The political discourse in Nigeria has obviously become very heated lately. A lot of people are feeling hurt and disappointed understandably in many cases. Still, permit me to make some suggestions that I hope can help us keep discussions civil and matured as much as possible, while we still make our points. Unnecessarily angering other people may score you cheap points but ultimately, will make you more unlikely to see the change you may want to see in them, or in the situation you are decrying.
(1) Try not to generalize. If someone(s) has done something bad, ascribe it to the person, not their whole tribe or religion. For example, Mallam so and so did this, or a group of people from that appear to be Fulanis did so and so, not Hausa/Fulani Muslims did so and so. Remember, there are bad people in every group, and there are good people in every group. That way, you leave the door open for everyone with an objective mind to be sympathetic to your course, rather than alienate and upset whole groups.
(2) If someone says something you do not agree with, address the issue you do not agree with, rather than try to attack the whole being of the person. For example, Jerry Gana said so and so. Who is Jerry Gana? His village is . . ., etc. Simply address the things people say that you do not agree with, and offer your own perspective. That way you leave the door open for a healthy conversation to continue, rather than generate more tension needlessly, than there is already.
(3) Avoid trying to discredit something that others consider sacred whether rightly or wrongly. Reality is, there is no religious book, at least the ones I know, that is perfect, from a moral stand point if you look at it critically enough. Even if you win the argument, you have not done anything productive as far as your cause is concerned.
(4) Do whatever is in your power to ensure fairness and justice whenever this is possible, and direct justice to the actual criminals, not someone else that is similar to them in some way, but has nothing to do with the crime. (Do your best to avoid becoming a victim in the first place by taking all reasonable precautions to protect yourself, family and valuables from bad people and bad things in the first place. Defend yourself when you need to.)
(5) Try to be fair in assessing and analyzing situations. Do not jump to the defense of someone or something that is really not right. Speak up when others have been wronged even if the perpetrators are "your people".
(6) If someone is agitating for something, don't just condemn his agitation, try to listen to him, feel his pain and then advise him appropriately. (Courtesy of Takarda Michael).
If you think of other tips, please add them to the list, and if you find this helpful, please pass on the message.
Source A Facebook post by my guy, Gideon Danmaryam