By Rev. Pat Amobi Chukwuma
Ignorance is a chronic disease that washes away the surface of the human brain. Somehow, we can describe it as mental gully erosion. It can be cured if discovered on time and the right medication applied. If not treated, it can mess up the victim and cause him or her public disgrace. Rub must always talk rubbish. A fool always acts foolishly.
My birthday falls on 1st April, which is globally known as April Fools’ Day. Hence the spirit of foolishness possesses me often. But by the grace of God and by ardent effort, I became a wise fool. In other words, there is wisdom in foolishness.
Now let us march forward. The parents of a bouncing baby boy invited many guests, including my humble self, to the naming ceremony of their first child after twelve years of childlessness. The occasion began with an opening prayer said by me. Then, kola was served which consisted of kola nut, garden eggs and groundnut paste. I blessed the kola while the eldest man among the invitees broke the kola nut traditionally.
He asked God to eat the kola nut as a whole while we the participants would eat the pieces. Before the conclusion of the rite of kola nut breaking, I raised an objection. I was recognized. I stood up and asked, ‘If God eats the kola nut as a whole, where do we get the pieces to eat?’ Both the elderly man and the whole guests burst out laughing. After this, the high blood pressure of some of the guests became normal. Jest and laughter are medicinal. Do not die in isolation and melancholy.
Then the naming ceremony proper commenced. The Chairman of the occasion took the newly born baby boy from the mother and presented him to the guests. Everyone joined together in giving God a standing ovation for the precious gift. He enquired the name to be given to the child. The unlettered father of the child cleared his throat and said, ‘My wife and I want our baby boy to be as strong as that strong man who drove away foreigners from South Africa. Hence, we have decided to name him Xenophobia!’ On hearing this, the guests broke into pieces.
A few were hailing the ignorant couple. The majority shouted, ‘No! No!! No!!! This name is abominable!’ The master of ceremony took up the microphone and asserted, ‘What a nonsensical nonsense! Here is not South Africa. The baby boy’s name should be Udonaegobia. The literal meaning is “Let Peace and Money come.” If good governance and money come to Nigeria, then Nigerians have no need of living in South Africa.
What happened at the naming ceremony caused academic havoc. I was left wondering and speechless. A wonderful person keeps wondering. A speechless person’s brain is full of thoughts without being verbally expressed. Instantly I consulted the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English to get the definition of Xenophobia. It defines xenophobia as “extreme fear or dislike of people from other countries”.
Chai! ‘Ewuataam igu n’isi!’ This means that something strange has happened. How can fellow Africans be hostile to their brothers and sisters in the same continent and of the same skin colour? Black South Africans have quickly forgotten how they suffered for years from the hands of few White men among them, which was called Apartheid Regime.
Nigeria helped in no small measure to liberate them from the lion’s claws. Now xenophobic attack is the order of the day. They went about protesting, destroying and killing. They shouted, “Nigerians must go!” Soon, a bag will be designed and stamped ”Nigerians-must-go”. If Nigerians must go, what is the fate of South Africans living in Nigeria? Must they also go? Since Cain killed his brother, Abel, in the jungle, the world has not been the same again.
This reminds me of an ugly experience I had once while studying in Germany some years ago. I was the sole black priest living among white religious men. All of them were friendly with me except one. Being friendly with foreigners in German language is known as “Auslaenderfreundlichkeit.” On the other hand, being hostile to foreigners is called “Auslaenderfeindlichkeit.” Those who are hostile are as dangerous as the devil. If you happen to meet them in lonely places, you will say your last prayers and wait for whatever that may befall you.
Their eyes are always red and their faces gloom. So, hardly did I know that there was an enemy in the house until one day we were going for outing (Ausflug). He was standing at the exit door. Happily I asked him which direction we were going. He hauled at me and would have shot me if he had a gun with him. But the hauling was more than a gun fire. I was filled with shock and dizziness. When I recovered, I distanced myself from him from thence.
In the Chapel and refectory, I sighted him before occupying any seat. I lived in the house for five months while studying Deutsch at Bonn. As I was taking my last supper in the house, I informed my table members that I would leave them in two days’ time for my actual studies at Vallendar in Germany. The enemy in cassock sitting far away overheard it and emotionally shouted, “UeberMorgen?” (Next tomorrow?). The best answer to a fool is silence. I knew he was expressing his joyful emotion over my departure.
If you travel to any part of the world and you do not see any Nigerian, especially Igbo, then it becomes obvious that the place is uninhabitable. Nigerians are progressive wherever they live. They are not lazy but hardworking. The hostile South Africans felt that Nigerians have come to usurp their job opportunities.
Thus the envious blood of Cain entered into their body systems and they took up arms against foreigners in general and Nigerians in particular. I thank the Nigerian government for rescuing and flying home the stranded Nigerians in South Africa. Many are still trapped over there. Lives have been lost. Their businesses have been shattered. Those who have returned are thanking God that they came home alive. However, their headache now is what next?
If things were working well here in Nigeria, then, millions of Nigerians would not be seeking for greener pastures in foreign countries. It is bad condition that made the crayfish to bend. God endowed our country, Nigeria, with abundant natural and human resources. The endemic problem is bad governance. If we had good leadership, what would Nigerians be looking for in South Africa? Apart from bad governance, insecurity is the greatest problem now.
Those who came home from South Africa are living in fear of what is to come. Is it better to die from xenophobic attack in South Africa or to die in the hands of terrorists, bandits and kidnappers here in Nigeria? What is the difference between escaping from a leopard and later being devoured by a lion?
Recently, the Federal Government changed the Nigerian National Anthem from “Arise O Compatriots!” back to “Nigeria, we hail Thee!” This is real chasing of the wind. The wording or tone of the National Anthem is not our problem but the application. We have got it wrong right from the ill-fated First Republic which led to the unfortunate civil war or genocide. If we understand leadership as a service, then there will be peace and progress.
Corruption kills leadership. Corruption is walking freely in the streets of Nigeria without molestation. The rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer. Our electoral system is nothing to write home about. Election rigging breeds bad governance. Evil can never beget good. It is only free, fair and credible elections that can offer us hope. Hence, hope cannot be renewed in the state of hopelessness. Nigerians are suffering and dying. Is there any hope of recovery in 2027? In God we trust!
