 Welcome to the Advocate, your Sunday reminder that important conversations are among the necessary tools for a senior society. I will be talking about Nigerian independence and solving the chronic illness of the past. If you pursue Elijah or a Coyote, we will be talking about Nigerian a great country. Comfort Boots will be talking about her short letter to Mama Africa. We will be right back after the break, stay with us. The Action Group, AG, supported primarily by the Yoruba's of the West, at the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC, whose prime support came from the Igbo's of the East. These parties expect the whole country quickly to follow the Ghana pattern of constitutional change. But any elective central assembly was born to be dominated by the Norths, which had 57% of the population and whose economy and social development had lag far behind. The Norths, political leaders, most of whom were conservative Muslims, aristocrats closely aligned with the British through indirect rule. We are not all eager to see their traditional paramounts invaded by aggressive and bitter educated leaders from the Souths. The first political expedience was to convert Nigeria into a foundation of three regions. In 1957, this allowed the East and the West to achieve international safe government without waiting for the Norths. But it left open the question of how policies were to be conducted at the center and how Nigerian independence was to be secured. At this juncture, it occurs to the Northern leaders that by aligning themselves to one of the southern parties, they might maintain the local monopoly of power and gave prestige in the country as a whole. By asking for its independence ends the emergence of the Northern People's Congress NPC from the North and the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons, NCNC. The problem of central policies does resolve when the Northern leaders enter a coalition federation government with the NCNC and in 1960 Nigerian became independent. Without doubt, ideology, cultural heritage protection, power control among others have reshaped happenings in the government evolution from regional to central to military-led administrations and finally the current democratic dispensation with lots of wounds created with a proper healing. Our diversity has added diversity in the way we ensure results are delivered in unique ways. It is necessary we focus more on understanding the strengths in our diversity learn from the errors of my appear political sentiments, seek forgiveness where necessary and work towards building a better country. There are three major regions in Nigeria if operating in unity, we manifest our true potential as a country. The time is now, most especially as we head towards a change of government. What you said is a description of how we got to where we are. The question I always ask, because you have heard this narrative over and over again, but the question I ask is do we learn anything from this story whenever it is told? Because we have not been able to properly analyze our situation as a people. These are my views. Now, where we are as Nigeria, where we were back then, many countries, many diverse cultures were there at some point. But at a time, they got to realize that, listen, we need to live beyond the regions we represent. There is a nation that must be built. Fortunately for us, yes, we have education, yes, we have so many things, but we have not been able to forge ahead as a nation. So just before we have comfort to have our own view, I think what is missing is actually the goal. If we try to narrow it down, the regions are actually fighting for the goal, for the good development of their people, which is the goal. That is before, not now. That is what I am saying, which is the goal. The goal was to protect, the individual goal was to protect my people. It happens in all the regions. And if we all understand that we are fighting for the same thing, the same goal, it will help us to move ahead. But what we are not saying is, we are fighting for the same goal. At the same time, we are saying it must be somebody from my own region to fight for the goal. Even beyond that, one of the things I see is that, listen, whether we like it or not, colonialism and a fight for independence and all that happened, you see, each of the regions found it more convenient aligning with the west than aligning with any other region. It was because of the approach. What we feel to do is to come up with an approach that shows seeming sincerity because the sincerity of the west there wasn't really sincerity, so it was enough to make you down your tools and say okay, let me align with you. What we have not been able to do, and it might be because of our cultural values, which brings about pride, which brings about a very high esteem and all that. And the west have been able, what they understood was, make them feel good, make your chief feel good and he downs his toe. But for us, we are not able to say okay, let me, you see, there is this addict that says, if you want to catch a monkey, you act like a monkey or you break banana, we have not been able to come together. And that's why to date, it's even gotten worse because our greed, our selfishness, bad leadership, poor development of the local community has made it such that so many parts of Nigeria are not developing. And now people have to move from their place of comfort and pride. This is where I come from. We need to go to another city to make a living. And when they get to that place, because of their normal pride, they come up with the same pride. And then you have another sectoral clash in that city. So we need to come to an extent where we need to come together as a people. First of all, identify that okay, it's like you've been shut up in a room. For us to come out of this room, we must work together. And that is where we are now. We need to work together as a people. So I agree with you. And I think before we can actually get to that point, we need to undergo a healing process. I will tell you why. You see, the formation of Nigerian came from the three major regions, which is the NCNC, MPC and ASEAN. But if you look at 1966 school, it redefined every other thing. So that means the Nautanas are aggrieved, because people that are aligned with the Nautanas are actually more of the people that went with the coup. And there was a retaliation coup back and forth. So everybody has not actually taken responsibility of their lapses. Nobody is perfect. And now today you see an Ausa man, seeing an Igbo man as a threat. Because we have not healed. We have our fathers' stories upon stories. You see the Biafra agitation. If you look clearly, you see that Biafra agitation is only talking about the further character. That why we, the further character, favor a path. Say the Sautanas are the Southeast and South-South are one. Southwest are also one. But all of them are Sautanas. That means we have the Sautanas to be three as against two before. Now we now have the Nautanas to just be one. But that's not true. You understand. So what I'm saying is we have the Nautan path, the Sautan path. When you are giving quota system, you give it to the Nautanas, the equal amount to the Nautanas, you give equal amount to the Sautanas. But by the time you share it, the Nautanas tends to have... And you see, before comfort comes in, right, that's why I believe that, yes, we need a healing process, but we need beyond that. We need to face the fact, wake up and smell the coffee. Number one, even based on what you are saying, the Noph, those who are in the Noph, if they tell