Last week, Olayinka Oyegbile, Deputy Editor, The Nation on Sunday, presented his book, Home Away From Home…History of Ogbomoso people in Jos, to the public. In this interview with Joe Agbro Jr., he speaks on the crises in Jos, how Nigeria can attain unity and live in harmony.
What was the motivation for writing Home Away from Home? What do you intend to achieve?
I was motivated by the need to put on record the beauty of the city and how lovely it is growing up in Jos. On what I intend to achieve, I simply set out to write about a city where I grew up and where Nigeria meant love, good neighbourliness and caring for one another.
As a Yoruba boy with Yoruba parents, how was growing up in Jos?
It never mattered to me nor to anyone that I am Yoruba or a Christian or whatever. We all looked at one another simply as Nigerians, ethnicity or region never mattered. It was a matter of re you a good boy or bad girl, you were judged solely by your character and not by where you came from or who your parents were.
For instance, you hardly find Igbo children born and bred in states in the north or southwest claim citizenships of such states. What’s your view on the issue of indigene/settler arrangement which occurs in Nigeria whereby children born to non-indigene parents in a particular state cannot hold citizenship of such states?
That to me is one of the greatest pitfalls of our constitution. Let me tell you, in 2005 I travelled to the United States and was a guest of one of my older cousins and while discussing with one of his kids, who was then 20. I asked when next he is going to visit Nigeria. He simply told me that he does not have any need to. I asked him what he meant and that is that not his country? He simply told me No. I was curious and I asked what he meant. He simply told me that he is an American and that his parents were Nigerians but he is American! He justified it by saying he was born in America and that at 20, he had visited Nigeria five times or so. He said as far as he is concerned, America is home. So, if that can happen why can’t a Nigerian born in Lagos of northern parents not claim citizenship of Lagos? We need to rethink.
In your book, you traced how Ogbomoso people lived harmoniously in Jos since the 19th century. Is that still the case?
Well, harmony has fled Jos since the 90s, when divisive politics took over not only Jos but the whole of Nigeria. Many people live today in absolute and chronic fear; fear of Boko Haram, kidnapping and religious fundamentalism. All over the country peace has become a stranger and we now live in perpetual fear Jos is no exception and that is why I decided to write this book. In the early 80s when other cities were hit by religious riots and the Maitasine crises Jos was like a haven
Jos has become synonymous with crises. This wasn’t the case before. What’s your advice to a permanent solution?
A permanent solution, in my mind, is beyond what the state government can decide. It is a thing for the Federal Government to decide upon. Or more appropriately, it is a thing we all, as Nigerians, must decide to work on. I say this because our constitution is faulty and needs to be amended. For instance, the issue of who is an indigene or a settler is at the crux of the crises. Why should a family live in a community for as long as 30 years and have paid all their taxes in a place and still be regarded as settlers or non-indigenes? I don’t understand that aspect. A Nigerian or any citizen of the world who has lived in America for about five years and without any record of crime is qualified to apply for citizenship and entitled to all privileges, so why should I live in Lagos, Kano, Benin and so on for 30 years and be told I am only a settler?
In your views, how achievable do you think is the concept of ‘One Nigeria’?
It is achievable in as much as you and I ready to make it practicable. This is because I have come to realise that we, as Nigerians, talk a lot but do little to achieve what we preach. That is why those who have been in government and we are all living witness to their woeful performance, while there are today leading campaigns against corruption and all sorts when in fact, we all know they are as corrupt, if not more than those they now criticise.
What fond memories do you have of Jos?
I grew up in a Jos that was home to all. It does not matter where you came from or what your ethnicity was. People were judged by their character and not religion, ethnicity or any of sorts. I still remember that it was in Jos as a child that I first knew of Asians, American, Europeans and so on. The city was peopled with citizens from all corners of the world because of the temperate, weather and the good naturedness of the people. In fact, it was the first in the real rainbow city. Before I ever knew there as a country called Pakistan I knew of Karachi because there was a supermarket by that name. It was run by a Pakistani. So, all the sweet memories are what I have of Jos. As a Christian child, I went to mosque from time to time and my Muslim friends went to church with us and no one frowned at it. For instance, anytime we close early in the church we congregate at the door of the mosque and make fuss so that the Mallam would release our Muslims colleagues so that we can go home. The same happens if they close before us, at times we get so mischievous as to begin to throw stone on the roof of the mosque or the church to make them release our colleagues. Today you dare not do that. If you do that as a Muslim child, you are in trouble. The same if you are a Christian. Where did we miss the camaraderie and love of the past? I think it is due to the contest of the religions. Unfortunately we all go to mosques and churches yet our country is prostrate, what does this show? It clearly shows that we are only viewing religion from a perspective of showmanship or business or political empire.
When was the last time you visited Jos and how did you feel?
I was there in May this year (2012) and what I saw frightened me. It is like going to a war ravaged Beirut or Lebanon. I saw a terribly ruined and divided city. The Jos of old was gone. What we have now is a divided city where Christians live in one area and Muslims in another. Those days of having Mosques or Churches side by side seem to be over. A Christian does not feel safe living amid Muslims and vice versa. The house where I grew up is just a shout way from the Jos Central Mosque and we never felt any form of threat there in those days but not anymore. A lot of Christians in that neighbourhood have left out of fear, the same applies to a place like Jenta where those who are Muslims have moved out too because of the fear that they might be attacked or in case of outbreak of violence they are vulnerable. For how long do we want to live like this? It is frightening.
What’s your take on the publishing industry in Nigeria?
Publishing in Nigeria used to be vibrant because I remember vividly that Ibadan used to be the home of many of the world’s renowned publishing firms. But, today, we have lost that and have become backbenchers in the knowledge and publishing industry. This has been complicated by the advent of e-publishing. So, today, we are lost in the ocean of life and we do not even regard knowledge as anything. Today, people are judged based on how much they can bring out of their pockets and not what knowledge or wisdom they have. It is sad. The publishing industry cannot thrive in a situation where we don’t have constant power, transportation is in tatters and all that. After spending long hours in traffic how do you get home and read when you are already tired? Prohibitive cost of printing has also affected publishing and consequently the reading culture has nosedived.
What other projects can we expect from you?
A lot are in the works. I am discussing with a famous family who wants me to write the memoir/biography of their father. However, we are still at the discussion stage. Besides that I have a manuscript that I have completed several years ago which I hope to have a look at if I have the time soon. I have also compiled some of my writings which I wrote when I was writing a weekly column (Inside Africa) and some of my travelogues that have been published are ready to be compiled in a book. I also have a collection of short stories and plays. Some of the plays were performed on stage when I was a student and some were performed on television. So, I am taking a second look at them and see what can be done. I see this as going back to my original call to be a writer.
