For peace and unity

FELLOW Nigerians, there comes a time in a person’s life when he has to reflect internally and evaluate his age and try to approximate how many years are left, given the fact that death is inevitable, and as the unexpected does happen frequently in our clime. It is therefore time to take stock of the gains of yesterday and not the pains of yesterday. We should put our eyes on the path ahead which is more glorious, brighter and better than the ugly past. Nigeria as a nation is facing its own fair or unfair share of global challenges that are overwhelming even greater nations of the world. But if we can stand together as a nation and fight together, we shall overcome the storms, because greater is he that is with us than he that is with our enemies. Unity is where our strength lies. Division of any form is not the solution to our problem as some tribes and regions believe.

We are all students of history. There were people who fought to keep this country one and in peace, ipeople like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello and others. We must therefore pass this inherited peace to generations yet unborn. We all have a stake in this nation. It is not about a group of people, it is not about any religion, it is not about an individual, it is not about positions;  it is all about our dear nation, Nigeria. “I pledge to serve Nigeria with all my strength, so help me God,” so goes a line of our National Anthem. But when we victimize a fellow Nigerian because of his religion, political belief, tongue and/or tribe, then we have not shown respect for the genuine emancipation our forefathers fought for. Rather than immortalize them in our actions, we victimize them in our inactions against those we should protect. How can we comfort those orphaned by senseless killings carried out by those who don’t have respect for the sanctity of life? No amount of compensation will fill the vacuum created in the hearts of the victims who always keep vigil, expecting the return of their love ones that will never return by virtue of the circumstances beyond their control.

All of this agony is caused by our selfishness. We pursue elusive things of life, like buying/building gigantic houses, becoming business tycoons, living affluent lives with family members, establishing businesses abroad and here in Nigeria, all of which are vanity upon vanity. All around the world, first time records are being made. There are new scientific discoveries; new architectures take the place of old ones. Yesterday’s trends/fashions become outdated as the years roll by. And when death completes the circle of vanity of life, even the most cherished possession of the dead is left behind.

The absurdities in Nigeria  are more perplexing than any mind can dream of as a work of friction. Respectability and accountability died long ago and there are no difference between statesmen and those who seek to execute us. There is neither honour nor integrity in governance in Nigeria, and the more our democratic culture regresses, the easier it gets for our leaders to empty their bowels right on our heads. What we really need in Nigeria today is attitudinal change towards our cultures and religious beliefs. The more we tolerate ourselves, the more we stay together in one entity and do things in common. We need no sentiment of power, and we should drop the habit of looking at each other as Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, etc. We were colonized together and given independence by  Lord Lugard in 1960 together. Why the sentiment? Let’s be united to move this country forward.

In Nigeria today, it seems hope is fading. There is so much anxiety about who takes over power. But our success as a nation is not about who takes over power or what happens inside the State House. It is about what happens inside our houses; that is where the society starts from. It starts with me and you. A peaceful Nigeria starts with me and you. It is our collective destiny to live beyond 2019. Nigeria shall live beyond 2019.

• Ademola, a public affairs analyst, writes in from Epe, Lagos State.