Recently, social media usage, especially Facebook, has become so uninteresting to me. Not because of anything else, but because of the disturbing activities of some tribal tsunamistas in some communities, states and nations, indirectly inciting nonindigenes to leave their state and nation.
I have tried oftentimes to stay mum, to scroll past the disturbing narratives and pretend they do not concern me. But my conscience keeps holding me to ransom. I cannot simply look away.
The world is destroyed not only because of the men of the underworld, but also because of those who stand aloof with a fixed gaze, their mouth glued, watching hatred, bitterness and division spread like wildfire.
Sometimes, silence may appear peaceful, but silence in the face of injustice and incitement can become an accomplice and voice of all.
So, I have just a few pieces of advice to those inciting communities against each other, tribes against each other, states against each other and nations against each other. Please, pause. Think. Reflect. No single community, tribe, state or nation has achieved development and progress all by itself. We all need each other.
You are directly or indirectly calling for non-indigenes to leave your state because they are taking your “jobs and opportunities”. But have you built capacity for those jobs and opportunities? Have you equipped yourself with the knowledge, skills and competence required to take advantage of them? Opportunities don’t wait for those who are not ready for them when they come.
Instead of chasing people away, why not prepare yourself to compete? – battle of competence. Instead of crying that someone is taking what belongs to you, why not ask yourself what you can learn from that person? Instead of inciting your people against another tribe, why not build a generation that is skilled enough, competent enough and prepared enough to create even greater opportunities?
Hear this: no tribe, state or nation that wants genuine progress and development relies on tribal sentiments. Tribalism does not build industries. Tribalism does not create jobs. Tribalism does not develop infrastructure. Tribalism does not produce innovation. Tribalism does not feed the hungry. I mean, tribalism does not educate children and tribalism only creates walls where bridges are desperately needed.
As Africans, we long to be like the USA, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, China, Japan and other civilized and developed nations. We admire their systems, infrastructure, technological advancement, industries and opportunities. We dream of visiting them. Some even dream of relocating to them permanently.
But do you think they relied on tribalism and incompetence to build those kingdoms we crave to visit or relocate to? They employed and relied on the skills and contributions of “foreigners” to building those nations.
Imagine Canada and other nations we hear of their development today, had shut doors or played tribalism, would they achieve the feat? They understood something we sometimes appear to forget: competence has no tribe. Excellence has no state of origin. Knowledge has no nationality.
In my cogito moods, I realized that these tribal incitements can be tied to lack of exposure and myopic thinking – a mindset that concludes that life ends within one’s tribe, state and nation. But the world is much bigger than our streets, villages, communities, states and countries. The world and life is deeper than the ocean, and we cannot fully understand its mysteries.
A person born in one community may become useful to another community. Someone born in one state may build another state. Someone from another tribe may become the person who saves your business, educates your child, treats your illness, builds your house or creates the opportunity your family desperately needs.
Why then should we allow the accident of birthplace or permanent base to become a reason for hatred? My kind advice is simple: instead of calling for foreigners to leave your state and nation, build capacity and competence. Look into what the said foreigners are doing uniquely and outshine them – not by incitements, empty brains and lack of skills, but through knowledge, hard work, innovation, discipline and excellence.
Hear this; if someone is ahead of you, learn. If someone is better than you, improve. If someone has succeeded where you are struggling, study the process. Competition should inspire improvement, not hatred. Remember, we are all sojourners in this temporal world.
We didn’t come into this world with a piece of land or knowing the tribe, state and country to be born in. None of us negotiated our birthplace before arriving here. None of us selected our parents, tribe or nationality before taking our first breath. Meaning, so shall we go with nothing or choose where to end up after this physical world.
The wealth we accumulate, the titles/positions we carry, the houses we build, the positions we occupy and the tribal identities we fiercely defend will eventually become part of history. What then shall posterity say about us? That we built bridges? Or that we destroyed them? That we accommodated one another? Or that we chased people away because of where they were born?
That we empowered our people? Or that we taught them how to hate? This is a call for rethink, reflection and equipping. It is not time to clash heads. It is time to build minds. It is time to build capacity. It is time to acquire skills. It is time to get exposed. It is time to understand that the world is bigger than our tiny tribe, state and nation.
Before you speak or act, ask about history. Think about posterity and the consequences thereof. Words can ignite violence. Words can destroy communities. Words can send families into exile. Words can turn neighbours into enemies. Words are glue and at the same time, dynamite.
And sometimes, words spoken carelessly on social media can travel farther than the person who uttered them ever imagined. If you’re being paid to incite ethnic hatred, bitterness and violence, rebuke it. Do not allow yourself to become a tool in the hands of those who profit from division.
Biblically, Judas Iscariot allowed himself to be used to incite and betrayed his master and people for money, yet, he didn’t live to spend the money. History and scripture repeatedly remind us that betrayal may offer temporary rewards, but its consequences can be devastating.
Finally, love one another. Accommodate other tribes. Build capacity. Upskill yourself. Get exposed, learn from others and see other foreigners/tribes as partners in business rather than calling for their heads like Salome, the daughter of Herodias who wanted the head of John the Baptist.
We may come from different tribes. We may speak different languages. We may worship differently. We may live in different states and nations. But beneath all these identities is one undeniable truth: We are all human beings on a journey. We are all sojourners in this life voyage. So, while we are here, let us build rather than destroy because of our personal gain. Let us accommodate rather than expel.
Let us compete through competence rather than tribal incitement. Let us choose love over hatred, exposure over myopia, capacity over entitlement and unity over division. The person you are chasing away today may be the person whose contribution your children will desperately need tomorrow. Think about it because tomorrow is pregnant.
Patrick Obia is the News Editor of CrossRiverWatch and writes from Calabar, Cross River State.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Patrick Obia, and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.
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