing the sender might not be the solution, rather giving motivational advice like Ojodu did would create a new spirit in the young lady that sent the video, and this would be more effective. It could change the mindset of some of these characters who are out to debase themselves and womanhood. Given the kind of response she got, I have a strong belief that she would never go near Ojodu’s Facebook wall again. Ojodu’s experience is very common and other men have experienced the psychological trauma being confronted with unsolicited vulgar material that popped up on their social media platforms after mistakenly clicking on a link that seemed innocuous, but actually re-directed to a vulgar site. The ennobling thing was that Ojodu chucked the rubbish into the trash can and then gave the lady useful advice, by publicly speaking up, on Facebook, the same medium used by the lady to offer her “services” to an unwilling, uninterested person. Thank you sir!
Interestingly, it has become a new way of life for older teenagers and adolescents to exchange snapshots of their private parts with brazen boldness through the social media. They claim, “it is my life, I have the right to do what I like.”
A close pal told me the story of a boy and girl who became friends on Facebook. The black girl resides in Colombia while the boy lives in Lagos. In the course of their chat, the girl said to him, “I do not like men with small or weak organ, I prefer my man strong and huge.” She then requested her FB boyfriend to send the picture of his organ, for her to ascertain if she would fly in and have a feel of his manhood. The boy quickly took a few shots with his smartphone. So, his natural endowment became his Unique Selling Point (USP). So, academic performance, character, family background and dreams no longer entice boys and girls?
In the same manner, another set of characters who also met on the Facebook exchanged pictures of their private parts. They chatted far into the night and got aroused. The boy suggested they could actually get closer by sending videos of their sexual positions; and they did. Boy took a picture of his fully erect phallus and forwarded to the FB girlfriend and the girl also sent her naked private part to the equally deranged boy. Some girls would send only the upper part of their body to prove how young they are, which is what the men want.
From the grapevine, one has learnt about the new toasting style among the Gs (girls). It does not only happen on campuses, streets, neighbourhoods, but in churches too. On further inquiry, it emerged that the urge and interest to ‘meet’ is fast becoming higher.
One is still shocked by the video of two undergraduates in a private university, which trended recently on Twitter, who on their own recorded their copulation in a private hospital, where the boy was admitted based on drug related matters. The question that was on the lips of people who watched the video was who recorded the video? Who released it to the public? For the fact that no one was accused or held responsible, one might not be wrong to conclude that the boy and the girl made the video. These were two students sent to a private university at very high cost to their parents. But they threw the opportunity to the dogs and descended into the pit of sexual pleasure and debasement. Now, they are stuck with stigma of the shameful sex act. People became so disgusted and wondered why the girl whose face showed fully would make herself such a cheap pornographic queen.
Now, who has taught the youths of today that prostitution, sending out naked pictures of their private parts would make a difference in their lives? How did this level of decadence becloud this generation? Who sowed this evil seed in the minds of the young people? How on earth did such evil machination penetrate so deep into the system? Who then would bell the cat?
Well, I will not crucify parents and religious leaders for this because some of them might not know what is happening even under their various roofs; but it is a wake-up call for all to look inwards.
For the youths, students and teenagers, who are engaged in all sorts of atrocities known only to them, they should just know that one cannot hide from God, even if you can conceal your acts from man; a day of reckoning would come like it did for the two undergraduates, who are living in regrets by now.
Again, men and women whose phones, laptops and other devices are filled with all manner of pornographic videos, when your children begin to watch and practice what they see, would you be glad and applaud them? A mother who was confronted by another woman on why she had porn videos on her phone said: “It is adult film; my children do not touch my phone.” Single parents who bring in the opposite sex to their homes to watch pornographic videos, thinking that the children are sleeping, they are not, all of you are watching it together, from their own hideout.
Those, who mouth vulgar abuse and mention the private parts carelessly, without minding whose ox is gored, should retrace your footsteps. There are homes where grown daughters, women and men walk about naked, dress up in the presence of their children. Please keep your private parts private.
Let’s all begin to think of quality behaviour and good character that will create a lasting impression at the end of the day. Sharing private parts on social media is pure immorality and cannot lead to a lasting impression. Let us think of things that are universally acceptable, socially desirable and economically profitable.