BROTHER HOOD OF THE FUMES

Please do you have a lighter? She asked, and instantly a conversation ensued, oh its right here he said ”smiling” ,she took the lighter lit her cigarette and they started chatting ceremoniously as if they had been friends for a very  long time, this is the norm. Smokers find it easy to relate to other smokers as if they are friends or relatives, it is almost as if they have one ancestralage or they could be trace to a metaphysical connector .The essence of the article however is not to elaborate on the wonderful world of smokers or the brother hood of the fumes but the essence is to talk of the lark of unity in our Nigerian community both in the country and in the diasporas. I once met a Rasta man who was being hostile to me, but when my friend who was also a Rasta man came to greet me and I tried to imitate the patua language of the Rasta (the little I knew) automatically the guy became jovial and even went as far as extending to me a free rap of marijuana as a sign of solidarity, eventually I didn’t use the marijuana but I had to take it because of host and visitors courtesy, on the other side of the coin I have traveled widely across  Africa and it never cease to amaze me how Nigerians abhors or even segregate them self ,a typical stereo typed phenomenon which is now synonymous to all of us, I too have been guilty of the behooving crime  at times, but in my own case you don’t have to totally blame me, the human race has a lot of blame to take also, people has shown me the barbaric and unthankful part, it’s almost like a plague but over time I have learnt to forgive and still have  faith in the Nigerian race and cum the human race, I have learnt to be careful when dealing with people but to give everybody the benefit of doubt, because like our criminal law says and as is enunciated in the celebrated Mc Naughton’s case(1843) Everybody is presumed to be innocent/sane until the contrary is proved, Nigerians we have the chance to make the future great for all of us I dear say we have the greatest number of good honest hardworking people in the world but the image we ourselves paint, our self is the problem “We are the engineers of our own misfortune” When last did I hear a Nigerian say “GOD BLESS NIGERIA” when last did you say “GOD BLESS PHCN” or even “GOD BLESS THE PRESIDENT” because until we start saying that. The status quo will remain this same  as we forge into a new age 2013 we need to take time to plan and strategies how to make our nation great how we would carry our  selves ,and love our brothers as we love ourselves just like our wonderful brothers of the fumes love themselves just because of a mere addiction.