₦airaland Forum

Before I start giving reasons for my epiphany, I would like to state for the records that I don’t expect my plea to change anything, or make our people love each other, I just felt it Is something I ought to do whether or not it makes a difference. These past few weeks has been a roller-coaster of feelings, triumph by some over their perceived enemies, anger by some at their defeat,heartbreak and indifference to some.for me it was anticlimactic. I’ve never truly hated the igbos, at a point in my life, I admired them. I sought them out to befriend them. The reason was mainly due to my father’s words, one of the most kind hearted men I know in this world. He always told me how igbos persevered during the Civil War, how they stood and defended their land and how they took their subsequent defeat with their heads held high even to the admiration of the Victor’s.after the Civil War they left their arms behind, and went back to being full patriots once more to help nigeria grow as if the war didn’t happen and the truth is they did loose so much. They picked themselves up and excelled and in a short time became the successful igbo tribe the whole world knows today. However,fifty years after the Civil War,it was like all of a sudden a buried darkness emerged and there seemed to be a growing need for retribution for the loss and pains of the Civil War brewing among the igbo people. I first noticed it on nairaland, some openly calling for the extermination of the Yoruba race for our alleged complicity in the Civil War, which I as a person dismissed as nonsense because from my days as a toddler till that point being around igbo people, I had never once heard them talk out in bitterness about other people because of the Civil War. Time flew and on a fateful day, I walked into a department store in my hometown in ibadan. The results of the president elections were being announced, and from the results announced to that point it was a close call. Then an aged igbo man walked in, and he spoke the following words aloud ‘Yoruba…very bad people, God pass them, they don’t with Jonathan to win, and may God punish them. Wicked people ‘ I was shocked and in that moment a lot of thoughts rushed through my mind,ranging from the unrealistic to the ridiculous and then the outrageous. The statement hit me like a giant sledge hammer and I was disoriented, at a point my mind told me I was lost and had wandered to a remote eastern village, why? Because I didn’t imagine someone could utter such a statement in a Yoruba city aloud, without fear or sensitivity to our feelings. I felt under seige by enemies I never knew existed. A lot of people heard but no one said a thing. I decided saying nothing was also the best course of action, hurriedly paid for my purchases and left. I began thinking, could all those hateful comments I see on nairaland be the reality, I decided it couldn’t be. 8 months later, one cool eveningI was in a shop on my street in ibadan, a middle aged igbo man walked in, he looked educated, like the banker sort. asked the price of an item, and discovered that the price had almost doubled due to the dollar scarcity. Then he began, raining curses on all yoruba from our illustrious father, the sage Awolowo down to abiola, obasanjo and down to the rest of us. I was shocked again but this time it wasn’t, as much as the first of course. This time I was also angry I debated in my mind whether to confront the man, but then I thought confronting him wasn’t going to change his mind, it was either going to lead to physical altercation or a shouting match. So I left the shop. Then next day I saw the nairaland comments in a new light. Of course I had been fooling myself thinking it was all inconsequential, it was a person behind those comments afterall. I was disappointed and It was at that point I started feeling a bit of hatred for my igbo brothers especially the ipobs. Now this week a lot has changed too. I must confess that during this whole wahala in the east, I was happy that finally those who hated me for “no reason” ,called my people cowards and so on were being dealt with, the images of people like me being made to wallow in the mud was hilarious,and of course the routing of the self acclaimed Supreme leader, Nnamdi Kanu,a man who has called for my people to be killed and now hiding like a rat. but then I began seeing young men dead in Keke napep which was heart breaking, seeing people defeated and dejected was just too much. And I thought, this isn’t what I wanted.they may or may not hate me for being yoruba and apart from the insults and curses and the wishes of some of them to see my tribe exterminated, no Igbo man has ever done me any physical harm for being yoruba. I lived in the north for 12 years and those years were characterized by ethnic and religious bloodshed perpetrated by the hausa-fulani on my people and till this day I don’t hate the hausa-fulani because during that time, there were a lot of them ready to sacrifice their lives for others they don’t even know. So why would I hate my igbo brothers. They felt the pain of a bloody civil war and today they are being marginalized in national affairs. I can’t in good conscience support their annilation or subjugation. Maybe we did play a part against them in the Civil War or not, I actually don’t know for sure. Because in the accounts of the Civil War both sides would always claim to be right. And if truly we did I can only say sorry and say to myself it wasn’t my fault because I wasn’t even born then, but now I feel standing by and watch them marginalized and subjugated while either approving or saying nothing would be an actual crime. I want to appeal to my yoruba brothers that we should try to show some love to our brothers in the south. Some may want to harm us but at the moment that is proving to be impossible. We should be magnanimous enough to belive in the humanity of others, the act of generalizing a whole group of people whether yoruba igbo or hausa as bad should be stopped so we can find a way to live in harmony either as neighbors in separate countries or together.if not for the sake of unity,then for the sake of development and prosperity we must see that this injustice is redressed whether or not we think they would come to our aid if the roles were reversed. I’ve seen other threads of some igbos and yorubas waving the olive branch and I feel both sides should accept and find a way forward.the social media is powerful and while the effects of these ‘little gestures’ may not be felt in the next week,I belive it surely would make a difference 10,20 years from now.to my Yoruba brothers im not saying turn the other cheek ,I’m saying we need to be human and try as much as we can to douse this tension.lets scale down our need to throw jibes at each other.may God bless Nigeria and help us heal.
Cc
Mynd44
Alcatraz005
OmOnnakoda
sarkki
Pazienza
Victorvezx
Kettykin
honourhim
robotix
tsdarkside
Attackgat
Laudate
raumdeuter
afam4eva
omenka
shukuokukobambi
ODvanguard

