Sigh......so it's 2015 , I'm adjusting to life in my 30"s yes you heard me I've entered the 30's phase and i am trying to be less confrontational about issues.
Unlike in 2011 where i got worked up on political issues and was blogging about every rant , i believe i am more laid back, the goggles of media propaganda has been removed and i believe i look at things now with the big picture in mind.
So the 2015 Presidential elections , yeah i unpatriotically checked out when General Buhari was elected as APC's flag bearer, after four years of an unemphatic Government, with Boko Haram massacring human beings like chickens in the north , the total disintegration of the power industry in Nigeria, the Corruption that had completely eroded all facets of Nigeria, i was done with the Government, APC with its antecedents of providing technocrats and civilized leaders beckoned to me, I wanted someone young, someone vibrant, someone who would come in his white horse (or black jeep) and clear out this leeches who were basically sucking Nigeria dry , so when i got Buhari i checked out.
In retrospect i understand why APC picked General Buhari, with an almost fanatical group of supporters in the North, the General had the numbers and the support in the north that could threaten the status quo, He is literally one of the most unblemished public political figures in Nigeria with a no nonsense stance in corruption, i knew all this but i checked out. I just wanted to see a new set of political faces in the polity and when i did not get that, i acted like a young school girl whose favorite toy had been locked away in a drawer with the words (NOT YET) inscribed on it, i did not want to wait i wanted young blood NOW,so i stayed out of it, the decisive arguments, the Twitter fights, the insults from one party spokesman to the other, the accusations, the defections lawd have mercy the 2015 Presidential elections had so much drama we could literally concoct 50 Nollywood story lines from the happenings, still i stayed out of it.
As the elections approached suddenly it metamorphosed into a tribal fight,suddenly Igbo's were being accused of voting Jonathan based on tribal sentiments and were attacked on twitter, it was brutal, shocking and uncalled for. It did not matter that some Northerners could be accused of doing the same for the APC candidate or that unlike the PDP, APC's presidential rallies in the South East were at best skeletal, it didn't matter that the APC had not set up enough structures in the SE to topple a political party that had marked its presence in the South East and South South for 16 years , all that mattered was that Igbo's were gullible traitors that voted GEJ because he had Ebele in his name.(their words not mine).
Once upon a time i was obsessed with reading up on the Nigerian Civil war, That war in my opinion set the stage for a lot of things that are still happening in the Nigerian Polity, so in my mind i understood the Ethnic-ism that existed in Nigeria, i understood it's root cause and i understood that for some nigerians of the older generations it was something that may never go away , that the younger generation would be less myopic in their generalizations, less tribalistic and more in tune with the love of all Nigerians regardless of tribe, religion, Class you know that we were forced together because of a colonial agenda but we would remain together out of Love...Kumbaya...one love ...i am beginning to think it's all crap.
The latest statement by Oba Rilwan Akiolu that igbo's will perish in the lagoon if they do not vote for Ambode is in my opinion just a tip of the iceberg on the kind of Sentiments being shared by our so called leaders for other tribes behind closed doors.
.People have been livid, demanding for an apology, pointing accusing fingers, A lot of people are truly upset about this statement but I'm not, i mean it's in this same Nigeria that people from other tribes have been labelled as Dirty, promiscuous, Greedy, Uncouth , Greedy, Lazy, Italian prostitutes it goes on and on.
The younger generation is definitely not left out, they have inherited their fathers hatred/intolerance for other tribes and it comes to play at every excuse, all you need is one spark and people's true colors come out.
Its disheartening to see an 18 year old scream blue murder and throw out expletives to people of other tribes at the slightest provocation, reading some comments on The Punch newspapers comment thread this morning i was overcome with disgust, one commentator wrote "you igbos are arrogant that is why they will keep killing you like chickens in the north." wow. and the condemnation is accross board its not just igbo's being attacked in some cases igbo commentators also attacked others based on nothing but tribal sentiments.
Are we really one Nigeria....i don't think so, we were forced together and it appears the dislike and distrust for each other is still so deep in some people.This dislike seems to permeate all classes of the Nigerian society, even the so called enlightened ones who should know better still have some of this anti tribal and ethnic sentiments.
My conclusion....i have nothing to conclude. That we have remained together for this long continues to baffle me and apparently other world leaders. As we step out for the second stage of the elections let us all try to remember, we breathe the same air, we bleed the same and we fight for the same thing. Equal respect, to satisfy our basic needs and to provide for our families , Change should start from yourself maybe it's about time you stop growing evil in your heart and look at your neighbor with love...
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