I live with my countrymen

My countrymen have their unwritten slogan of minding their business but only till some sparks come up

The special sparks of religion, tribe or ethnicity where you see the old, the young, rich and even the poor have their opinion heard

You hear of injustice in Sokoto, but my countrymen resident in Ekiti dont really care much

You hear of gross inadequacies of government in IMO, and my countrymen don't give a damn

But hey, here comes things that grossly divide them than unite them. My countrymen cherish these than the common things that affect them

They all contribute and have opinions on everything that divide them

My countrymen will prefer to stick more to topics that create disunity than unity

My countrymen

My countrymen

In my neighborhood while growing up, Musa, Mary, Chinedu and Wale all come together to play with sand as naive kids who don't know anything about tribe, religion nor ethnicity

But now, even Abdullah that goes to mosque only on Fridays will have his comments on why hijab should be allowed

And Michael that last visited church the last easter will argue his reasons why some religion ain't worth it

Even in a religion, there are sects, divisions, groups etc.

O countrymen, why this much division? Why?

The Pentecostals will argue that the Catholics have different doctrines, the Shias will argue why the Sunnis are every less a Muslim...

And O Division what good have you ever done us?

What benefit do you do anyone?

If not open killing, then silent maiming, or even at best social media wars. No unity anywhere, only silent hatred, beefs and whatnots..

But I reminiscent some days

Some days when igbos transferred to the north joyfully go without fear of being killed

Some days when adults of different backgrounds, believes and tribes played together just as they did as kids

The days when Ajani could allow his child to go to Chinedu's house to play without iota of fear..

Sure, those days must be back, because as insignificant as they looked then, they contribute to the success of a nation

And a major fact is, a nation without innate unity and love is not even on the platform of growth yet.

*Olanipekun Ibrahim*