THE WORLD AS IT IS

The Primary School I attended had the attendance of both Christians and Muslims. At a point, my best friend was a boy called Umar. I walked with him from Police Children School to Kwararafa with absolutely no fear whatsoever, we shared everything we had together and we made sacrifices for each other. Within the same school, we had children from all tribes within the country. Actually, our tribes were not important.

Secondary School was almost the same thing. We were a conflagration of Nigeria in one place. The diversity was deep. Mwaghavul, Igbos, Yoruba, Ngas, Berom, Tiv, Idoma, etc… we were all in one place. At a point, my favorite friend and corner mate was a Muslim, again. Abdul. My relationship with Abdul was the most curious of all. I prayed fervently for Abdul. One of my constant prayers to God during night vigils was for God to change Abdul’s heart and bring him to the knowledge of the gospel. I truly loved Abdul and I felt a certain form of responsibility to travail for him. I am sad to announce that more than a decade later, Abdul is still a Muslim. Yet over these years, my love for Abdul has not changed. Our friendship has not been destroyed by our difference in beliefs. Several times while together with Abdul he will take any excuse to say he was headed to prayer. No question, I will bid him farewell and wait for him. I distinctly remember a time I waited for him at Unijos to go for prayers while I sat under NASSA Spot, doing nothing other than waiting for a friend. For I and Abdul, despite our almost unbridgeable difference in beliefs, our friendship has remained something of extreme value to both of us. I do not condemn Abdul because he is a Muslim, and I firmly believe he does not do the same for me. I would have wanted Abdul to be a Christian, and I guess he would have wanted me to be a Muslim too. But I am not a Muslim. And He is not a Christian. This is the world as it is! We will always be different. We cannot always, and we may never be the same on this side of eternity.

More and more, our world is showing that this simple statement of life is being rejected. We, humans, are finding it hard to accept the world as it is. The deep polarization in our world is a product of a lack of accepting the world as it is. From the violence in Kwara due to the hijab controversy to the storming of the Capitol Hill in the United States, it is an overflow of a human state of mind that refuses to accept that the next person may have completely different beliefs from me. It is inevitable, your sister might be a republican and your pastor may be a democrat. The woman who sells your favorite food in school is probably Fulani. And the man who sits next to you on the bus is probably Ngas. This is the world as it is. You cannot change that, you cannot alter it, and neither can you deny it. Denial of this is what creates a resentment that has led to the ostracization of family members, of friends, and the destruction of relationships.

Of course, there are other things that contribute to why our world is as polarized as it is, but first, we must begin at a place where we realize that indeed, we will meet those who hold different opinions than us, those who look different from us, and those who fundamentally we may not have anything in common, however, that does not make them less human, or evil, or unpatriotic or unintelligent. It is just the world as it is. Living in the world as it is means embracing diversity in all its splendor. Embracing diversity is not the forsaking of your ideals or believe, it is recognizing that we are different but we have to live together. As we think about what to do in such a polarized world, the first step we can all take is to accept that we are different, hold different opinions and can all live together. It will not be innovative, but it may be revolutionary in a world where we are more polarized than ever.

At the root of it all, you are dealing with a human being, accept him or her just for being human!