It is no longer news that Palestine is seeking formal recognition as a sovereign state. The leadership of the country have made this much known at the ongoing UN General Assembly Meeting in New York, a forum in which our own president Goodluck Jonathan delivered a speech.
According to the Vanguard Newspaper, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Olugbenga Ashiru reiterated Nigeria's belief that Palestine deserved to operate as a nation state. Support for Palestine's sovereign aspirations is understandably dicey; seeing as it might set supporting nations on a collision course with Israel and its allies. However, more poignant is the reactions of Nigerians themselves to this perceived support.
While some think its a good idea, some others regards Palestine as a country that allegedly has links to terrorism and as such, should not be supported by Nigeria. Worse still, some see Nigeria's stance as unnecessary when domestic calls for independence by some sections of the country, e.g. Biafra, have yet to be addressed.
Again, the the issue of tribal sentiments seem to be rearing its ugly head here. Indeed, it seems to find a way to creep into virtually every discourse involving Nigeria. This has got to stop! We cannot possibly hope to create a better Nigeria for ourselves and for our unborn children to live in if we continue to delineate the country along ethnic lines. The time has come for us to move beyond our differences and unite in the pursuit of our common good. When the chips are down, we bear the same passports and outside the country it doesn't matter to anyone where you are from. This is our country and it is up to us to make it a better place for ourselves. Let's come together to heal Nigeria. It is a collective effort that takes you and me.
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