TAYO OGUNBIYI
Diverse writers have described myth in sundry ways. William Bascom in his article “The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives” defines myth as tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters”. Mary Magoulick sees myths as “symbolic tales of the distant past that concern cosmogony and cosmology, may be connected to belief systems or rituals, and may serve to direct social action and values”.
Myth is derived from the Greek word mythos, which means story or word. For many people, myths remain value-laden discourse that explains much about human nature. In most cases, however, myth is always a far-cry from reality.
For instance, both myths and science put forward explanations to justify the existence of the universe. A major differentiation, nonetheless, is that explanations concerning the universe as offered in myths are not empirical, whereas that of science could be analyzed and subjected to continual empirical assessment.
In Nigeria, a myth has for long been woven around the so called ‘ember’ months, which refers to the last four months of the year from September to December, as naturally tragic periods. This belief has become so entrenched in the consciousness of the people that various religious groups and other institutions regularly organise special prayer sessions with a view to warding-off perceived ‘dangers’ associated with the months. So, it not unusual to see faithful of the various religions engage in fervent spiritual warfare in a bid to dislodge blood sucking devils that are allegedly on the prowl during these months.
The reality, however, is that the so called ‘embers’ months are not really spiritually jinxed as many would want to swear they are. Tragedy occurs in the ‘ember’ months just as it happens in other months of the year. Ascribing needless spiritual and mythical undertones to tragic happenings during the ‘ember’ months could just be the usual Nigerian way of trivializing issues. Rather than clothing the ‘ember’ months in a garb of gratuitous mystery, the pragmatic way of explaining dreadful events during these months is more human than mythological.
The truth is that there is usually an increase in the tempo of public, private and corporate activities during this period. Religious bodies are equally not left out the frenzy of the season as they organize various events during the period. The ‘ember’ months are always the busiest on our roads for obvious reasons and the tumultuous air of festivity do not really help matter. It is a period when people are in so much haste to make all the money they have not made since the beginning of the year. Hence, commercial drivers, who usually embark on five trips per day, capitalize on the aura of festivity to go for ten trips.
This, naturally, comes with its fatal consequences. It is only logical that when there is a mass exodus of people from one place to the other, there is bound to be a measure of uncertainty and disorder.
The bottom line, therefore, is that tragic occurrences are bound to happen during the ‘ember’ season because of the intensity of human activities. In a bid to be part of the various end-of-year activities slated for the period, a lot of people throw caution into the wind by disregarding critical safety issues. Vehicles are driven in irresponsible manner. Alcoholic drinks are consumed with reckless abandon while social outings are organised as if tomorrow will not come. The atmosphere, during the season, is often filled with unusual allure and jollity. It is in the midst of this hilarity that avoidable human blunders that result into diverse kinds of misfortunes usually occur.
Hence, it is imperative for everyone to, first and foremost, have a changed perception of the ‘ember’ months. In doing this, conscious efforts must be made to disrobe the months of every garb of unjustified mysticism. It is only when we are convinced that the dangers associated with the ‘ember’ months are human rather than spiritual or mythical that we could really make appreciable progress in our efforts to systematically tackle all issues that are involved. In this respect, enforcement of existing laws and attitudinal change must be central to making any progress.
The truth of the matter is that law enforcement agents, who ought to ensure that sanity prevail on our roads and other places during this period, are themselves involved in the mad ‘ember’ months rat- race. Therefore, in a bid to make some ‘extra’ cash to furnish the special festive ‘necessities’ of the period, they often engage in treacherous compromise that encourage law breakers to go un-punish. The result, of course, is the continuation of an avoidable circle of pandemonium and sorrow.
Therefore, as we march towards the end of the year, we must all modify our views on the ‘ember’ months by making sure that we do not get involved in any pointless extra-ordinary end of the year ‘rush’ that could endanger our lives and , indeed, those of others. Those who have to organise social events to correspond with this period should do so bearing all safety precautions in mind. Commercial drivers and other road users must respect the sanctity of the human life by observing required road safety measures.
Perhaps, more importantly, relevant government agencies must step up enlightenment campaigns as well as enforcement strategies to guarantee that ‘ember’ months’ crashes and other related tragedies are reduced to the barest minimum. In this respect, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, should be commended for their various ‘ember’ month’s safety strategies, in Lagos and adjoining States. However, there is a need for them to intensify efforts in this direction while more appropriate government agencies should also come on board the ‘ember’ months’ re-orientation and re-awareness project. Presently, the Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy is embarking on an ‘ember’ months’ responsiveness campaign across the State. The objective is to change the attitude of the people towards these months and offer key safety tips.
As it has been previously affirmed, it is critical to re- affirm that tragic happenings during ‘ember’ months are promoted by reckless human actions. Adducing spiritual connotations, to such incidence might not really help matters. All we need to do is to be modest in all that we do during this season. It is only by doing this at we could avoid the dangers and hiccups that are generally associated to them. If only we could rid ourselves of what is wrong with us, we would discover that nothing is actually wrong with the ‘ember’ months.
Ogunbiyi writes from Alausa, Ikeja
