12 Wraps of Eba

 

I was thinking this morning.... I walked into our restaurant for lunch recently and joined the short queue. It usually would take 3 to 5 minutes to get served, but this day it was taking longer. What's going on, I wondered as I looked at my wristwatch. I broke out of the queue and walked forward to see who was holding everyone back. What I saw shocked me. The first person in line, a lady, was virtually being served every single food item on display. I looked at her tray, looked at her, and whispered, “Jesu.” As I quietly walked back to my position on the queue, I remembered my days in Uniben.

It was my second year in the university. I was residing at Hall 2 boys’ hostel at the time, and the bukateria was not too far from the hostel. It was a hot but quiet afternoon when I walked across to have lunch. I ordered my regular two wraps of eba with a mixture of okro and egusi soups. I was yet to settle down to eat when I heard there was a competition in the next bukateria between two students on who could eat the most wraps of eba. I finished my meal and went back to my room. Less than an hour later, I stepped out to see groups of people discussing how the winner had consumed an astonishing 12 wraps of eba. He won the competition but almost lost his life because he had to be rushed to the teaching hospital for his system to be flushed. He was dying from overfeeding.

That experience, along with age, has taught me about the danger of over-indulgence. I remember again the inaugural lecture topic of a professor during my days in Uniben: “They are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing.” Sadly, we have too many sick people at both ends of the spectrum in Nigeria. Too many are starving, while those who have abundance are harming themselves through excess. As we say, rat wey die on top bag of rice no be hunger kill am, na overfeeding or overexcitement.

In all things, balance is key. Life is not sustained by excess but by moderation, wisdom, and gratitude. Whether in food, wealth, or opportunities, knowing when “enough is enough” is a discipline that preserves both health and purpose. May we learn to appreciate provision without abusing it, and to extend compassion to those who lack what we take for granted. “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” Prov 23:20–21

Stay hopeful. God's got our back.

Happy New Month!

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey