This post is made in respect of Steemit In Nigeria (SIN2) Conference which has been slated to hold between 30th October to 4th November, 2018. And so all SBD generated would be used to make SIN2 conference a success.
Nigeria as a country is often confronted with its own domestic problem which brings about disunity among her citizens. National unity is very hard to attain and harder especially in countries with diverse cultures and languages. This fact is also founded in the personal and ego centric nature of man which explains why twins don’t want or aspire same thing.
The Yoruba people of Nigeria speak over 600 dialects. Among the Yoruba alone, there is a conflict of interest because there is always this personal affiliation to one’s dialect despite being Yoruba. You will hear the Ijebu people say ‘we are different from the Abeokuta people’ and vice versa. Ijebu and Abeokuta are under one state – Ogun, yet they wallow in petty superiority over one another. This also happens to other Yoruba part who believe by virtue of history, they are superior to others.
If the Yorubas alone could have this apparent problem, how much more the whole people of Nigeria with diverse cultures, customs and traditions. Dialect and not language is our greatest barrier. We have a general language - Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa (The three major languages) but we do not understand the dialect within out tribes.
Even being an Ijebu person, I cannot speak fluently my dialect. Whenever my paternal grandma visits, I struggle within reality and confusion because I do not understand most things she says and she would just keep complaining.
Many Nigerians have these problems too. You will hear Igbo people say "that is not our own dialect". They understand the general Igbo (I believe) but there are certain ones they do not understand fully, though there is always similarities between these dialect since they are under one tribe – Igbo.
It has been argued that Nigeria’s first problem of unity can be traced to it's division into three regions. These regions are separated by ethnic and geographical entity. Then we had Eastern, Western and Northern regions. These regions have conflicting cultures among themselves and politics ensured there is always a reason to fight one another.
Recently, we have seen agitations from different angles. While some call for secession, some argue for a restructuring. According to the former, there is a need to break Nigeria because the amalgamation of 1914 is faulty. The latter are of the opinion that the foundation on which Nigeria as a nation was founded is faulty and there is a need to revisit and restructure it in a way that it will address all present problems facing the people.
The important thing in human life is to identify and accept that there is a problem. Once we discover this, then the problem ceases to be a problem because our target would be to proffer solution to it.
That which unites us is greater than that which divides us. There is a need for us to work together as one entity. The Nigeria of today is the home of many and we need to understand the consequences of disunion to fully understand what we are actually looking for.
We have cross-marriages in Nigeria. Igbo people marry Hausa people and vice versa. Of what benefit would disunity be to these people considering the way we clamour for it?
We need to consider the consequences, picture the reality of the result if division happens and how to move forward after then. It is not a question of theory but a matter of reality.
The unity of this great country will do us more good than we can ever imagine and the unity of this great country is what SIN2 stands for.
I am hopeful of a country where these apparent differences ranging from dialects, cultures, customs and traditions have no effect on the people.
According to @ehiboss in this post, the whole event has been estimated to gulp $9000. We need everyone support to make this biggest steem event in African continent a huge success. The date is **30th October — 4th November, 2018. And the event official website is www.sinofficial.com
You can support this SIN2 Abuja conference throug any of the following:
- Upvoting this post and other SIN2 targeted posts
- Resteeming this post
- Sending donations.
Thank you for reading.
God bless Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Compiled by @smyle for @euronation community
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