NIMELSSA SCOPE

Sam walked into the room after a very tedious day in class.  Hey! Sam, how was your day? Mark asked. It was very long and exhausting, but we thank God still, I said offing my shirt.  I have not being online lately, what has being happening on the WhatsApp group chat? I enquired. Nothing much, just a saddening class schedule Mark said. What about it? Sam replied. Well, it just Mr Bassey's class tomorrow. Oh! You should have been used to that by now, at least it’s by 8am tomorrow, we have ample time to get set for the class I said relaxing on my plastic chair.

It is no longer news that the new normal---quarantine, social distancing and health hypervigilance as a result of the trending corona virus pandemic has changed a lot of things about our lifestyle. The change in lifestyle began during the first week of the pandemic here in Nigeria, before we knew how bad the pandemic would get, when we were given a set of rules to follow:

SOURCE How do we tell her to stay away from harm's way, to not walk the streets at night, to not dress or act provocatively, to avoid clubs and night parties, to keep a distance from strangers and boys, to keep no boyfriend till marriage, to stay focussed on her study, to abide by the gospel or the prophet, and to keep the family's honour? How do we tell her this if, despite all her efforts at doing so, she - our sisters, daughters, mothers, grandmas, nieces, aunties, female friends and associates - still get raped? What do we tell dear Duduke when she’s ten and wonders why Uwa, a 22-year-old decent and respectable lady, got raped in the Church where she was supposed to feel safe?

  SOURCE A girl child, a boy child A white man, a black man Whatever the gender Whatever the colour We all need to remember that we're all humans to begin with We're all humans Formed the same way, created the same way So why would you do unto another what you can't imagine being done to you? You kill but you don't what to be killed! You defile someone else but you don't want it be done to you! You frame but don't want to be framed! What do we call this? Hypocrisy or just pure wickedness?