Age Is Important To Us As Africans In Every Sphere

Greetings!!!

On my way home from work sometime last month, a beautiful lady who looked like she was in her late twenties boarded the cab I was traveling in. She was on a call as she joined in and sat next to me with the driver in the front of the car. Her conversation with whomever she was speaking with from the other end of the phone was a painful one. What drew my attention was that she had been in a relationship with a guy for close to three years and now that he took her home for introduction, his parents refused them to get married all because she is older than the guy.

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Femi, I don't know how I am going to face my mother now. From the time that we started this relationship, we believed it would work. Our differences have been sorted out and we know it's something that we can build.

The lady said with tears gathering under her eyelids. There was no doubt that she had been hurt.

This matter of age is a sacrosanct matter that we must solve, once and for all. People have different perspectives on this issue. As Africans, we should know that certain aspects of our lives are dictated by our culture and norms and age is one sure part of it all.

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If we put this discourse only in the region of relationship, then our debate may be one sided. Therefore, I will say that age is an important factor to be considered when determining individual capabilities and roles in the society and home.

Why Is Age Important?

There are several reasons why age is important. The under-explained are some of the importance of age.

•Cultural Norms: Just like it is important to apply age as to whom is expected to work and earn a living and anything short of that could be termed child labour, so age is important in relationship. When considering going into a relationship, one must know that the age bracket must not be too wide. This is my perspective, knowing that one person will be getting older quickly before the other. I would prefer that the age bracket isn't as wide as ten years between couples.

•Wellness: When we reach a certain age, our health becomes a strong issue. To avoid a turbulent relationship characterized by health challenges we must consider age.

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So, as an African man, one must ensure to apply age as we enter into relationships. Our age grade system is typically to tell us the relevance of age to mankind.

Age can't be bought in the market. We believe that age is wisdom and must be respected. Our cultural system has taught us that age must be considered in decision making processes within the society. Hence, age is not just a bunch of numbers.

People may opin that some folks who are older do behave below expectations. As much as that is true, age does not mean development, wisdom or knowledge. Truth is that age is not to be toyed with.