Where to begin?
I cannot legitimately claim that living for a year and half in Nigeria, in Abuja of all places (which we often joked 'is not Nigeria'), makes me Nigerian, or African for that matter. But, through my experiences living and working in Nigeria, I confirmed a long-standing suspicion, that you don't need to be born in a specific place to consider it your home, to care deeply and profoundly about a place and the people who live there.
I saw a picture yesterday, on the cover of the Globe and Mail, of a car, on top of which was a burning tire. Inside the car was a young man, his expression defiant and passionate. He was not afraid. Perhaps he had set the fire, I don't know. The picture was taken in Kenya.
Seeing this picture and others, reflecting on the recent unfair elections in Kenya, I can't help but think "this could have been Nigeria". The 2006 elections, which ushered the PDP back into power, were a slap in the face to democracy, to Nigerians, and to me. I can't claim that I was cheated as Nigerians were by this miscarriage of justice, but, as a person who developed bonds with friends that became family, I can honestly say that I was aghast at the amount and extent of blatant rigging that took place. And so, when I see what is happening in Kenya right now it sends a chill down my spine because, perhaps, something similar could have happened in Nigeria.
What bothers me about what is going on in Kenya right now is not that people are angry about the elections, but who their anger is being actively directed against. Citizens are killing other citizens. I do not endorse violence, but if people are going to rise up against oppression it should be against the big-men that rigged the elections in order to maintain their positions of power. Then again, is it really my place to make such judgements? As a human rights activist and proponent of non-violence, I feel compelled to speak out against what is happening (both in terms of the violence and the unfair elections). But I also try to recognize the complexities of what is happening and how it has come about as a result of colonialism and imperialism.
When European nations colonized the vast continent that is now known as Africa, they established nations and borders that did not take into consideration the needs, wants, and desires of the people who lived there. Moreover, they pitted tribe against tribe in order to divide and conquer people and subjugate them to an inequitable and unjust system of colonial rule. Perhaps it was a matter of reinforcing animosities that already existed between different groups of people. Does that matter? The point is that whether or not different groups coexisted peacefully or nor, colonial influence actively sought to prevent bonds of solidarity from forming between them. I believe that it is a result of this negative influence, and the endemic poverty that characterizes developing nations, that people are fighting one another based on cultural, ethnic, and tribal differentiations. And so I see where the current situation likely has its roots in complex historical factors, but as someone who considers people of diverse cultural, ethnic, racial and national backgrounds to be her family? It is hard for me to understand, on a personal level, how difference divides people to the point of hatred and violence. We're not all the same, but isn't that what makes us interesting to one another? And yet, on some levels, we are the same ...
As Public Enemy front man Chuck D said:
"People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless
...
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
...
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say...
Fight the Power!"
But as I've said, my place of origin is not Nigeria, nor is it Kenya, so I can't claim to know how people who were born and raised in these nations feel. Truly, what is needed is for the voices of human rights activists from these nations to be heard. Kofi Annan may be able to play a role in resolving the current situation in Kenya, but he is not Kenyan and his voice, I think, will not carry as much weight as Kenyan citizens who might be in a position to end the violence. It is for Kenyans themselves to determine how to resolve this conflict and achieve solidarity amongst different stakeholders. We must support their efforts to gain peace and democracy. They are no less my brothers and sisters than are any citizen of any other country, including the one I was born in, and I care about their past, present, and future.
I cannot legitimately claim that living for a year and half in Nigeria, in Abuja of all places (which we often joked 'is not Nigeria'), makes me Nigerian, or African for that matter. But, through my experiences living and working in Nigeria, I confirmed a long-standing suspicion, that you don't need to be born in a specific place to consider it your home, to care deeply and profoundly about a place and the people who live there.
I saw a picture yesterday, on the cover of the Globe and Mail, of a car, on top of which was a burning tire. Inside the car was a young man, his expression defiant and passionate. He was not afraid. Perhaps he had set the fire, I don't know. The picture was taken in Kenya.
Seeing this picture and others, reflecting on the recent unfair elections in Kenya, I can't help but think "this could have been Nigeria". The 2006 elections, which ushered the PDP back into power, were a slap in the face to democracy, to Nigerians, and to me. I can't claim that I was cheated as Nigerians were by this miscarriage of justice, but, as a person who developed bonds with friends that became family, I can honestly say that I was aghast at the amount and extent of blatant rigging that took place. And so, when I see what is happening in Kenya right now it sends a chill down my spine because, perhaps, something similar could have happened in Nigeria.
What bothers me about what is going on in Kenya right now is not that people are angry about the elections, but who their anger is being actively directed against. Citizens are killing other citizens. I do not endorse violence, but if people are going to rise up against oppression it should be against the big-men that rigged the elections in order to maintain their positions of power. Then again, is it really my place to make such judgements? As a human rights activist and proponent of non-violence, I feel compelled to speak out against what is happening (both in terms of the violence and the unfair elections). But I also try to recognize the complexities of what is happening and how it has come about as a result of colonialism and imperialism.
When European nations colonized the vast continent that is now known as Africa, they established nations and borders that did not take into consideration the needs, wants, and desires of the people who lived there. Moreover, they pitted tribe against tribe in order to divide and conquer people and subjugate them to an inequitable and unjust system of colonial rule. Perhaps it was a matter of reinforcing animosities that already existed between different groups of people. Does that matter? The point is that whether or not different groups coexisted peacefully or nor, colonial influence actively sought to prevent bonds of solidarity from forming between them. I believe that it is a result of this negative influence, and the endemic poverty that characterizes developing nations, that people are fighting one another based on cultural, ethnic, and tribal differentiations. And so I see where the current situation likely has its roots in complex historical factors, but as someone who considers people of diverse cultural, ethnic, racial and national backgrounds to be her family? It is hard for me to understand, on a personal level, how difference divides people to the point of hatred and violence. We're not all the same, but isn't that what makes us interesting to one another? And yet, on some levels, we are the same ...
As Public Enemy front man Chuck D said:
"People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless
...
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
...
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say...
Fight the Power!"
But as I've said, my place of origin is not Nigeria, nor is it Kenya, so I can't claim to know how people who were born and raised in these nations feel. Truly, what is needed is for the voices of human rights activists from these nations to be heard. Kofi Annan may be able to play a role in resolving the current situation in Kenya, but he is not Kenyan and his voice, I think, will not carry as much weight as Kenyan citizens who might be in a position to end the violence. It is for Kenyans themselves to determine how to resolve this conflict and achieve solidarity amongst different stakeholders. We must support their efforts to gain peace and democracy. They are no less my brothers and sisters than are any citizen of any other country, including the one I was born in, and I care about their past, present, and future.
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