Play Ololiyo {Video}
For us in the Covid-19 era, the moral (or certainly one moral) of
the visual story in Ololiyo[1]
( sung by Cameroonians Abz Ngitolang and Daphne Njie) is, on at least one
level, that there’s no lockdown, no curfew, airtight enough to restrain restive
passions riding on raging and hard-to-understand, hard to control, hormones – or
interests. Nor are there fail-safe measures or walls or guard-rails to keep
everyone, including those entrusted with public (or private) safety, safe. One of
the most awkward and blind-folding ‘prescriptions’ of our time, heard around
the world only (or largely) since March 2020 is “self-quarantine”[2].
Incidentally, Ololiyo was released only on April 8th, 2020. Was that
prescient or what!
Rendered in both English and French, and a sprinkling of
Cameroonian phrases and verve, the Ololiyo
soundtrack has a really lively and ‘hostage’-taking proposition and momentum – a la the
Stockholm Syndrome. Along the way, we’re all bamboozled by the subtle wirtschaft of song and dance by means of
which our minds are turned – sort of full circle. We’re made to forget, without
knowing it, where we’ve been, why we’re here, and where we’re supposed to be
headed.
At face-value, the visible component
of Ololiyo is in part about parental zealous
and in the end futile endeavors to keep their beloved teenage-daughter safe
from obvious dangers lurking in her (in her family’s) social and private spaces…[More]
[1] The
HotJem (2020) “What
you need to know about ‘Ololiyo’ by Daphne Njie and Abz”
[2]
Perhaps the proponents of self-quarantine should, for a start, read something
about self-control.
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