T H E 8 T H W O N D E R O F T H E W O R L D ... - Naijamania

Our Responsibility
“It is the one
who chases after
a chicken
that falls, not the
chicken.”
120
African Proverb
and then wait for their response. I can assure you that the person
will not take kindly to it. In fact, in the process you would probably
have made an enemy for life.
Here is a true story to buttress my point. Some years back a friend
of mine jokingly told an American diplomat living in Nigeria
that God built His BQ (boys’ quarters) in the United States and
then moved over to Nigeria to build His mansion.
This was supposed to be a joke but the diplomat did not consider
it at all funny. Needless to say, from the time my friend made that
statement until the diplomat left the country, they ceased to be
on speaking terms.
The American diplomat took offence and stopped talking to him.
He took his statement personally. As far as he was concerned, it
was an insult to his country and, therefore, to his person.
This anecdote illustrates how passionate Americans are about
their country and anything American. It also shows how they
treat people who dare to disrespect or insult their motherland.
We need to take a cue from them and learn what patriotism is all
about.
From now on, please make it a point of duty not to tolerate any
foreigner who dares to make uncomplimentary statements about
Nigeria. If any foreigner disparages Nigeria around you, take it
up with that person and make it personal. Make such a big issue
out of it so that you will be the last Nigerian that they will ever
dare to say such things to!
Quite a number of us also complain incessantly about Nigeria
to each other. In How to Be a Nigerian (1966), Peter Enahoro
T h e 8 t h W o n d e r o f t h e W o r l d - M a d e i n N i g e r i a