Scarlet Cord

 I love the City of Port Harcourt, Rivers State because there seems to be something in it for everyone.  If you are a stickler for street drama then I’m glad to announce to you that we’ve got Rumuola, a place where lunatics expertly holler at passengers to board cabs. Old GRA is there for you boring folk who love solitude and often find the library too noisy. Then we’ve got Mgbuoba, a place that offers you free swimming lessons through its flooded streets. Please pay a visit to Diobu if street fighting is your thing, but it will really help if you first attend classes on ‘bullet dodging 101’ before embarking on that trip.

Sometime this week, I was around Rumuokoro, another action ground, when I heard a loud cry, ‘Ewooooo!!!’  It was coming behind the Emmanuel Anglican Church where taxi drivers park their vehicles and laze about bickering over whose turn it is to ‘load’. It was a male voice so I didn’t pay much attention but the voice cried out again, this time even bolder and clearer,

 ‘Chooooooi!!!’ before I could say Jack! numerous voices rent the air, yelping like they were in danger;

‘Wetin be dis?! Shuuoooo! Heeeey! Na waoooo! Chisource christooo!’

It was a cacophony. I stopped to know who was provoking our dear taxi drivers and after scanning through the crowd, I saw it!!! It wasn’t their arch enemy, their friend the police and it wasn’t TIMA-RIV either, it was scarlet cord!  I didn’t even know when I screamed,

‘No fashion weaponed against me shall prosper in Jesus name!’

Soon, the taxis drivers and the Agberos began to boo and jeer. They formed a ring around scarlet cord and unleashed abuses at it, accompanying verbal insult with countless ‘waka’ and tongue outs.

Scarlet cord was a very  flimsy red dress worn by a certain girl, let’s call her Lou. Lou was light complexioned, very pretty and very voluptuous. She wore a red gown but to be honest it was so skimpy and insubstantial that her flawless thighs were all out on display; it was as though all she had on was just a cord; meanwhile up north, her brassiere straps ruled a straight line of seduction from her back over her shoulders and made a sharp descent into her breasts.

It was all out there for the viewing pleasure of every passer-by and I did steal a glance to be honest (well, I had to, so that I can tell you this story. LOOL). She couldn’t escape the boos and jeers of the taxi drivers, the litany of abuses by older women and ogles from the young men. The taxi drivers and Agberos had tripled, and they cursed and swore generously; they abused her parents for producing such a girl, and even prevented Lou from boarding a taxi. Lou was extremely mortified, but somehow, managed to jump into a cab heading towards Rumuokwuta; the angry men were undeterred and ran after the vehicle hitting the boot as it sped away.

Two thoughts ran through my mind as I watched the drama. First was, ‘Good for you Lou! Next time, dress decently.’ The secondly was, ‘But really, why are they harassing her?’ She may have been wrong but harassing her in that manner infringes on her rights to do as she likes provided she doesn’t put anyone in harm’s way. I think that people who smoke in public probably do more damage.

The reality today is that seductive dressing is the in-thing and having conquered the campuses, it has found its way into places of worship; no thanks to the liberal doctrines of our men of the cloth. Music videos don’t sell without some ‘ass shaking’, and ‘booby show’.  This is a monitor of the extent to which our minds have been depraved and our tastes corrupted. But truth be told, indecent dressing is still unacceptable in this part of the world and should be discouraged.  A friend told me that our bodies comprise of the public and the private thus, don’t bring what is supposed to be private into the public.

In the dirty game of indecent dressing, the actor and the spectators are guilty. Supply will always be high when there is an increase in demand. So while we blame the players, let us understand also that the inordinate desires and requests from the spectators spur the babes to do more; otherwise,  why should  Wande Coal, Wizkid or D’banj  dress in boots, jeans, T shirt, jacket, face cap and watch a lady in her underwear  wriggle her waist in his music video?

#GOD IS WATCHING US#

John Offiong [SAVVY]