[color=#000099][/color]
It was a very long day at the office yesterday and all we got to talk about was the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians. Even the top bosses had to come and join us because it was a very sensitive and alarming topic. Everyone supported the motion of killing the South Africans in Nigeria. There were different opinions, burn down the MTN office, Close down ShopRite, do this and that. By the time the meeting finished I was already in their Zone enveloped with pure hatred for South Africa. I'm so sure that if I had just seen someone with a name like Thembu or Utonghizi maybe I would be preparing for my trial in court for murder. The long traffic on the third mainland bridge did nothing to make me feel better. After almost four hours of struggle on lagos road, I got home tired. My father a War Veteran was waiting for me. I watched as he sat quietly on the chair on the balcony, I knew he could sense that I have returned. Though Blind, My Father was still as agile as a youth, I guess the saying "once a millitary man, always a millitary man" is true.

It was just quarter to seven, I had freshened up and I sat outside with my Father. "How was work" ? he asked his usual question. "I hevaved a sigh of relief and began to pour out my heart to my father about Nigeria, The Xenophobic attacks and Life in general. He listened and didn't even interrupt me. When i was done, he asked if I wanted to know the truth about this Xenophobic attacks. "Òmó mí(my son) this attacks are inhumane and wicked but we can't blame them can we? I was a little taken aback by that but he continued "Look, until Nigerians in general start appreciating themselves and their country, no one is ever going to appreciate them. You can't leave your country and run to another place to take over. Do you remember the way Nigerians chased away Ghanaians because of the oil market? An average Nigerian is totally greedy and looks for personal gains in everything today. It is so sad that if you send a little boy on errands he starts asking or expecting something in return, it is our system. Though their actions were inhumane the Nigerian government is also to blame, if they had provided us with everything, we won't go to another country to look for opportunities. How can someone be sitting on 80 billion dollars and we say the country is poor. I pity you and the remaining young ones shouting for war, you don't know what war is, I lost my eyes to the civil war, your mother died in the civil war, or do you think war is just few people fighting? No it's not. I started feeling uneasy because my father had started and when he starts like this he doesn't stop. "For those shouting close down the companies, how would we survive, do you know the rate of unemployment that would happen, it might even affect you too because jobs will be scarce and don't be surprised if a better person collects your job. If the government can just do what is right, all this won't happen, Donald Trump is also xenophobic but he is not physical that's the only difference. And we can't blame all south Africans, you don't use a few bad eggs to judge the whole crate. Their government has also failed too because nothing is being done about this, And do you know that Tafawa was the major sponsor of their fight against Apartheid. The main solution to all this is let there be love and let the culprits be given the right judgement and let people speak and act against it. Because In Nigeria all we do is talk, we can't act, we talk today and by tomorrow if you still check the flight going to Johannesburg, you would find multiple Nigerians. My Son, to survive just live your life and do what makes you and other people around you happy, and if you want to make a change do so. Don't just sit and judge, if we tackled our government like this, Nigeria would be greater than it is today, my son I'm tired, We would continue this discussion in the morning, he said as he stood up and guided himself to his room and all I could do was to just open my mouth and let his words sink in, even though his statements were incoherent. I realized he made a lot of sense and promised myself to share this to my colleagues the next day