It is true that I have never been to a club before in my life. I tried going to one in Abuja some years ago, just to see what goes on there, I was informed the club opens at 2am.
So those who desire to go clubbing will first go to a lounge from about 11pm till 2am and then they will proceed to the clubs from 2am till daybreak. Chai.
I cannot rationalize it. Staying up all night, driving around with half-drunk folks in the middle of the night from the lounge to the club just to listen to music, dance, eat, drink, smoke whatever and maybe meet people that during the day will not be able to acknowledge or tell my wife where I met them.
It made no sense to me. It made a lot of sense however to the person that I wanted to follow to the lounge and the club.
To her, sleep was a waste of a good time. She said she rarely sleeps, and clubbing helps her to actively engage her mind instead of tossing and turning on the bed.
If I don’t sleep for at least five hours a day, my nose naturally blocks up. It doesn’t matter whether I didn’t sleep because I was studying, having a vigil or just lying on my bed, sleep is a must for me.
Not sleeping also makes me forget things. I remember staying up all night once and boarding a bus the next day to OAU. When I got to my destination, I alighted from the bus and got to my destination, jumped on a couch to sleep, woke up and then remembered that I had left my bag, laptop, phones, the novel I was reading, my wristwatch and so on the bus. It was not the first time. Sleep deprivation is injurious to my health
The lady I was having the discussion with, however, is the opposite. She has a “restless” nature and is prone to having pains if she slept for longer than three hours in a day.
She is a brilliant corporate lawyer; her family is prominent, and she does not rely on anyone to fund her lifestyle. She said it was the club that saved her from certain kinds of thoughts due to idleness.
She is also a very good Christian and well established in a good church. So, on Fridays she will post reels on Instagram from a club and on Sunday she will post reels on Instagram from her church.
My Ibadan raised Christian mindset couldn’t comprehend it. Those who go clubbing were supposed to be children of perdition and criminals.
My mum used to call them “Night Crawlers” when I was young, and I cringe at the thought of a believer being a night crawler.
“How then do you spend your weekday nights when the clubs are not opened?”
I asked her. And she replied “I read, I pray, I call my stepsisters in America, and we catch up, I work, and I study (she is a Ph. D student)
“Don’t you meet unruly people at the club and expose yourself to drugs and criminal elements who frequent clubs?” I asked again
She said criminal elements frequent churches too and so do drug dealers and drug users.
“Hypocrisy is why you are determined to label me as evil.
We all can’t be the same, I don’t judge you as weak or less of a man for sleeping because it is good for your health, why are you determined to judge me for not sleeping when it keeps me sane.
I broke up with my fiancé who I met in a club when he told me being engaged to him means I must stop clubbing. He even said I should dance in my room at home if that is why I club.”
“Are you not afraid that you will attract the wrong kind of men at the club” I asked again
“Brother Gbenga, I don’t go to the club to attract men, I have already told you why I go. However, to answer your question, men who go to club are not worse than the ones in church and ladies who club are not worse than those in church, you must take off the judgmental lens and see me without bias.” She replied.
I said, “what about young believers who you are supposed to be an example to, Apostle Paul said we should not do some things not because they are bad in themselves but out of consideration to another Christian.”
She said, “Do you think me being like you and not myself will please Jesus?”
-GSW-