there are those who can sing tears out of your eyes. there are those that can make you laugh or make you angry just by watching or listening to them, yet, in their heart of hearts, they don’t feel the slightest inclination towards the emotions they make you feel. the reason is quite simple: they’ve been blessed with a gift of doing so either by constant practice or by an in-born ability to do so.
one time in uni, we were made to read Jude the Obscure, a novel with over seven hundred pages. I read it and in the long run, I enjoyed it. There was one time when Jude was having a religious crisis and there was this particular hymn which used to move him. you know how there’s this particular song that helps you through the shitstorm. that’s how it was for Jude. so, Jude thought that it’d be a great idea to track down the composer of the hymn and have a chat with him, maybe the man could give him more insight on what to do.
so, Jude set out to the other half of the state or country. I can’t remember. this was a time before motor vehicle which meant that it took him some time to find the man. oh, did I mention that Jude was broke. he was working odd jobs to survive. when he finally got to the man. guess what the man was doing. he was at a pub, drowning himself. Jude was a nice guy, he didn’t discriminate and say, charlatan! fake pastor or anything. at least, he respected that the man had a right to be drinking. no judgements.
so, Jude went up to this guy and told him about his problem and the man told him to bugger off. but before he did, he told him that the art often belies the artist. some people are just really good at their craft but don’t subscribe to any of what they create.
just few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with my neighbour who was playing R. Kelly’s songs and then said, “after all these gospel songs, he still dey do rubbish.” Today, many Nigerian pastors and leaders ask that you do what they know they will never do. on twitter and Instagram, people hotly condemn others for actions that they continually perform but because it isn’t in the eye of the public, they hide behind the guise of anonymity in a cancel culture.
all I’m trying to say, folks, is that before you go comparing yourself with any Tom, who may be a dick to Harry, you should take to mind what Damian Marley says, “look are deceiving, don’t you underrate yourself.”
until next time, this is Cruise Control and I am Oloye Emeka saying life na cruise, catch am.
PS. My free chapbook is still available. See the pinned tweet to download yours
Cruise Control 