THE POWER OF ONE

There is an African proverb which says the efficacy of the broom is in its bunch. No single or scattered broomsticks can achieve the kind of effectiveness achieved when they are bunched. A good lesson in this was exhibited recently across the Atlantic when Nigerian-Americans bound by their roots, forced an American senator to retract an offensive statement about Nigeria and Nigerians.

Senator Ted Cruz, being a Republican from Texas, did not surprise many for being a vocal anti-Obama congressman. In the wake of America’s government shutdown, we are all aware that what Republicans like Cruz wanted Obama to do, as a prerequisite for signing the budget, was to repel his signature Affordable Care Act. However, Obama Care took a fresh knock when subscribers began to find it difficult to sign on to its exchange website. It was a triumphant moment for the Tea Party Republican politicians who taunted, mocked and lashed out at the health programme.  Senator Cruz joined the bandwagon and joked that the Affordable Care exchange website of the US was being run by Nigerian email scammers. Na Wah O!

As Nigerians, we are used to “diplomatic insults” from all corners of the globe. I have said before that Nigerian tourist, businessmen and immigrants suffer untold hardship, embarrassment and insult in the hands of their hosts, just because they are from the famous Nigeria known for everything bad or pathetic. We are judged from exaggerated documentaries and news bulletins fed by their media. They rub in their prejudices and we are expected to shrug them off and move on as we do here at home. We do not want palaver, so we quietly acquiesce.  Things are not quite the same in America as they are over here. People have a voice. Over there, people understand what their rights are. As can be expected, our home government took no official stance. However, Nigerian-Americans – our sons and daughters in the Diaspora – were united in condemning the senator and insisted on him tendering an apology.   

They worked magic. They took the fight to the social media, made personal calls to Cruz and shook his rock. They did this by coming together with one voice. The American senator finally succumbed to their demands and released a statement which partly read thus: “Earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz made a joke in which he used the term ‘Nigerian email scam’... It is unfortunate that we’re living in a time where just about every joke can be misconstrued to cause offense to someone… Cruz has never, nor would ever use a blanket term in a derogatory fashion against such a vibrant and integral part of our community. This usage was never directed to the Nigerian community as a whole… To the good people of Nigeria - a beautiful nation where my wife lived briefly as the child of missionaries - no offense was intended. I am fully appreciative of the range of mutual economic and security interests that make Nigeria an important friend to the United States.” 

Cruz also requested for a peace meeting between himself and representatives of the Nigerian community in Houston.  He knew his reelection might depend on mending his relationship with this large community in the state of Texas. Their votes are important. Every vote has been made to count in the USA.              

Because of this, America is the biggest beneficiary of the Nigerian brain drain.  There are Nigerians holding pole positions in education, health, ICT and other sectors. A recent finding says Nigerian doctors dominate the United States of America’s medical practice. According to the report, 77 per cent of members of the Association of Black Doctors in that country are Nigerians. The outcry that followed the distasteful denigration was totally justified. Daily, we hear the story of disillusioned Americans going on shooting sprees killing innocent people. Yet, nobody has been foolish enough to conclude that Americans are killers. This is only so because the state is seen to do all possible to protect their laws, as opposed to being the recipients of the proceeds of criminality, or indeed sponsoring the criminality in the first place and getting away with it in the full view of the law.

These guys are not confused or afraid and understand the difference between a privilege and a right and are ready to stand up to protect both. Back home, we need to imbibe the model of our citizens in the US in tackling our challenges. We have to come together for the common good and speak in one voice. There is no middle position between good and bad. Our ethnicity should continue to bind us as one and not be used as a tool to weaken our collective resolve. Such a simple tool as a broom can show the effectiveness of being bound together. United we stand and divided we fall.