‘A hood does not make a monk’ was my late father’s favourite quote, which I heard him say to us as we grew up in his loving care and guidance.
This phrase was a very hard nut to crack as an idiomatic expression for starters. I remember vividly, after heavy moral instructions were handed down to us in the morning hours, this expression must surely be part of the concluding part, which was meant to convey that we should be wary, careful, wise and smart in everyday dealing with individuals. He would get up, wear some of his big, thick and long fur winter jackets, put his two hands into the side pockets, mimicking the monks in their hood in his bedroom just to drive his point home, for us to understand. What was he trying to explain? That someone is dressed as a monk does not mean he cannot be harmful or mischievous. The expression about monks also relates in some sense to another idiomatic expression, which says that everything that glitters is not gold. In essence, things are not always what they appear to be. Both expressions point to the fact that in everyday life dealings there is a bit of deception, untrustworthiness and some inappropriateness. In other words, the outward appearance is not the same as the inner mind. Little wonder the bible says, ‘the heart of man is desperately wicked; who can know it?’
Now, what is a hood and who is a supposed monk that wears the hood? The dictionary defines a hood as a big covering for the head and neck with an opening for the face, typically forming part of the coat or cloak while a monk is a member of a religious community of men typically living under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience; a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with others is also a monk.
What then is this story of the hood and the monk supposed to reveal and teach? Quickly recall the recent murder of 22-year-old Oluwabamishe Ayanwole, who met her untimely death in a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus she boarded in Ajah towards Oshodi, She was found dead around Ebute-Ero area of Lagos State. Now, the BRT bus in this scenario became the hood while the driver whose name was given as Andrew Nice pretended to be a monk, and thereby caused her family grief.
On that route, there were other commuter buses that could have conveyed her to her destination, but late Bamishe felt the hood (BRT bus) was her best option being a state government-owned and managed establishment. She believed that her safety, protection and comfort would be better guaranteed in the BRT bus. But because of Andrew, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a fake monk with a BRT hood, Bamishe Ayanwole’s life ended untimely.
Sadly, all around us are instances that show that the hood does not make the monk. There are instances of the hood and monk analogy being responsible for the degradation of the family system. Take the case of some mothers today who are passing wrong ideas and motives unto their children. Such mothers need comprehensive retraining themselves before they can train others. You have women who are mothers in outward appearance, but what is in them do not qualify them to be mothers in the strict sense of the word because most of them are devaluing the norms and system, and cannot pass on unto their children the right attitude and values.
For such women, the title ‘mother’ is the hood while the character she presents is the monk. How can most so-called celebrities and their daughters push out their breasts, wear very high slits and thereby provide free viewing which Ajegunle boys call oshofree? Is that all the entertainment industry needs to thrive? What morals are these women teaching the younger generation? There are cries of decadence among the youths, yet most parents and guardians are not doing the needful. Fake life is gradually ruling the world and the decadence continues to deepen and worsen. If in their private homes, they choose to go naked, all well and good, but even though it is still not encouraging.
How many of today’s mothers have tried to encourage their daughters to dress like Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is the biggest masquerade in achievement, accomplishment, academics, marriage and above all her simple well-tailored decent cover-up African dressing? Will the heavens fall if we all do things correctly? In a viral video, another celebrity showed the whole world her naked buttocks. What for?
There are runs-girls who are not students (fell out of faculties) but live on various campuses, dropping the names of VC and lecturers. They should know that the game is up. The hood (living in private hostels close the university) does not make you a student (monk). The real thing is to register for JAMB UTME, pass the exam, get admission, to become an undergraduate of the university.
The story of Prof Enobong Ikpeme is instructive here. She told me that while growing up, her mother never allowed her to be part of any bridal train. Why? She said her mother encouraged her to read her books, stating that academic excellence would announce her, not being a beautiful girl in a bridal train. Today, how many mothers would stop their daughters from participating at wedding ceremonies? Instead, the mother would rather be the ones to make sexy, revealing outfits, invite makeup specialists to give their daughters “The Look” for their big day on the bridal train.
In our year one at University of Lagos, we had a roommate, Cordelia Ugo, a prelim medicine student, who left us in Akoka after the 100 Level, and relocated to College of Medicine in Idi-Araba, Lagos. She later graduated as a dentist, after obtaining the Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree. Much later she lost her certificates because of a midnight fire. But she was not deterred by the disaster. So, in the intervening years, whenever she applied for jobs, she would refer her employers to her department for certification and verification. In fact, her present job in the United States was almost without a certificate from Nigeria, but the excellent result she got in the American medical board certification examination stood her out. Delia as we preferred to call her would always say, “Certificate is good but it does not define me. Take me through the medical field I would prove that I was trained in my profession, with or without a certificate.” That tells you that a hood does not make a monk.
Herbal and alternative medicine practitioners as well as patent medicine dealers in various towns and villages should stop imagining themselves as ‘doctors’ and ‘pharmacists.’ Even some religious leaders are also guilty of the hood-and-monk deception. Recently, Nigerians heard the news that an ordained Catholic priest, Rev. Father James Anelu, who wears the hood and cassock of an ordained priest, to look like a monk, banned Igbo songs and choruses at The Holy Trinity Church, Enu-Owa, Gberigbe in Ikorodu. His heart was far from what he represented going by his outburst.
In the same manner, some deceptive pastors and Muslim clerics talk and walk so religiously, but when you hear the story of their atrocities, you will shudder. They sleep with the female members, embezzle funds and destroy other families. One is left to wonder if they are true replicas of what they claim to be. The pastors are quick to include Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) as a title to their names. If only they knew the amount of hard work PhD holders go through before they are awarded such degrees, they would respect it in all honesty.
Several men and women have been apprehended and paraded for claiming who they were not especially among the uniformed personnel. Roadside tailors who bear the name fashion designers as if it is by the name.
Dear Nigerians, wear the good clothes of good temperament, justice, courage and wisdom. Try not to exchange them for others because a hood does not make a monk.