UNITE TO CONQUER

UNITE TO CONQUER

I have watched and read with so much pain as we tear at each other because our tongues and religions differ. I wonder what our lots would have been if we still had colonial masters to contend with or if we were back in the America of 50-60 years ago, where a monkey had more respect than a black man. America of old, where your capacity was defined by the colour of your skin. An America, where the content of your character was a reflection of your colour. 

I am pained and angry at a generation which strives only to destroy. A generation whose greed is unending and insatiable while loathing the poor, needy and orphaned in our midst we gullibly give to the rich. A generation, which perceives difference in tongues or religions other than theirs as inferiority.  What a generation!

Yet, I do not know a race, tribe or religion whose blood is green or blue (forget the blue blood yarns). What flows within all of us is RED. 

I do not lay claim to wisdom but I am not foolish to believe the story that a Hausa man is my problem neither do I see an Ibo, Efik, Ijaw or Kataf man as my problem enemy. Ignorance is our common enemy. The greed of our elites nurtures and fans the embers of hatred amongst us.

The war on terror is not restricted to a religion, tribe or geographical zone. The senseless and wanton killing by the dreaded sect, Boko Haram or the mutinous agitation of Niger Delta militants (presently on sabbatical) are nothing but acts of terrorism.  Also, the endless looting of our commonwealth with impunity is nothing but terrorism. And so is the continuous rape of our sensibility by religious and political leaders.

If we must conquer in the battle against terrorism, then we must close ranks and stop seeing it as a Christian/Muslim war or a North/South issue and neither is it us against them. We must learn from the Indians and the Turks. Please see below extracts from “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman. (In italics).

“The largest Muslim country in the world is Indonesia and the second largest is not Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, or Pakistan. It is India. With some 150 million Muslims, India has more Muslims than Pakistan. But here is an interesting statistic from 9/11: There are no Indian Muslims that we know of in al-Qaeda and there are no Indian Muslims in America's Guantanamo Bay post-9/11 prison camp. And no Indian Muslims have been found fighting alongside the jihadists in Iraq. Why is that? Why do we not read about Indian Muslims, who are a minority in a vast Hindu-dominated land, blaming America for all their problems and wanting to fly airplanes into the Taj Mahal or the British embassy? Lord knows, Indian Muslims have their grievances about access to capital and political representation. And interreligious violence has occasionally flared up in India, with disastrous consequences. I am certain that out of 150 million Muslims in India, a few will one day find their way to al-Qaeda-if it can happen with some American Muslims, it can happen with Indian Muslims. But this is not the norm. Why?

The answer is context-and in particular the secular, free-market, democratic context of India, heavily influenced by a tradition of nonviolence and Hindu tolerance. M.J. Akbar, the Muslim editor of the Asian Age, a national Indian English-language daily primarily funded by non-Muslim Indians, put it to me this way: "I'll give you a quiz question: Which is the only large Muslim community to enjoy sustained democracy for the last fifty years? The Muslims of India. I am not going to exaggerate Muslim good fortune in India. There are tensions, economic discrimination, and provocations, like the destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya [by Hindu nationalists in 1992]. But the fact is, the Indian Constitution is secular and provides a real opportunity for economic advancement of any community that can offer talent. That's why a growing Muslim middle class here is moving up and generally doesn't manifest the strands of deep anger you find in many nondemocratic Muslim states."

Where Islam is embedded in authoritarian societies, it tends to become the vehicle of angry protest-Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan. But where Islam is embedded in a pluralistic democratic society- Turkey or India, for instance-those with a more progressive outlook have a chance to get a better hearing for their interpretation and a democratic forum where they can fight for their ideas on a more equal footing.

On November 15, 2003, the two main synagogues of Istanbul were hit by some fringe suicide bombers. I happened to be in Istanbul a few months later, when they were reopened. Several things struck me. To begin with, the chief rabbi appeared at the ceremony, hand in hand with the top Muslim cleric of Istanbul and the local mayor, while crowds in the street threw red carnations on them both. Second, the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who comes from an Islamic party, paid a visit to the chief rabbi in his office-the first time a Turkish prime minister had ever called on the chief rabbi. Lastly, the father of one of the suicide bombers told the Turkish newspaper Xaman, "We cannot understand why this child had done the thing he had done . . . First let us meet with the chief rabbi of our Jewish brothers. Let me hug him. Let me kiss his hands and flowing robe. Let me apologize in the name of my son and offer my condolences for the deaths. . . We will be damned if we do not reconcile with them."

Boko Haram and other forms of terrorism thrive because we all play the ostrich. As long as we are not affected, we are not bothered. We must condemn every act against our common humanity, be it in Gbaramatu or Sokoto, Oshogbo or Obudu, Yobe or Kaduna. We must speak against all forms of evil without being religious. We must stand together holding hands not minding tribes or religious beliefs. We must seek the courage to speak when it matters and not when it suits us. We must ensure that we harbor no hatred in our hearts.

If Islam means peace and Christianity preaches love and forgiveness then we must eschew all acts of violence, rape and corruption. Religious leaders must preach peace not jihad and righteousness above materialism. Prosperity should not be promoted above hardwork. Ministers of God should speak against ungodly acquisition of wealth and should stop receiving from members who cannot explain their source of wealth while also ostracizing the leaders confirmed to have stolen our commonwealth. 

Finally, let's unite as Nigerians not as Christians or Muslims; not as Hausas or Yorubas; not as Igbos or Ijaws but as Nigerians. Only as Nigerians can we conquer  any force or agents of terror. 

God bless Nigeria.