I know a man, my dad to be precise who has a jealous love for his hometown – particularly, my village, Isichukwu; it means a lot to him. I also know another man whose dream is to help our town – Ekwulummili, (consisting of four villages) achieve their pride of place in the state, Anambra State. I’ve also met another man who though cares as much as these first two men, but cares more for the entire Igbo race, he wouldn’t limit his passion to just one State. In fact, he could die for it.
All these men are good men; I’ve also met similar good men whose hearts beat for the entire nation – not just for their tribe (ranging from big to small tribes) or state. For some, this choice is a necessary one. When your tribe is merely 20% of one state, you need to grow a big heart. The point is that all these men are passionate, disciplined and focused; beyond talk, they are all doing something about these passions of theirs.
I’ve also met men who don’t really care much about States, tribe or even nation, they just love their science, to them, their science community is the nation, they do not have boundaries; for others it is not science, it is business. By now, I hope you are beginning to get my point; it is easy for any of these men to belittle the other…to call them names and the like. You must have heard folks compare between Ojukwu and Zik; reading an interview on Zik of late, I couldn’t but hail the man; he really did have a large heart. Beyond his One Nigeria stance, is his passion for Africa. Some say he was before his time; he wasn’t, but we all remember differently, so let’s not argue the point. Zik, was for Africa and I bear not just his name – Nnamdi, but also his passion, add the Mandela part to it and you find the full weight of my persuasions.
Now, these passions of ours, if we really think about it are occasioned by the possibilities we see; if the challenges of a nation overwhelm you, it would be best to start with a State; if you can do little about a State, then a town will do just fine. We somehow choose these focuses based on our current and envisaged capacities; we want to count, to leave a mark, to make a difference. Not just we, but others too; the Chinese want to be competitive, so, they do their best, even if their best might inadvertently hurt the economies of other nations. Like my Tie and Dye friends at Kano, the Chinese imports really isn’t helping matters, though these guys don’t hate China, it is hard to love them right now…it is this competition of sorts, for scarce resources that make these passions urgent; “we must have it now”, our change must come now…we must build civilisation, even if we have to die building it, even if it kills us…we say so, because we don’t know ourselves, indeed we do not.
Men build civilisations, but civilisations are temporal; ancient Rome was glorious, but that Rome is no more…yea, Athens and the British empire too; and now we worry that the great America will go the same way. No race, no tribe, no nation or creed has built that lasting utopia; yet we still try, like the many before us, praying that the God who made us great shall make us greater still, we want to hold the wind.
History tells us nay, that this cannot be home; this civilisation cannot be home…though we must make the best of it, yet, we must do so as travellers passing by, on a common history…the best of us sojourners are those who recognise that where we began and where we are going are common…nothing will change that. If you miss this, what can we say to you?
It is on such note of contemplation that I consider again the neighbour question; a righteous man had been told by the Lord that the greatest commandment was to love God and to love his neighbour. A wise man, he wanted to know who this his neighbour was…apparently the God part was easier, and it indeed is. Hence, the story of the good Samaritan; the Good Lord by that story shatters our assumptions of good neighbourliness; our neighbour as defined by the Lord, is that person whom our action and inactions will affect positively or negatively, he need not be of the same race, creed, tribe or nation.
Our boundary, therefore is at this boundary of neighbour loving; we do so because we all are eternal, Rome is gone, but the Romans still are. Soon, your civilization, this our hustle and bustle will want men to even remember them. Don’t take it personal, but this doesn’t matter much, a great man was once asked, “what do you know now, that you wished you would have known as a teenager?” He gave an insightful answer: “I wish I knew that when you get to the top, there is nothing there”. True, there is nothing there but a good perspective, which I must say is something…at the top, we find a better perspective; hence, the wisdom of hearkening to the Lord, the one who made the top.
Finally, He speaks to us as individuals, not as groups, you came alone dear, and shall stand alone at the end.
