Most of us have come across the trending skeleton news. We can now recognise the house as the picture has made an impression on many minds. It will be difficult to ever get anyone to rent that house if the current occupants were to move out.
Anyway, some men are now saying fear women after Satan, really? Most people have skeletons in the closets. A skeleton in the closet is an idiom used to describe an undisclosed fact which if revealed, is embarrassing and can tarnish one’s image so it is kept secret.
To the family members who choose to sweep the dirt under the carpet when the breadwinner who is a CEO defiles his own niece and because they fear loss of income in the family if the matter is reported to the Police, isn’t that a skeleton that all who are aware and choose to remain silent are keeping?
To that husband, who hides and keeps his ARV’s in his laptop bag and only takes them in the carpark at his work place so his wife never finds out, isn’t that a skeleton in his marriage?
To that woman, who enters a marriage with three kids but chooses to lie to the husband that she only has two so that it’s easier for the man’s family to accept her because she thinks they will say she has less baggage, is that secret of saying her child is a niece instead of a biological child, a skeleton in her closet?
To that supervisor at work, who refuses to respond as a referee every time a potential employer gets in touch all because she doesn’t want to see others rise or always gives bad feedback which is not truthful, isn’t that having a skeleton?
To that worship praise leader, who promises marriage to many young congregants in his church and sleeps with them, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that papa, that washes his face in charms before standing before a congregation to perform miracles, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that elderly woman who is jealous of her sister’s children having all gone to university and chooses to visit a medicine person to block those nieces and nephews from getting jobs because non of her biological children made it to university, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that woman that envies her friend’s marriage to a point of getting charms to throw at her friend’s house because her friend has a rich husband and wants to end her marriage, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that manager, who won’t acknowledge the subordinate’s hardworking input and continuously ignores a hard-working person because of the tribe, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who are keeping dependants who go to bed on empty stomachs but your own children eat as much as they want, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those in the habit of only giving second hand clothes to dependants while your own wear brand new clothes, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that man, who is well aware of the many STI’s he had in his campus days but makes someone’s daughter to drink all sorts of concoctions thinking she’s barren when the man clearly knows he is the problem, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that lady who won’t come clean on her numerous abortions but now accuses her elderly relatives of casting a spell on her womb, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who tithe and give huge offerings to churches whilst the parents in the villages or rural areas are suffering and don’t think of assisting orphaned nieces and nephews, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who buy cars for their bishops or spiritual leaders but your own parents are a bother if they ask for farming inputs, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that person who is constantly borrowing when he/she has a good job that can sustain a livelihood but is constantly broke and in debt due to gambling addiction which no one else knows, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who advertise positions and call for interviews when selections were already done and give false hope or make others to stop applying for jobs, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who agree to boost their business by bathing in charms and chants, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that man, who sexually starves his wife because he is getting it from somewhere else and uses work pressure as an excuse, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who exchange grades for coins or sexual favours, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that man, with a secret second family and children somewhere, isn’t that a skeleton?
To ‘abaku chaume,’ the man’s side, who always know there is another woman with kids but choose to keep the secret from the first wife, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those who only give promotions to ladies who agree to meet them in some lodge somewhere, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that headteacher, who chooses to put his children on the list of pupils to receive aid which is meant for the vulnerable pupils such that his children receive free uniforms and food meant for the vulnerable, isn’t that a skeleton?
To the social workers who are tasked to recommend citizens for social cash transfers but put their relatives instead, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that friend who stabs you in the back by pretending to console you when your application for promotion or transfer doesn’t pull through, when that friend went behind your back and blocked it, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those medical personnel who steal medical supplies and take to their business, isn’t that a skeleton?
To that nachimbusa who ends up grabbing someone’s husband after seeing the financial potentiality of the man, isn’t that a skeleton?
To those in government, who only award and give appointments to their family tree or only consider those from the royal families, isn’t that a skeleton?
This is a reminder and call for introspection. Let’s ask ourselves what our skeletons are as we impatiently await to hear the final statement on the Garden Skeleton story when the matter is resolved.
Seek help when in need, visit a counsellor near you!
About the author
Aka Monde, is a licensed Professional Counsellor who holds a Master of Science in Counselling from the University of Zambia. She believes in the adage “a problem shared, is a problem half solved.” Speak to your pastor, church elder, elderly family member or see a professional counsellor when in need.
Email: [email protected]
