“Where are you from?”, the villager asked. The soldier responded, “I am from Nigeria”. The man then followed, “your drinks on me”. While in my village (Ovim, Abia state) during the 2019 Christmas visit, I overheard that conversation in a shop.
I am going back to that conversation because it is possible that part of the military training has to do with the ways they are asked to identify themselves. Yes, do not say “I am from Edo, Lagos, Uyo…. but simply Nigeria”. That is unity squared as in algebra.
Now the question: if soldiers see themselves as being from Nigeria, is there an opportunity to move from “state of origin” to “state of residence” for Nigerians? There needs to be a structural solution to the evolving demons of tribalism in Nigeria.
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