If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
This will sound cliche to some people when they remember many people coming to church to give testimony for getting their visa to a foreign country because of wanting to run out of Nigeria. That is the japa syndrome.
I love travelling around the world. And I have done a bit of travelling too. However, what I have always known and have come to realise is that you can never feel at home anywhere else but in your own country.
Sincerely, I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder to see if someone will send me out of their country because they see me as a stranger. No matter your contribution, you will still be a stranger to them. If they don’t send you away, when the Pharaoh that does not know Joseph comes, they will bring you to reckoning.
What is happening in South Africa as the indigenous people are attacking fellow Africans who are migrants is unfortunate. While it screams of ingratitude on their part considering how much the subsaharan Africa contributed to get South African indigenous peoples out of the clutches of the apartheid regime, it also speaks to the unfortunate reality of leadership failure in many African countries. If many of these migrants are comfortable in their countries, I doubt if many would want to leave to these foreign lands that do not even want to see them.
So, let us take a lesson and learn that making our own country work is the best choice. What is happening now may never be forgotten. That is the unfortunate consequence in the whole of these.
I also remember once when I was in the United Kingdom for holidays. I was so homesick that I had to be reminding myself to keep calm; that I would soon be home.
Last year, I stayed in Botswana for just a week. However, as much as I enjoyed my stay there, I was glad to be back in my country, with its warts and all.
I love the visits outside my country; but I love the return to reunite with my family much more.
But what can I say?
I am simply an Ibadan girl that has grown to become an Abuja babe.
What do I know!
I just love my country; and I no go lie! (Adapted: Thank you for that, Prof Wole Soyinka!)
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