Unity among us

"How you speak and hold conversations can make or break you—regardless of how skilled or talented you are in other areas." - Jim Rohn

Why is Nigeria in disunity?
This was a response to an in-boxed discussion that went back and forth between friends. I have decided to publish a longer version based on materials that I am working on for now. Mr. Dikko, I can say from past exchanges is, as sophisticated and knowledge chat-mate as they come. We sometimes engage in spirited discussions that many a-times take us to different conclusions while agreeing to disagree. Here it is below. Do read on and give me your feedback.

Mr. Dikko Questions

I am posting a link to this on my timeline and in the public domain in order for more contributions and or follow-up. Mr Dikko included the suspected mindsets - Tribalism, Ethnicity, Sectionalism and Religion relative to our disunity and schisms. The unfortunate thing about it is that these are all learned behaviors that can be UNLEARNED but, we have to make the effort to do just that. I could take each one of these and attempt to decipher its origin, content and contexture but that will be for a different platform i.e. classroom as I regard the audience here as somewhat more sophisticated for that. Meanwhile; I am sure that each teacher, each elder, each proponent and opponent of these learned behaviors will have verbiage to support their argument, depending on their reasoning and understanding of the addresses crowd and we know that.

What is the problem?

Now, the disease, which have all true well been know and as you mentioned, the symptoms are unguarded utterances by those who are well respected and whose speeches, trickling down becomes adaptive and reinterpreted to suit circumstantial purposes. Either in defense or against the object of reference i.e. other religion, other tribe or other sections. These Bushwahzee or Petite bourgeoisie from whose mouth these delicate and unguarded words come out from. They do not in turn, pay attention to reciprocate latent build up and subsequent return of actions by the spoken to. They – the small lords; in most cases, intentionally or not underestimate the sophistication of the people who here the sordid words of condemnation without cause. They, the people in so-called authority use these repugnant description of one another based on perceptive assumptions that has been wrongly taught and or passed down for eons and from generations.

How they get us

The greatest weapon here that effectively gets the job done is fear. Mind you, these are wordsmiths in their own tribal languages, these are skilled speech deliverers, mastering the mood, furies and timed delivery quite enough dosages that is just good enough to the flame flaming in a well-adjusted whirlwind – Nigeria. Mind you, they did not plant the seed. No! The seed had already been planted a long time before now. We can go back as far as we can in thinking but, that will be in other platform and discussions. Maybe a follow up to this text where we may reference the ease with which human beings were bought and sold. Can you imagine the deed of mistrust, the deed of hatred and anger that it takes to generationally twist thoughts of human being, twist ideations of another tribe and up to one’s religion even though we are all of the same kind.

What is the effect?

In order not to give credence to lynching, I will spare this text the historical origin as it was used as documented tool of fear. Now based on that, the so-called people of authority who themselves are not as sophisticated as they have had themselves believed have people who are fanatical hungry to be fed by one of their own with what they think is a need. Feeding, they did, gluttonous consumptions became the event; the issue was digestion of that which was consumed. Because the feeder does not know or understand the ingredients in the cauldron and the fed do not, for fear of the unknown and societal (our kind) pressure dare to factor in independency of thought, independency of process, independency circumstance and independency of time.

How do we give much more to receive much less?

Have you given a thought on the reason Africa is the naturally gifted continent and yet every twenty years or so there is repeat of the Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof’s “Band Aid” or seemingly? It is learned behavior that Nigeria, Nigerians, sub-Saharan countries and other black societies, neighborhood and cities has to unlearn. It is called SELF-HATRED. Those who had platforms of communicating to the masses, those who have platforms of influences and those who are sitting behind the shinning tables should get educated in sophistication of civilization. According an author whose works I so admire, Jim Rohn; he was credited to have said that civilization is the intelligent management of human emotions. When the so-called giants in leadership positions that are not refined enough to know that what they say matters, that how they behave matters and that the messages that they send actually have effects that is not limited to their desk think like mice; like Chinua Achebe will say as reinterpreted from a proverb of the Kikuyu tribe. When elephants fight, it is the grass that bears the brunt.

Does the mind get what it wants?

If you need any reason to be different you will find, if you need a reason to disassociate one from the other, you will find and if you need any reason to hate, you will find it. We can equally change the tonality of what is spoken; we do this by understanding what may come back as a result, we do this by unlearning the wrong notions and we do this relearning proprioception of us in the global puzzle. Don’t get confused by this. If you recall all the mass killings that has occurred in our times and of recent memory in Africa to be precise, it was exacerbated by words that were spoken by those who have platforms and what said mattered. The Xenophobic zealotry that brought about a so-called Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini is a good example that be used as a teaching moment. Tutsi/Hutu ethnic cleansing that has been described as the worst human tragedy of our times was provoked by propagandist who had platforms and they sent these messages from what they learned and believe to be factual but is not.

Is it here?

I give you a conclusion here; learning does not stop as we get older, learning does not stop as we become leaders; in fact that is actually where and when it is needed most. Because this erroneous understanding of us has historically taken root in our behavioral pattern, a process of full cycle return has to be defined, established and implemented as at our first cry right out of the womb.

Where are our philosophers? Where are our behaviorists? Where are our teachers of integrity? How do we sieve genuineness in character from baskets filled with praise singers and deceits? Lastly, how do we get us to embrace fear and ask questions of us, be independent in thoughts so that those who really know can educate and convince the majority of us that has towed the line for so long?
OJI