Urgent Need to Ease Rising Tension

Let us ask ourselves this question, when is the right time to start putting smiles on the faces of Nigeria? With all the hardship we have passed through in the years past, the time has come to douse the tension. Yes, it is not celebration time yet, but a time to give ourselves a break, a time to ease the wrecked nerves from the hardship that we all have had to endure. We have endure bad governance for decades, denying ourselves of basic amenities that as tax payers, the government is mandated to provide.

Haruna is a peasant farmer, and just like any other Nigerian, what exactly does he need? He expect government to provide for him functional power supply, good roads, schools, hospitals etc. and he will live a good and happy lifestyle by providing shelter for himself and produce his own food, with excess that he can push into the national food basket.

For decades, we have endured the absence of all of these and the hardship has reached a nerve wrecking level, tempers are very high and we can trace this to the high level of violence and criminality. It is time to stop and give the people a break. Remove embargo on employment, give workers a little raise and re-vitalized the Independence Day celebration, making it a big national celebration. Organize a national cultural festival, national sports fiesta or anything of that sort that will bring Nigerians together to cheer and compete. We need to play a bit to ease the tension.

Nigerians are naturally happy people, we were once known to be the World’s Happiest People, but the current wave of hardship across the land has taken the smile and shine off our faces and we need to bring back our happiness, re-introduce peace and tranquility in our land once again. It is true that these measures will cost the nation some money, but the benefits to be derived are inestimable.

It is time we once again start to live as good neighbours and be our brother’s keepers. We have to bury the hatchets of tribalism and focus more on our cultural diversity and see as an instrument of unity. It would be relieving to see once again, the colourful Calabar, Ijaw and Igbo masquerades exchange pleasantry with the Eyos of Lagos as they dance and match along the Streets during festive periods.

These measures may appear to be a small gesture, but has the propensity to start up a cultural renaissance wereby tribal groups will seize to be militant organizations and pose as defenders of their tribes men whenever there are issues of difference between one group and the other. Nigeria is one indivisible entity, and must remain one no matter our differences.

One Nigeria!