Answer: Your embarrassment is hidden and your shame is not revealed.
That’s how my neighbour began a new discussion with me last week when we were again reminded to wear a mask everywhere we go. On the back of news that Covid-19 was on the march again. Covid-19 on the march again. On the march again. Looking for the careless, on the march again, Covid-1-9 is not to blame o. My neighbour had quickly converted that famous campaign tune by Chief M.K.O Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 1993 Presidential elections in Nigeria, and changed the lines to reflect the new Covid-19-coloured realities.
He wondered why some people are indifferent to wearing face masks. If only those passengers sitting near them take a quick photo of their opened mouths as they sleep inside those Danfo buses waiting for the snail-moving traffic to ease up. Without their masks, they presented a sorry sight. Their wives and children would be embarrassed to see those ugly shots. But imagine that they wore their masks, who would see the crying shame and embarrassment while they sleep and their mouths open?