j[s]ollymizzle:
Before I start giving reasons for my epiphany, I would like to state for the records that I don’t expect my plea to change anything, or make our people love each other, I just felt it Is something I ought to do whether or not it makes a difference. These past few weeks has been a roller-coaster of feelings, triumph by some over their perceived enemies, anger by some at their defeat,heartbreak and indifference to some.for me it was anticlimactic. I’ve never truly hated the igbos, at a point in my life, I admired them. I sought them out to befriend them. The reason was mainly due to my father’s words, one of the most kind hearted men I know in this world. He always told me how igbos persevered during the Civil War, how they stood and defended their land and how they took their subsequent defeat with their heads held high even to the admiration of the Victor’s.after the Civil War they left their arms behind, and went back to being full patriots once more to help nigeria grow as if the war didn’t happen and the truth is they did loose so much. They picked themselves up and excelled and in a short time became the successful igbo tribe the whole world knows today. However,fifty years after the Civil War,it was like all of a sudden a buried darkness emerged and there seemed to be a growing need for retribution for the loss and pains of the Civil War brewing among the igbo people. I first noticed it on nairaland, some openly calling for the extermination of the Yoruba race for our alleged complicity in the Civil War, which I as a person dismissed as nonsense because from my days as a toddler till that point being around igbo people, I had never once heard them talk out in bitterness about other people because of the Civil War. Time flew and on a fateful day, I walked into a department store in my hometown in ibadan. The results of the president elections were being announced, and from the results announced to that point it was a close call. Then an aged igbo man walked in, and he spoke the following words aloud ‘Yoruba…very bad people, God pass them, they don’t with Jonathan to win, and may God punish them. Wicked people ‘ I was shocked and in that moment a lot of thoughts rushed through my mind,ranging from the unrealistic to the ridiculous and then the outrageous. The statement hit me like a giant sledge hammer and I was disoriented, at a point my mind told me I was lost and had wandered to a remote eastern village, why? Because I didn’t imagine someone could utter such a statement in a Yoruba city aloud, without fear or sensitivity to our feelings. I felt under seige by enemies I never knew existed. A lot of people heard but no one said a thing. I decided saying nothing was also the best course of action, hurriedly paid for my purchases and left. I began thinking, could all those hateful comments I see on nairaland be the reality, I decided it couldn’t be. 8 months later, one cool eveningI was in a shop on my street in ibadan, a middle aged igbo man walked in, he looked educated, like the banker sort. asked the price of an item, and discovered that the price had almost doubled due to the dollar scarcity. Then he began, raining curses on all yoruba from our illustrious father, the sage Awolowo down to abiola, obasanjo and down to the rest of us. I was shocked again but this time it wasn’t, as much as the first of course. This time I was also angry I debated in my mind whether to confront the man, but then I thought confronting him wasn’t going to change his mind, it was either going to lead to physical altercation or a shouting match. So I left the shop. Then next day I saw the nairaland comments in a new light. Of course I had been fooling myself thinking it was all inconsequential, it was a person behind those comments afterall. I was disappointed and It was at that point I started feeling a bit of hatred for my igbo brothers especially the ipobs. Now this week a lot has changed too. I must confess that during this whole wahala in the east, I was happy that finally those who hated me for “no reason” ,called my people cowards and so on were being dealt with, the images of people like me being made to wallow in the mud was hilarious,and of course the routing of the self acclaimed Supreme leader, Nnamdi Kanu,a man who has called for my people to be killed and now hiding like a rat. but then I began seeing young men dead in Keke napep which was heart breaking, seeing people defeated and dejected was just too much. And I thought, this isn’t what I wanted.they may or may not hate me for being yoruba and apart from the insults and curses and the wishes of some of them to see my tribe exterminated, no Igbo man has ever done me any physical harm for being yoruba. I lived in the north for 12 years and those years were characterized by ethnic and religious bloodshed perpetrated by the hausa-fulani on my people and till this day I don’t hate the hausa-fulani because during that time, there were a lot of them ready to sacrifice their lives for others they don’t even know. So why would I hate my igbo brothers. They felt the pain of a bloody civil war and today they are being marginalized in national affairs. I can’t in good conscience support their annilation or subjugation. Maybe we did play a part against them in the Civil War or not, I actually don’t know for sure. Because in the accounts of the Civil War both sides would always claim to be right. And if truly we did I can only say sorry and say to myself it wasn’t my fault because I wasn’t even born then, but now I feel standing by and watch them marginalized and subjugated while either approving or saying nothing would be an actual crime. I want to appeal to my yoruba brothers that we should try to show some love to our brothers in the south. Some may want to harm us but at the moment that is proving to be impossible. We should be magnanimous enough to belive in the humanity of others, the act of generalizing a whole group of people whether yoruba igbo or hausa as bad should be stopped so we can find a way to live in harmony either as neighbors in separate countries or together.if not for the sake of unity,then for the sake of development and prosperity we must see that this injustice is redressed whether or not we think they would come to our aid if the roles were reversed. I’ve seen other threads of some igbos and yorubas waving the olive branch and I feel both sides should accept and find a way forward.the social media is powerful and while the effects of these ‘little gestures’ may not be felt in the next week,I belive it surely would make a difference 10,20 years from now.to my Yoruba brothers im not saying turn the other cheek ,I’m saying we need to be human and try as much as we can to douse this tension.lets scale down our need to throw jibes at each other.may God bless Nigeria and help us heal.
Cc
Mynd44
Alcatraz005
OmOnnakoda
sarkki
Pazienza
Victorvezx
Kettykin
honourhim
robotix
tsdarkside
Attackgat
Laudate
raumdeuter
afam4eva
omenka
shukuokukobambi
ODvanguard[/s]

Go and learn to love urself first.