*Facts about me*
My dad is from Anambra state
My mom is from Taraba state
I was born in Adamawa state
I grew up in Plateau state
I schooled in Abuja and also schooled a bit in Maiduguri
I’m married to a man who is from Lagos and Edo states
Dadzie is a Ghanaian name
One of my uncles, married to one of my aunts, is from Kogi state
My cousins bear Yoruba names
I have another uncle from Plateau state
My late best friend whom I loved with all my soul was from Benue state
My secondary school BFF who is one of the most amazing women I know is a Yoruba Muslim
I once dated an Ijaw guy (I’ll tell you about the other ones but you’ll become fixated on my body count)
A friend who accommodated me when I was in desperate need at some point in my life was from Kaduna state and a Muslim. May she rest in peace
One of my closest friends is from Akwa Ibom state
I gave permission to the last housemaid that worked for me to teach my kids Efik
I speak Hausa more than I speak Igbo. I’m not so good with Yoruba but I understand it better than my husband does 😀
I don’t know how to hate any tribe. It’s a strange concept to me. I do understand that each tribe is known for one thing or the other. Sometimes bad. But I don’t believe an entire tribe is bad.
I hate hate. I hate that people here enjoy hate. I fear for what we’re teaching our kids.
I think people who hate on other tribes have not been out of their sphere. I think they should travel and experience Nigeria. But if they can’t, it’s our duty to change their mindsets.
I think that NYSC is not working anymore if the youth who come out of it can still hate themselves.
But I think the onus lies in the youth to change the narrative.
Stop the hate, Nigeria. Don’t raise your children to hate tribes other than yours. It leads us nowhere. Think of Rwanda. Watch ‘Sometimes in April’. Watch ‘Hotel Rwanda’. Hate speech played a strong part in that genocide. Today, they don’t think along those lines. They are a progressive nation now but it’s always so hard to pick up the pieces after numerous lives have been senselessly lost. They learned the hard way. They didn’t have to. We can learn from them before we plunge ourselves into another war, fighting for politicians that plant the seeds of discord amongst us. Please, let’s not fight their war.
End the hate.
