The Nighttime of Life
I am inclined to remind us of an observation of a Sage, " In Youth, we run into problems, at Old age problems run into us."
By Taiye Olaniyi
No matter how vibrant, and exuberant at youth, powerful, wealthy, charitable, or stinkingly destructive one may be at one point in time or the other, the Night Time must dawn in one's life.
Though many have attributed eternality to human existence, from the time one is born to the time when one vamooses to perceive heaven or hell fire, human life is predicated on past, present, and future. It is annotated in Morning, Day, and Night.
Ebenezer Obey, a one-time popular Nigerian musician turned evangelist was once renowned and loved for always exhuming Yoruba arcane wisdom to depict "Man" in chapters of existence.
He once wisely observed and put human existence in a tripodal time perspective. He sang so sonorously:
" Igba meta ni Igba Eda ni aye,
igba Aaro, Igba Osan, Igba Ale,
ki Ale san wa ju Owuro lo".
While observing that typical of each day, it is timed in Morning, Day, and Night, so also the dawn, growth, and death. By the same token man is expected to seed his thoughts at dawn, nurture the days when the Sun shines daytime, and, harvest as the Night of life approaches.
These 3 points in human time as a mode of patterning a purposeful existence are not limited to man alone but nature and its bountiful laws make a recurrence of them in plant and animal kingdoms.
Marketers and manufacturers say of it as a "Product Life Cycle".
In Public Service, Night Time has tagged the " Age of Retirement from service", at 60 years for the average civil servant maybe 70 years for those in the Judiciary too. But in Nigeria's political corridor of power, no year terminates as Night Time until Devil the Liar says Time Up.
Some Nigerian politicians were born, as such, had their breast milk in politics as a result of their parent's involvement, in day time of life plunged into politics but all in it end up their end time in politics as Night Time harvest solely or majorly as "Selfishness Support Programme" against service rendezvous.
The taxonomy of the Elder Statesman is to many a password into all affluence arising from being in politics and this penchant more amorous not minding the State's Affairs going astray, alarm and haywire in times like this. Spent forces, those retired by nature from active service and at this Night Time of Life should go rest, sleep, and snore lest these days Nigeria plummets into Night Time inexistence.
Age of man and in him nature must take a toll for nature's laws are no respecter of any individual for the Sun must smite in Day time and Moon at night. Little wonder metaphysicians attribute dreams and imagination to Moon which only reigns supreme at Night.
A mint of naira note in millions surely can turn one's Day to Night Time and can turn a cubicle of discussion into a coffin of a voyage to eternity. Nigerians are groaning as the Nation burns us alive but if a few elders in their royal connections have somewhere else to run to, what of those of us apolitical purists who strongly concur with the philosophy that states, " The Present generation of Nigerians and even the upcoming ones have no other place to call their Home. Nigeria belongs to All and so we must all salvage it together."?
I am inclined to remind us of an observation of a Sage, " In Youths, we run into problems, at Old age problems run into us."
For the Nigerian Youths Son of Man admonishes, " Make hay now the Sun shines", for the snoring tired Elders, I say retire and go relax at home and go await the Night Time when in testimony COURT the angels serve as witnesses to our thoughts, words, and actions in this part of the Creator's Created, Creation.
Taiye Olaniyi, a retired Postman of the Nigeria Postal Service, lives in Lagos