General
Source: Vanguard
"Oh my God, what sort of temptation is this, please young lady, cover your buttocks. You are making me feel uncomfortable, exposing it." "Oga what is your business with my 'backside'; wetin your eye find go there, abeg no just disturb me again, unless both of us go put leg for the same trouser inside this bus."
Funny enough, this exchange took place weekend inside a commercial bus which I boarded recently to Agege, Lagos, between a man in his late 50s and a young lady, assumed to be a student of one of the nation's tertiary institutions in her mid-20s.
The mild drama started when the man unfortunately let his eyes catch a glimpse of the young lady's exposed 'bums' (buttocks), as a result of the kind of pair of trousers she was putting on, I mean the popular "Low-waist trousers."
Assuming the role of a father who would not want her children go astray, the man reprimanded the lady on the essence of not getting her body exposed. However, whether he did it in a friendly way or not, which made the young lady take offence and began to spit fire and brimstone on that fateful day, is not my major concern.
The low-waist trousers have become so popular these days amongst our female folks, especially in our tertiary institutions. Even though this wear exposes their bodies which Muslim and Christian faithfuls refer to as the temple of God, patronizers of these wears give reasons such as; it's a Jeans that fit my petite shape, it's what is in vogue; it makes me look attractive before guys and if you don't have one, it means you belong to the oldies and a host of others.
These jeans come in varying sizes and shapes, depending on the waist size and hips of the wearer.
There are those meant for the 'Orobos' (fat ladies)and others meant for the 'Lepacious' babes (skinny ladies). They wear them to lecture theatres, birthday parties, hostel parties and jams, with outright disregard for the opposite sex, whom they consciously or unconsciously lead into temptation. The most glaring of this situation is a lady with this wear on a commercial motorcycle. Precious me! As a young guy, your prayer that moment will be the verse of the Lord's Prayer which reads; "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evils..."
Be that as it may, the pertinent question remains: Have our tertiary institutions become dumping ground for outright display of nudity, rather than ivory towers for instilling morals? Could this trend be regarded as mere fashion, globalisation or aberration?
"In a typical civilized African culture, which Nigeria is a leading force, decency in dressing remains a core value handed down from one generation to another, but with the flippant display of the sensitive parts of the body by most female students, it has become a worrying departure from our cherished culture of deep respect for our bodies," posits Chukwuma Okolie, a 300L student of the University of NigeriaNsukka (UNN).
For Adanma Nweze, a fresh graduate of Anambra State University (ANSU), Uli, the current trend which seems to be the fashion for most ladies is a far-cry from the legacies of our mothers. "During the days of our mothers, were they putting on low-waist jeans, show-me-your-back, show-me-your-boobs and what have you? Weren't they looking attractive prompting our fathers to marry them? I believe that it is demonic for anyone to think that these kinds of wears will make her look attractive before men. Rather than looking attractive, it makes such a person look cheap before men."
Nweze opined that men regard ladies who expose their buttocks in public as cheap prostitutes. Recalling how her female friend was publicly embarrassed at the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State, she said: "Even though I have two or three of this wear, I have been always conscious to cover up with a long dress, especially when going out.
For one of my friends (names withheld), she was embarrassed by some traders at Onitsha Main Market recently because of the low-waist pair of trousers she was putting on which exposed her buttocks. One of the traders pounced on her from behind and threw sand into her buttocks. As this was happening, other male traders there started shouting at her and calling her ashewo (prostitute)."
In fact, I was totally embarrassed and felt pity for my friend, even though I had earlier warned her before we left home that fateful day." To the graduate of Marketing, she held that in the Eastern and Northern parts of the country, the trend is at a lower ebb as compared to the West, especially Lagos.
She ascertained that adults in the Eastern part of the country would not tolerate a younger one exposing what ought not to be exposed. "Lagos is a no man's land, so anything goes," she submitted.
On her part, Adewunmi Adeoye, a 300L student of Lagos State University, affirmed that low-waist and exposure of the buttocks is not a good way of dressing. "It does not make the adherents look responsible. Even though they think it's the latest fashion in vogue, I disconcur. I think it's outright stupidity, because what you are meant to hide, you are exposing it."
Asked if she has one, Adeoye held that she puts on the pair of trousers occasionally. "I know it is band-less, so I wear a long tops to cover up."
Even though Charles Bakare, a final year student of the University of Ibadan (UI), blamed this trend to parental upbringing, he had that these female folks knowing fully well that they possess romantic powers, use what they have to get what they want. "It may not be surprising that some of them go as far as show-casing their back-sides to male lecturers, whom they cow into awarding them undeserved marks for their courses."
Similarly, Ajala Lawrence, a Mass Communication student of Lagos State University apportioned the blame of this trend to the media. According to him, "the media through the Agenda-Setting and Cultivation theories have instilled this wrong sense of dress code to our gullible young female folks."
Surprisingly, even as these attires are worn to worship centres within and outside campuses, Akinwale Wavesglory, another student cleric admonished that religious leaders have a lot to do in preaching the right doctrines to these folks.
"Perhaps, they should read the portion of the bible Deuteronomy 22 vs. 5 where God warned against women putting on wears meant for men and vice versa. God hates people who do this, Also, Romans 6 vs. 18 also warned that we should use our bodies to glorify God Almighty, rather than exposing it to sexual immoralities," submitted Wavesglory.