LIVING IN A DIVIDED COUNTRY

When you look at what is happening in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Libya, Yemen etc, you will be able to understand that a divided country is like a broken egg that will never be a full egg again even if you use spoon to gather it again.

If you do so, what about the shell? The quantity will be reduced as you gather it.

It is better to remain united than be divided. Opinions, ideologies, cultural concept of each other, stereotypes, political greed all contribute to conflicts that cause division in a country.

Rwanda is another typical example that resulted to ethnic politics, tribes fighting each other for unattainable needs in this transient world, a world that is not a society of angels.

Nigeria is caught up in this web of social disorder. There is no place you go that people will not talk about their sitz-im-leben – their life situation, a situation common to all. When a situation is common to all, it can cause a blow-off.

It can create big crisis that will not be controlled easily. The clouds are gathering as if there is going to be a heavy rain. But the good sunshine of thought and understanding can clear the rain and its storm. The whole world is watching.

There has been huge amount of international opinion about Nigeria’s case especially Boko Haram and Nigeria’s political agenda.

What is in the mouth of everybody today is “Restructuring Nigeria”. We are afraid of the conspiracy of silence among the international community.

They have listed Nigeria as one of the terrorists’ countries in the world. And we know what that means. Not only that, we hear the cries of many clamouring for autonomy, to be masters of their political and social destiny. All these lead to a divide.

Agitation upon agitation everywhere. Opinions vary. The international community is there waiting for the time Nigeria will explode and when we shall be like Alepo in Syria, where life is like hell because of the fierce battle there.

If they do not help now, time will come when we will not need their tears when a majority of Nigerians will be dying like in Alepo. At that time, we may not need their tears or their prayer. All we need now is action to help stop what is going on.

America declared that Nigeria will split in the year 2015. That feeling is still haunting many Nigerians. As a result of this many Nigerians are living in a limbo of uncertainty.

The National dailies are littered with many junk articles full of different views on Nigeria not being a country. This can drag us low and we begin to look for the country that is ours.

Once we think that we are not one, it takes time to build up a Nigeria that is ours. Misconception of who we are leads to bad politics. We need to know that we are living in a fragmented global world and that there is conflict in ideologies we embrace. We Nigerians need to reassess our polity to avoid marginalizing the other parts of Nigeria.

Nigeria needs to learn from these aforementioned countries that are ravaged by war. They have allowed ideology to create division in their countries.

The world is now heading to ruin. If we allow these ideologies to surface and the young people to swallow these ideologies, that will not create a better future for them. The devastation of Alepo is very barbaric. Houses built by people are destroyed in a twinkle of an eye, and some buildings are seen as idolatry by the crazy guys. ISIS is training children to be bombers. They resort to different tactics.

How long will the world continue to watch? The international diplomacy is weakened. Hospitals are targets; children are targets. Embassies are burnt even diplomats divert to enemies of their country as it is in North Korea. There are diplomatic rows all over.

Patriotism is dwindling and sectarian divide continues to spread all over the world and Nigeria is caught up with these dangerous ideologies.

The complexities of problems in Nigeria cannot lead to economic benefit. And what legacies are we getting from our leaders? Do they inspire hope for the future? Nigeria should wake up. She needs to join the global world in competition.

America, Britain, China, Russia and Japan used their technology to create world impression. What has Nigeria to offer the world? – Corruption, ethnicity and nepotism. Nigeria should outgrow international negativism, phobia from our leaders and soar higher because it has what it takes to be there.

Nigeria has to be a model to keep up with the changing world. Nigeria needs to adjust properly in thinking and avoid been a fragmented and divided country. By the way if Nigeria is divided, is it not the same people that will navigate and continue to fight for their largesse? Nigeria should wake up and formulate proposals that will help bring peace to stop what is happening. It is unfortunate that we have a branch of ISIS in Nigeria, what a country! The thought of this is very nightmarish.

VERY REV. MONSIGNOR LIVINUS UKAH