By Valentine Obienyem
Permit me, quite deliberately, to stir the waters of controversy by articulating what I sincerely consider a conviction, albeit one that may not sit well with many. If I were in a position of authority, I would, without hesitation, instruct the police to forcibly shave off those appallingly senseless hairstyles that have become the unfortunate signature of a growing number of misinformed and impressionable youths – either walking on the road or seen inside vehicles. We need to cultivate that cocoyam madly!
This is not merely about freedom of expression; it is a mournful commentary on a generation that increasingly confuses filth with authenticity, vulgarity with fashion, and chaos with creativity. What parades as self-expression often masks a profound loss of self-understanding. These hairstyles, frequently unkempt, bizarre, and provocatively nonconformist, are not simply aesthetic choices. They are, in many cases, outward symptoms of a deeper malaise: a cultural unmooring, a search for meaning in the rubble of discarded values. We are not just observing a change in trends; we are witnessing the gradual replacement of dignity with spectacle, the enthronement of the absurd as the new standard of significance. When rebellion becomes indistinguishable from disorder, and when the grotesque is mistaken for the expressive, the soul of a culture begins to fade.
Yes, I know the probable responses: “It’s just hair.” “Allow people to express themselves.” “This is the 21st century.” “Even this or that billionaire wears dreads.” “Many of them are the youths supporting your boss – why do you want to alienate them?” “When you were younger, were you forced to conform to a particular fashion trend?” “Why are you ignoring more pressing national issues just to rant about hairstyles?” “Why not tell women to stop wearing trousers too, if you must control appearance?” “Isn’t this a distraction from the real problems: poverty, insecurity, unemployment?” “Why do you care what people look like, as long as they’re not hurting anyone?” “Isn’t this an attempt to police bodies under the guise of moral concern?” “Aren’t there more important things for leaders and thinkers to focus on?” “Isn’t taste subjective, what gives you the right to decide what is proper or improper?” “Shouldn’t we allow young people to discover themselves, even if through appearance?” “And who defines what is decent anymore, in a world where cultures constantly evolve?” “Val, leave people to wear hairstyles that appeal to them, after all, the hood does not make the monk.
Yet anyone who understands the sociology of appearance knows that nothing is “just” anything. Our outward choices, especially those paraded in public, carry meaning, project values, and ultimately shape societal norms. Fashion is often less about individualism than about imitation, rebellion without direction, or a desperate attempt to matter. It is sometimes the confused cry of those seeking identity, even if by exaggeration. And when that exaggeration becomes the norm, society slowly loses the ability to distinguish between the noble and the ridiculous. This is where we are now!
So yes, let me invite criticism. Let the conversation begin.