you the differences in the Noph, you will marvel. The differences and the clashes between the Fulanese and the Aousa, the Kanuris and every other tribe, there are so many tribes in the Noph. But what they've been able to do is that they've been able, they are able to come together when it comes to leadership. Why? Because the people have come to realize and they sing one song. In the south, our pride. And one of the challenges we have in the south, which is what I see is that, we were educated early, but we had a wrong education. So the education we had then made all of us feel like kings in our own parts. So the easterners feel we are kings, we have this, the southerners, the westerners feel we are kings, we have this. Unlike the north where the education did not really permeate, so they still had the rural communal ideology. And they believed that let us forge ahead as a people. For us here it is difficult to move. If you hear today, people are telling you that, even the ruling party might not give it to the southerners because of the north. You see that mentality, that belief system is still there. Exactly. But for us, and that's why it is easier for an easterner to move with the north and a westerner to move with the north. Because the north now has a laissez-faire attitude. It's ready to move with everybody. As long as you're not too oppressive, it's ready to move with you. But these two guys feel I am big, you are big. You must, you must tell it back to me. We need to heal. But the healing, we need, that nest really is not healing. That is sensitization. Because healing is, you've heard me, and when we talk healing, I know comfort to come with us, she has a lot to say, but let me say this quickly. When we talk healing, look at, these problems have been there forever. In the 80s, it was tough. Now between the 90s and now. Okay, in the 80s, it was tough for a Yoruba person to marry an Igbo person. For an Igbo to marry a Hausa or anybody. It was a very tough thing. Even when you get there, you are not respected by the family. Exactly. Now between the 90s and now, it is easier to marry across Nigeria. We have an increase in cross-cultural marriages, yet we are saying we can't live together. That's why I believe that while we need a healing, especially with those that are now spreading falsehood, we still now need to sensitize ourselves that what is your problem. Exactly. If you believe this guy doesn't like you, why have you increased the cultural marriages and you are getting married and you are... Exactly. So that's why I say we need to wake up and smell the coffee. What do you think? What we think exists doesn't really exist. We are just impeding our growth as a nation because a lot more Europeans are marrying ebos. A lot more Haousas are marrying ebos. A lot more ebos are marrying effigy. We are marrying ourselves. And that is where it is more dangerous being able to cohabit in a home and a lot of them have happy homes. Exactly. So let us have comforts beyond this. What exactly do you want me to say because this country every time we talk about it, it's just a confounding issue. Now you have even gone as far as not talking about and I love the way you ended on the issue of inter-tribal marriages that what is the driving force and you see this it should be studied. It's a very good question. I agree. Why are the tribes finding it easier to intermarry but refusing for it to show in our political our economic lives and social lives even our social lives. Why as you asked is it because this person is from the south I'm not going to vote him because I'm a mother now. I'm not going to vote this person because he is a mother now. How come it's easier to do that but meanwhile in their houses they have that they have the relations the relations that are mine. In fact you hear them posting my father married a neighbor woman. My brother is married to an my house brother is married to an every woman. So I think it's not something likely we should take but we should look at it. There needs to be some empirical study about it but if you go down a gate another point that you made about how the three tribes behave the most consistent tribe among the three is the house because they are focused they have one interest is power how to get it how to hold it and they won't pretend about it and you see when you are sure about what your goal is what you are hoping to achieve as you said as you said they are going to have an attitude of whoever is ready to work with me according to this my interest as long as you don't come to impede it who will be going once you begin to impede it I like the way you said also about the Igbos Igbos are in silos the Northerners are not the Northerners are a community and that is how you perpetuate power because there is hierarchy but with the Igbos every man is a lord unto himself so how do you so there isn't a center holding there isn't a center that holds if all of us are gods in our own right as opposed to as I said where there is a community and there are the orgasms at the top and then the selves the followership so the followership will follow the leaders you have a pyramid you go to the south west as you said and they are more educated and if I am educated you are educated what am I what am I the only thing now unless as you no it's true unless as you said unless all these individual regions all the regions as we have broken them down now south west and east south south north north east north have one unifying factor we will never get it right even the so called religion that we are shouting isn't what it is it is still polarizing you would have thought that all of us since we all in quotes love God that we were religious every smut is about God you would have thought that that should be our writing point but because there are different forms of expression everybody is saying I believe in God in this way I believe in God that way it is even the one that has colorized us the more so what exactly then is going to hold the six regions for the purposes of this conversation together we don't have patriotism we are not patriotic we don't think that we don't think that we should think all collectively for the future of the country we don't everybody is in silence I really do not see how this chronic illnesses of I won't even give the past yet how long are we going to do when in the past crime of love how long you mean up to now both sides have not understood what even the tenants of their own religions teach which is forgiveness there has to be a place where it ends for it to say okay we are hurt we are healing but we for the better good of the majority we've let this go but I'm I'm happy to break it to you that I don't see it in the nearest future thank you Comfort I think one unique factor jokingly it will be money if I have to say because when you see when you see the legislator the executive talking money in the house there is nothing like religion there is nothing tribal and stuff like that that's one unique factor so I think we should be looking at business to unify us probably we should as individual as a country we should think about solving problem that will be giving some some money back to this legislator we need to look for a way around that because even in business you are allowed to bring my brother and you like to bring your brother in so we are fighting over who to dominate that business as well but exactly that that's it technology when we introduce technology it makes everything obvious who is dragging the team backward and we can actually move forward from that so look how it is nest stay with us after the break