Thread by @TheBaba_D

AN OPEN LETTER TO NORTHERN YOUTHS.

THEAD

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#banRenoOmokri Atiku , Wike , Ngige , Zaria.

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Dear Northern Youths, many of us were not born during the 1967 -1970 Nigerian/Biafran war, so, we can only read what transpired by the information made available to us by genuine or bias minds who have continued to pass this information as an object of division amongst us.

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We were all born free in Nigeria, we never met that war, as devastating as the story may be, we should have over the years moved away from it. But it seems the constant recite of the incident is now a tool in the hands of dying politicians who have left us no legacies…

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.other than debts & ruins.
During the 2001 Kano Riot, there was a Northerner who used to sell Onions in our local markets, & somehow we became very close. When that riot degenerated to reprisal attacks in Southern States, I picked him & hid him in my room for weeks.

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His brothers had absconded back to the North leaving him behind because he didn’t return home on time from the market due to rain. I left my house at around 2am, took the village route & walked about 2 kilometres to his lodge, knocked on his door, he was afraid.

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But I had a mimicking tone that I always use on him to identify my voice.

Immediately I said those words, he asked if I was alone, I said yes & he opened the door. I told him I had come to him to a safe place. He picked a few things & followed me.

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We walked 2 kilometres through apian way to my house. I kept him in my own room for 3 weeks.

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In 2009, I was in Owerri with a friend, & at about 8pm, we decided to go out & buy Akara from down the street, we were already there when a group of mob were dragging a man suspected to be an Hausa man, he used to sell Suya in a Street around Chukwuma Nwaoha road.

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They alleged they caught him sleeping with an underage girl.

He was about being lynched when I stepped in, pleaded with the mob who didn’t even want to listen to me, to please allow me take him & if at all there should be any action, let it be by the police.

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I gave out my N20,000 instantly, took the Suya guy in my custody from the mob & asked to see the parents of the young girl.

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For want of time, I wouldn’t want to go into how I settled that case which lasted for 2 weeks. But the bottom line is, I saved that young man, paid part of the compensation to the girl’s father. I didn’t know this Hausa guy from anywhere.

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At that time, I was only driven by the humanity in me. I didn’t remember religion, I didn’t remember ethnicity. My love for humanity took the wheel.

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In 2019, I had visited Malaysia on a business trip from Singapore, on my third day in Malaysia, I was in a service apartment in Kuala Lumpur with a friend when I heard loud voices downstairs, looking out the balcony, I saw a black man being beaten by 3 young Malaysian guys,

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…I drew the attention of my friend who told me the guy way from Northern Nigeria & lives in the same apartment. I quickly entered the elevator down to the basement. I didn’t ask what he did before I jumped into that scene to save him.

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At that time, I was never thinking of ethnicity or religion. I saw a brother, a human, a black man. His tribe & religion became inconsequential to me. I joined the fight immediately I tried to make peace & it wasn’t working.

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… I pulled him out of the fight by receiving punches & throwing punches.
It didn’t matter to me, what mattered was that I couldn’t stand the bully against a brother based on his skin colour & race profiling.

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Most times I ask, would any Northerner do all these for me? Yes! I have lived in Abuja, & I have had Northern friends from our establishment who were neither too political, religious or ethnical. We played football in Wuse-2 together, at Exclusive Stores many times together.
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Why am I writing all these? I have over the past few days read several inciting comments from People like @renoomokri who pose to love the North more. These people are the same set of people who had called Buhari names over the years & made mockery of him his people.

It seems that every political dispensation, these people are hired by political detractors to dispense religious & ethnic venoms to incite the young & ordinary suffering masses of Nigeria against each other. Dear brothers, for how long will we continue like this?

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Do we really hate each other or were we taught to hate each other? Aside from what you & I have been told to poison our minds, do we have any personal issues?

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This people that always incite us against each other, do they love us? How have they helped us better our lives? How have they shown us love? What have they ever given to us free of charge? Have they ever worked for our political & economic liberation or collective interest?
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Those who incite us against each other, by using their own mistakes of yesteryears which we were not part of, how much do they love us? How have they shown us love? How much have they bettered our lives? Are we benefiting from the hatred/division they are sowing amongst us?

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I was taught to hate the Hausas just as you were taught to hate the Igbos. At the end, what have we benefited from this hatred? But look around you, can you not see what those who incite us against each other have benefited from inciting us?

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They seem to be benefiting from our constant hatred against each other. The reason they fuel it every time. We have remained their pawn. They weaponise hunger, illiteracy, religion & ethnic politics against us. We have become their fools over the years.

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For how long will we continue to massage our oppressors’ ego & fan their embers?

Let me tell us this, your oppressor is your oppressor. His greatest desire is to continue to oppress you. No matter what you do for your oppressor; if you like lick his shoes, bleed for him,

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… your oppressor will still oppress you. No oppressor is your friend. He want to Lord over your forever, he is happy you are under him, he manliness is massaged by the thought that you are not man enough. He validates himself by oppressing you.

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When you are sober enough, ask yourself this question: apart from being incited to hate one another based on tribal & religious sentiments, do i have any personal issues with this person I am hating. Is this person I am hating part of our economic & political woes?

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Those who incite me to hate others, are they inciting me because they love me more? Do they love me that much? What have they benefited me? Ask yourself these questions in sober. You will understand how much a fool we have been.

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It is time we start seeing people like Reno, Sega Link, Deji etc. as enemies of our collective unity, harmony, interest, love and progress. I have not seen any reason to hate each other apart from the reasons they hand over to us which are beneficial to them.

Thank you.

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