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SILAS ABAYOMI





SONGSOPTOK: Do you buy lottery tickets? If yes, then how frequently? What is your motivation for buying them?

SAILAS ABAYOMI: No, I don't  buy lottery,  neither do I  play lottery.


SONGSOPTOK:  Have you ever won a lottery? If yes, then can you describe what your feelings were? If not, do you feel disappointed every time you lose?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  No, but I hear people say, they won lottery games; I hear  people say, they made millions from lotteries.  I hear people say,  government tax lottery winners so much,  but I have never experienced  lottery-related success; this may be so for such a long time.


SONGSOPTOK:  Why, according to you, people buy lottery tickets, especially where the probability of winning is infinitely small? Is it lust or is it more of an adventure?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  People buy lotteries for different reasons; to some,  it may be an adventure, which may or may not turn good. For some, it may be pressure from colleagues at work to try lottery . A few others may be pushed by greed and lust. We all know what money can accomplish, sadly though, most people  live paycheck to paycheck. More so, when one sees what a colleague  or friend has accomplished  the urge to get exact or  something better is human. More often than not, people go for cheap money.  A major source of cheap money is through lottery.


SONGSOPTOK:  Do you think that buying lottery tickets is rational? If so, what is the rationality behind it?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  Behavioral scientists will give different reasons while people buy lotteries. For some it may be for the pure economic reason of demand and supply. In another clime, it may be psychological, a depressed soul may turned to lottery, drinking  ,drugs  and other social vices as escape routes to reduce  or to fight stress and depression.  To another person, it may just be for a fun. From intellectual view point, lottery players  are individuals seen as students of hedonism  school of thought, or may be tagged epicurean. Those that put pleasure ahead  of everything.


SONGSOPTOK:  Can buying lottery tickets be compared to other forms of betting and gambling? Please explain your answer.

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  Of course, yes. Gambling, betting, and lotteries, no doubt are  siblings.  The structure, purpose, and motive behind lottery are similar to gambling and betting.  In most cases, if not in all cases, gamblers, bettors, and lottery players are similar in manners and behaviors; in fact,  it could be said these three look-alike  social cum economic behaviors constitute  a sub-group or culture within a larger culture.


SONGSOPTOK:  Do you think lotteries are immoral in the sense that they tempt people to ‘waste’ money? Do you personally look at it as wastage?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  Response to this question will vary from people to people; more so, people of varied culture and social orientations. For instance, a moralist with strong religious background will see lotteries as immoral. Behaviorist or behavioral scientist may see lottery as one of residuals the neglect and  the least on social  ladder in the society  hold on to .



SONGSOPTOK:  Recent studies designate buying lottery tickets as compulsive buying. Do you agree with this view? Have you witnessed this in your own life? Would you consider it to be a form of addiction?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:   It is both ways-compulsive and intentional purchase.  No doubt, lottery is addictive just as drugs and alcohol are addictive.  It is a several-year habit some people live with  plus severe or terrible  social and medical troubles families have to cope with. Habit that has taken millions to rehabilitation centers, seeking help from counselors, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and other health professionals.


SONGSOPTOK:  All over the world the mega lotteries have become important social phenomena, surrounded by a lot of hype. What is your opinion about that?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  To the extent that big money always play a major role in lottery, it will continue to resonate and have a commanding effect on mankind.


SONGSOPTOK:  Do you watch the live draws on the television? Do you ever speculate on the number that will roll out next? How do you feel when you get it right? Have you ever guessed all the numbers and regretted not buying a ticket?

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  No, I have not watched any lottery event in recent times.


SONGSOPTOK:  What would you do if you won the Powerball or the EuroMillions tomorrow? We would like to know everything you would like to do

SAILAS ABAYOMI:  This is a probability,  which I think may not  be. So long it is conjectural,  it remains so.


SILAS OLA ABAYOMI IS  POET, HISTORIAN, AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGIST.  ABAYOMI LIVES IN UNITED STATES.
We sincerely thank you for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.
Aparajita Sen

(Editor: Songsoptok)

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