By Aishat Ibrahim Tijanni
U14MM1038
It is time we tell ourselves the truth and accept the reality that just like a man and his shadow we as Nigerians were all meant to live together, that we were all meant to stay in bond and togetherness and we must recognize that like brothers we would squabble, and raise machetes a few times and disagree on certain matters but we are brothers nonetheless. We must acknowledge the fact that this war is over and further attempt to tear this marriage apart would be an attempt to forcefully move the hands of God leaving behind wails and misery. We must appreciate the beauty of our differences in complexion, religion, tribe and sentiments for it is on the altar of this uniqueness that we stand tall and high among other nations of the world. The fact that we can habitat harmoniously is in itself a show of strength that has made us the Goliath of the sub-Saharan Africa and the continent at large.
Let us hold back and return our steel and guns back to the hollows and magazines where it belongs for we have no grave need for it. Let us always have in our minds that this country is our gem and only home and that we have nowhere else in the world to call our own if we reduce it to common memories of the past and ashes of the dust. Let us in the love of unity hold hands closely and embrace the soothing air that companionship and togetherness brings.
Whoever may be feeling aggrieved or marginalized by the sheer outcome of all these qualms, rancor and squabbles should attend to my words for there is no better heaven out there for us to be. We should accept the pleadings of peace and never again give in to the call of mayhem, we should also appreciate the lives and properties not gone as the looming crises promised earlier, who knows who would have been ‘home’ by now. Maybe the hands writing this piece or the eyes on the other side reading them, or the old woman in her quiet hut who knows little or nothing about the whole rift, how about the poor innocent man going about his days chores seeking for bread and water or the little kids playing by the river bank, think about all these lives spared and tell me loud enough to my ears that we have not made the best decision. Truly so, am sure anyone out there except for the ones out to profit from this unholy divorce and matrimonial chasm would be indeed delighted that things did not go the other way as was perceived.
It has become so crystal clear that this marriage is for better or worse and we have, like faithful couples, sworn to live up to this oath no matter how long it takes. It is true we have been tested time and again but like a true country sworn to live together, we have stood firm and even stronger every time we are pushed to the drowning waters of war. We must accept this truth and live in harmony like we have always done, the war is over, lets pick up from where we were and prove to the world that amidst our differences we can build a home.
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