OPINION: BETWEEN FRANCE AND NIGERIAN KILLINGS AND WHY WE MUST TELL OUR OWN STORIES...

Dear people of the world,

Good day.

We're all aware of the trend yesterday nah? The France killings and how Nigerians decided to spread mat on the matter like say nah their papa parlour.

This echoes my thoughts and I'd

I saw a lot of my Nigerian friends wearing the French flag in solidarity with France, following the chilling massacre in Paris on Friday. I also said a prayer for France and any person who is not touched by what terrorists are doing tocivilization is a terrorist himself.

Apart from people adding the French flag to their profile
pictures, as suggested by Facebook, I also noticed another trend among some Nigerians: the many questioning why the world would be more
concerned about deaths in France while thousands killed by Boko Haram has never drawn
such an outrage. This observation is right on the face value. I understand the attitude of the West to our concerns as degrading and snubbish. However, there is another angle to it. The scenario reminds
me of an Igbo proverb (I love my Igbo language) which says, "Onye kpo oba ya nkpokoro,
agbataobi ya ewere ya kporo ahihia." (If you call your vessel/container useless, your neighbour will use it to carry refuse/waste). In other words, if
you don't say what a thing means to you, nobody will take you seriously.

We have to ask ourselves these questions: How many times have Nigerians reacted as one
against all Boko Haram attacks? Every time killings happen in Nigeria, it either about GEJ or
Buhari, about the "baby factory Igbos" or the "mumu Hausas." When has any single killing not
been politicized that even the government in power was able to condemn it with the seriousness it requires? So, how do you expect the world to rally around you when your press
and citizens are busy blaming one party or the other when these things happen?

It is unfortunate we have not learnt to value each other. You should not expect others to give you what you don't consider valuable. All life matters
as I hear many say within this "Africa too narrative" but then we must also value our lives.
Africa, Nigeria must unite when tragedy happens. We cannot behave the way we do and expect others to respect what we do not respect. The
politics of bitterness we play even in the face of tragedy is horrible and discouraging for all who care.

Let us tell our stories. Let us value who we are. That many Nigerians can speak with one voice for France, but cannot speak with same voice when it
happens at their background is telling. It shows our penchant for consumption of foreign things
and ever preferring it to our own – life included.
It is a shame and we should question if we are really conscious of how we destroy collective image by installments.

By the way, ijekwa church?