THE PAIN OF ‘WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?’ Category: saturday column Published on Saturday, 15 December 2012 06:00 Written by Bala Muhammad Hits: 2984 One of the afflictions of a colonially-created nation-state is that many nationalities, ethnic groups and tribes were jumbled up together without the consent, or even prior knowledge, of the affected peoples. Since the Berlin Conference of the 1880s, Africa has found itself in this situation, where birds NOT of the same feather are forced by circumstances to flock together. Sadly, we have NOT been able to shed those different feathers and grow into ‘nations’. It must be admitted however that some few nation- states (such as neighbouring Niger Republic during military rule and Rwanda since the 1994 genocide) have managed to push ethnicity below the radar. But here in Nigeria, the phenomenon of “Where Do You Come From” is hot on every agenda, be it political, social or economic. We are so ‘advanced’ in that that it is the first thing that comes to the mind of a fellow citizen whenever he or she meets another at home or abroad. Indeed, The Pain of “Where Do You Come From” has been agitating my mind.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:17:35 +0000