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ITEM 7 (REFRESHMENTS)... HOW COME?
Chukwudi Anagbogu

From time immemorial, the use of 'item 7'  to refer to Refreshments has permeated nearly every individual in our society. Our parents grew up with it, and we are not left out, so are our children. This particular item is one every one looks forward to in every occasion, whether religious, academic or social. A lot of people intentionally attend feasts late, with the hope of skipping the first six items. They just want to breeze in just at the right time, when the 'sharimg'  is on. It is no longer a new spectacle where people, even supposed gentlemen and ladies scramble for food and drinks during occasions. We shall talk about that subsequently. But, while we devour our ' item sevens', have we ever taken time to imagine the mastery behind it?  Have you not noticed that with or without being the seventh item on the programme list, we still scream  "item 7", whenever we feel it was time for refreshments. Noticeably refreshments do not always fall on the seventh item. Sometimes it comes before or after.

There is no record of a definite date, reason, incident or occasion that gave rise to this, but it is understood to be centuries old (I stand to be corrected on this). Some are of the opinion that the use of item 7 to mean refreshments actually demonstrates the significance of the seventh day among Christians (the day God rested after creation). According to them, the seventh day is supposed to be a day for dinning and winning, and complete rest from work. Hmmm, what a theory. Thus, people are won't to place refreshments as the seventh item in any occasion, while exhausting the first six on the core issues surrounding such occasion, typical of the creation story. Trust Africans, we ascribe religion to virtually everything that happens to us.

It could equally be that in a bid to sustain the presence and attention of guests, refreshments is deliberately made a distant seventh item. Imagine a scenario when refreshments is made the second or third item. People would just eat and take their leave! But it is important to note that people don't even go through the programme schedule, so it is unlikely that they simply wait it out to the seventh item. What if the programme list exhausts at item five, or there is no specified item for refreshments? The fact remains that it has become a norm for guests to become agitated if after a certain period of time, there is no sign of bottles and plates. Funny enough, no host has been able to adequately satisfy all his guests.  There must be complaints. Some would drink ten bottles of beer while some would not even see one to drink!

Let's have your own opinion on the origin of  "item 7"