I am in the backseat of a Volkswagen wagon on the highway from Zungeru. I just opened my last bag of chips and plugged my earphones to Kid Kudi singing The Prayer. The road is proving unsurprisingly thrilling and subtly revealing the reasons behind its pull on dedicated and professional travelers. It is very easy to get sucked into the love of the wind and occasional dust in your face. The freedom of being in a place where you are nobody. The glimmer in the eyes of the locals when they witness your astonishment at simple elements of their daily lives. They also respond with hostility when you try to objectify them, as in their physical bodies. They don't mind you taking pictures of their landscape or the livestock but you don't just take a picture of Almajiri boys hurdled by the roadside on the highway to Kontagora. They will throw rocks at you. Can't have everything right?
Let me start by saying that I am at a point in my life as a citizen, actor and critic of the Nigerian Case where I cannot help but feel pity for some of us who have allowed themselves to be the voice of disunity, irrationality, violence, fanaticism, hate and downright stupidity. At a time when Nigeria needs as many reasonable men as she can manage, a lot of us have failed her. Today started off with a protest following a rumor which of course turned out to be true. While I cannot stick my neck out in defense of anybody, I have to say that the sheer lack of reasoning that greeted the announcement of the postponement of elections, is a clear indication of all that is wrong with the country today. It is that stubborn refusal to entertain any view contrary to the ones we hold. But It is impossible for any group of people to move forward or even stick together if they absolutely refuse to UNDERSTAND one another. The reactions from some people in both camps makes one who is not convers...







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