It was quite exciting as I stumbled on a knowledge conscious man, who taking the kids back from school spared a moment to stop by a small garden with varieties of lush green vegetables.
The kids aged 5 and 3, very cute and adorable continued their education as they learnt the names of vegetables. It was like catching them young. On display were Ugu (pumpkin leaves), nchia anwu (scent leaves), bitter leaf etc.
The learning was not just theoretical but practical. The man picked a piece of the bitter leaf for them to taste to know the difference. You can imagine the looks on their faces.
It was a delight to behold seeing a parent sparing some moments to take the kids through the basics, the rudiments of their existence. That is the way to roll. Excitedly too, the kids showed interest and smiled all the way as dad made the learning a fun.
You can imagine the frown and later the smiles that played on the lips of a 5 year kid when he tasted bitter leaf to know its difference from Ugu.
The experience catapulted me back to the glorious days of yester years when my late dad was teaching me how to plant fruits trees like mango, avocado pear, raffia palm fruits, etc along land boundary lines. Some of those fruit trees are still standing till today.
Looking back I recall with nostalgia but with regret and strong feeling of guilt that I have failed to transmit same knowledge to my own kids who have now become adults, full professionals. That is how we all are contributing consciously or unconsciously in not propagating Igbo culture.
That is the reason our culture is ebbing away gradually. How many young adults with families know their roots, not to talk of acquainting and socializing themselves with their environments and its peculiarities?
Today we are more preoccupied with social activities, the struggle for survival that we forget our values, the real things that will shape our future and the future of upcoming generations.
Today there is scarcity of food, fruits, and palm wine used in socio-cultural activities. The prices have sky rocketed because of scarcity. We are not making effort and when we finish what our parents and forebears have left behind what do we fall back on.
