I remember an occurrence in 2015 when my friend Ifeanyi Chidi and I traveled to Zanzibar Island from DareSalaam.
In the evening while Johnstone Matini from Kenya was catching up with his old friend and Winfred Okatch from Uganda and other friends were resting from the long day business chat that we had with the Zanzibar Island Chamber of Commerce Chairman ( a young man in his early 30s), we were invited to a club to see around by a friend.
While I was bored in the club seeing white men and women jumping around like toads and drinking beer.
Initially, it felt like the colonial eras for me because I saw they way they felt when we came in as the only blacks. I noticed the men telling their young ladies to stay away from us as we are dangerous.
I was disgusted and expecting one of them to misbehave where I am and that club will shutdown that night 😡🤣.
I was just wishing Ifeanyi will say it's time to return to the hotel.
Alas, the D.J started playing Nigerian jamz 😯. Ofcourse you know me na, I started shouting with Ifeanyi and displaying my dancing skills.
The white guy's stood still in amazement and eventually joined us, learning the Nigerian dance steps. I was filled with so much ecstasy that moment.
After a while, I was getting tired of dancing when I saw a fellow black man in a club of the "white" and I was seriously hoping he was a fellow Nigerian, not caring what part of the country he will come from.
Then after observing us for a while he drew closer and said "with the way you are controlling this club, you guys must be Nigerians"
I immediately answered "yeah we are proud Nigerians and very great people"
Then he said "no wonder! Well, I'm from Naija too"
If you see the way I shouted and carried this guy?! I quickly whispered to IfeanyiChidi, "omo that guy na Naija boy o!"
We were so excited and my energy came back immediately. Again the three of us danced and danced, infact I went to the DJ to ask him not to play any other song except Nigerian till we leave.
We immediately started exchanging contacts and he told us that his company in Abuja sent him there for a course which he's done with and must return to Nigeria that morning.
This memory played back in my head yesterday and it made me realize that it is possible for Nigerians to be united and stay happy together.
If you ask Nigerians in the diaspora, you will know that they are more united as Nigerians over there than when they come home.
It's possible for us to find a common group of strength, love, unity and happiness. Things like football and other things we can invent.
Truth is there's so much we can do together and for one another as a United people. The disrespect and hatred we face by non Nigerians is as a result of our division as a nation.
Nigeria is a special country with very great people and we can't afford to keep allowing our bad leaders mislead us.
God Bless Nigeria.
Dada-Stephen Dst
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