Home OPINION COLUMNISTS Why Are We, Nigerians, This Black? By Yusuf Ozi-Usman

Why Are We, Nigerians, This Black? By Yusuf Ozi-Usman

When I was growing up, one of the things I loathed and vehemently objected to was the classification of anything Africa as black, like black witches, black wizards, black power and so on. This was in contract to the term ‘white witches’ and so on.

As I began to understand that while white people applied their knowledge, especially, scientific and spiritual knowledge to create things that benefit humanity, black people applied the same knowledge for evil things, my grudge turned into anger. Take for example, the aero plane, which white people create using the same witchcraft, as black people who use it to fly around, killing fellow human beings mysteriously.

Similarly, while white people apply their scientific knowledge in the form of telephone, and lately, cell phone, to communicate with people across the world, the black people apply the same knowledge to eavesdrop conversation going on in far distance for the purpose of harming or killing fellow human being.

As a matter of fact, the blackness in us, Africans, and at close-range, Nigerians, has taken root in the youths and those I would like to call delinquent adults, including some religious and political leaders, so much that one is worried where it is taking all of us, including them.

For whatever reason, Nigeria has been turned simply into a war zone where human lives mean virtually nothing because the carriers of hatred and hate speeches have taken over the communication space, for no express reason other than the contest for ephemeral power.

As it happened in Rwanda a few years ago, the carriers of hate speeches have been going the whole length to plant and share in social media, information and images that occurred either in other countries or even during the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970), for the purpose of inflaming more crises, mainly religious and communal. They do it so perfectly that many gullible people have fallen for it and either get killed in the process of killing imaginary enemy or maimed or escape death to continue with the evil course.

It is pretty certain that the kind of conflagration that has overtaken many parts of Nigeria in recent time, in which people, innocent as they are, are being killed daily or frequently, would have been unheard of if it were not the latest technology embedded in social media that is being exploited by those with black minds. They include their sponsors and the foot soldiers that are unfortunate to have possessed such knowledge of social media manipulation. This is the same technology that white people are using to rake in bundles of cash for personal and societal development.

In this madness to pull this country down even if all of us would die in the process, are the promoters of hatred and hate speeches and their foot soldiers that have gone to the extent of writing and posting into the social media platforms, opinions they conceived to achieve their aim, presenting such opinions as that of targeted groups. And, it seems that the evil people are already getting the good ones involved without knowing it: like some innocent readers helping to share the evil that such black-minded people post on their Facebook or other media of communication.

Honestly, the rate at which we are going, with hateful preaching in our religious centres, at social gatherings, in our homes and in the social media, we, all of us without exception, may fall victims of the consequences of what we are taking for granted.

The irony is that, like I said earlier, the promoters and their foot soldiers may not have escape roots when the bubble busts: they too will be consumed by the fire they are igniting; all because they, the masters, can no longer bear the brunt of ‘poverty,’ brought about by the government that divorces them from the wealth that, originally and ordinarily, is not theirs.

But, must we be this crude? Must we this black? Should we kowtow to the powerful, corrupt and rampaging politicians, religious leaders, and traditional rulers to get back what they think they are losing by pulling the house down on all of us? Must we always be black and do black things to show our big muscles? Or to chase away leaders that are not doing our bidding?

If we cannot practice the tenets of democracy (getting in good leaders and getting out bad leaders by civilized election), have we now returned to the medieval, archaic and God-damned method of using cutlasses and guns and knives to chase leaders out? Where is the civilization here, for God’s sake?

If I may ask, have we ever heard of American politicians maintaining and empowering thugs for the purpose of capturing power? What is the power anyway, if it is not for the purpose of service to the people?

Why are we, in Nigeria so desperate and always want to play God or hurrying God to put us where we ordinarily should not be? Why would few powerful ones think that if they cannot have their ways, then the country must go up in flames, using all their ill gotten wealth for the purpose?

In all these grieving, I don’t know now whether I should regret being a Nigerian and black-skinned, or curse to high heaven, those who make my being a Nigerian a harrowing experience.

I don’t know! Too bad! [myad]