Nigeria is a country where different tribes and religion discreetly and deeply love and admire each other but publicly castigate and hate each other.
Let me give you a practical example:
I traveled to my village last month and was discussing with a group of people at the market square. Behold one top retired civil servant drove pass and discussion changes. …
1st man: “This man has retired and he didn’t help any of our people to get a job”.
2nd man: “Our people can never help each other. If it Hausa and Yoruba people they will fix themselves. This is why I love Hausa people, they help themselves but our people hate themselves”
Me: if Hausa and Yoruba are so good, why then do we say that they are our problem?
3rd Man: They are not our problem. We are our problem. My daughter was giving an insurance job by a Yoruba man.
OK Kontinu.
I accompanied a friend to buy a cow he is using for burial at the market. This man is an IPOB die hard. On arrival at the market, the first Igbo man we met told us that the last price for the cow size we pointed was 250k. My friend was provoked with that price and told me that we should proceed to Hausa man’s stand.
When we met the Hausa man, he communicated by speaking Hausa language. Both of them were excited and he gave him the bigger size of the cow for 200k. My friend was excited.
He told me never to buy a cow from Igbo man because they will cheat you with price. He told me to look for Hausa man whenever I want to buy meat or fruits.
OK Kontinu.
I recalled one of my visit to Katsina to buy a goat with a friend. We needed 100 goats but managed to get only 55. They asked us to give them money so that they will help us and complete it the next day. We gave them and started to discuss.
1st man: I love Igbo because they love themselves. They teach each other business and help their brother.
2nd man: They build big houses and accommodate all their brothers. They show us love more than our people.
3rd Man: I was in Lagos as maigaurd for one Igbo man for 20yrs. Kai walahi, the man is good to me and my children.
OK. Kontinu!
As a Yorubanised Igbo man in Lagos, an average Yoruba friend will tell me how lovely the Igboss are. How industrious Igbos are. How they join in development of where they live and how they easily feel at home with Igbos.
This discreet admiration of each other across tribe is what make this country indivisible! !! Nigeria will be worst than Syria if the hate and bitterness you read online everyday is a true reflection of what you witness in reality.
Many people are not even aware that the Shettima of Arewa youth that gave igbos quit notice in Kaduna is married to an Igbo woman ??.
The minority that are suffering from ethnocentrism are negligible. Their noise cannot exceed their dry page. The field reality contrast the online vile and hatred.
My duty is to harvest good people in every part of the world. Feel free to conjugate with the evil ones if that will give you mental orgasm.
Okokobioko is your anchor man
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Okeke Godwin Iyke tweets @comradop