XENOPHOBIA : The Fruit We Deserve?
I have read the news and watched different videos on the attack on Nigerians in the state of South Africa and the only thing I feel is lack of enthusiasm or perhaps no 'sorry' feeling in the least way. Some will say I'm always a critic even at bad moments, if that is what you feel then open your head and read this with an open mind. I will have my say here for every Nigerian to read.
I can remember too well in 2015 when this thing happened in this same country to Nigerians. I really felt bad for my brothers and sisters over there. I joined the millions of Nigerians who called for the dissolve of South Africans' investment in Nigeria. I agitated for the retaliation on South Africa's citizen in this 'grate' nation. I wrote a memo in this manner am writing this but not in this kind of mood. And soon enough the attack stopped and there was peace for the time being.
After peace was brought back, in my mind, I envisaged a government who will swing into actions the next few days to prevent such occurrence from happening again. I thought the last presidency will start working on how to develop STARTTIMES into an organisation like DSTV, I thought the government will nationalise Shoprite or help companies like Bestrites, I was thinking Globacom would be given the chance to be better than MTN, and I wished there would be an oriented programme to provide job for at least few of the thousands of Nigerians who who are really in South Africa because they have a good job there. Alas! Little did I know I was living in trance. Sad as it may, it's happening again because of our own shortcomings.
Few days ago, a sect of the National Association Of Nigeria Students(NANS) protested in Abuja coupled with thousands not millions of Nigerians agitating on social media for the close down of DSTV,SHOPRITE,MTN and all other companies belonging to South Africans. I couldn't but laugh at our own bayard hypocrisy. Shouldn't we be fighting our government for the lack of nationhood consciousness? If truly the government sack all these companies, do we have any company that can provide us the services these company do,even at substandard value? The bitter truth is NO. The unwanted truth is that even out of the thousands agitating for this, not even one percent of them is agitating with utmost honesty. Why do I think so? Let me be frank with us, majority of the NANS who protested at Abuja that day rested later in the day at sport centre watching a football match on DSTV and those who do not love football sat in their sitting room watching channel Zee World and the few other online noise makers' were shopping at shoprite the following day. Or would any of us claim he broke his MTN SIM card to show the love we have for our brothers over there? Or did we get rid of our DSTV decoders? Let me stop on this to reduce the tempo of questions.
Truth need be told on the other hand. Why are Nigerians always rushing abroad to work for other nations when they can assist boost the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of their own country? Or in a lesser tone, how many Nigerians really have something nice to do over there if not become slaves in another man's land? The few among these invaders after making it over there will still invest all their earnings there without remembering their own nation and those 'yahoo boys' after making their way unscrupulously will travel down abroad to spend their money in foreign countries' market and leave their economy impoverish. When they get caught,they keep blaming the government for not providing job and making them find an unscrupulous way to mouth, and if you ask them what they've done to help their country in the short time they get paid, NOTHING to show off.
As harsh as it may sound,we are our own problem, not even only the government anymore.
Until the government invest in telecommunications, satellite TVs and many more. South Africans will always victimise Nigerians in their land. And until we help our own nation in every little chance we get, we will always live in doldrums.
I picked up my pen in a dysphoria mood but with a sincere mind, we have to realise we are the problems we have.
God bless Nigeria!!!!
Soneye Abdul-Azeez Lekan
Soneyeabdazeezl@gmail.com
08102721959
IG @ Las2boytr
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