By Oluwole Leigh
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in the German City of Mainz. I had bought tickets to watch a football match between Mainz and Borussia Dortmund. I got into the city of Mainz about two hours before the match started so I could enjoy the pre-match atmosphere. There were football fans in various states of inebriation singing loud songs in support of their football stars .The local transport authority provided free buses to the stadium venue for fans with tickets. So, I got into a bus with almost a hundred Borussia Dortmund fans. I struck up a conversation with one of them about football in Germany. Along the way, he discovered that I was from Nigeria. He called his friends and told them. Someone mentioned Sunday Oliseh, a Nigerian International who once played for Borussia Dortmund. In my honour, they got together to sing ‘Friday, Saturday, Sunday Oliseh, Sunday Oliseh, Sunday Oliseh…’
The singing died down and then someone asked: ‘We heard they destroyed a lot of beer in your country recently, why?’ The German fans started a mock session of crying and weeping at the destruction of God’s greatest gift to them. They said: ‘Why didn’t you send it over to us if you didn’t like the beer?’ I was surprised that the incident which was carried out in Kano State a few weeks earlier had made international news. The Kano State Local Police has destroyed approximately 240,000 bottles of beer. The bottles were brought to a dumpsite with haulage equipment and then crushed to pieces. A few weeks and thousands of miles later, I was asked to explain why my fellow Nigerians would invest that effort in the destruction of a locally made product. After the weeping and gnashing of teeth by my German friends, they asked another question: ‘Do you like beer?’
The question sounded like a simple Yes/No question. I thought for a few seconds and then realized that there was nothing simple about this question. The word ‘beer’ had nothing to do with alcohol in a bottle. They wanted to know if my state of mind was similar to those of my countrymen whose personal distaste had resulted in wanton destruction of glass bottles. They wanted to know if I was capable of such acts of intolerance. They wanted to find out if I would react violently if my personal belief differed from that of others around me.
I thought the Kano state incident was an isolated one until I discovered that those on the other side of the religious divide had jumped in on the destruction party. I read in the newspapers ‘MFM Launches Crusade to Close Beer Parlours in Lagos’. The article described it as ‘A crusade to shut down beer parlours, reduce crime and depopulate the kingdom of darkness in Ogba area of Lagos, Western Nigeria.’ The Pastor was quoted as saying: ‘We want to convert beer parlours into our praying centres.’ Ogba (where the destruction was to start) used to be a hotbed for manufacturing in Lagos. Unfortunately, Dunlop and other manufacturing companies that used to operate in that area are no more. Most of the vacant factories have been converted into religious houses of worship and event centres. In spite of the fact that there is no shortage of space for ‘praying centres’ in Ogba, the MFM pastor insists on destroying beer parlours. If there are criminals hiding in beer parlours, it is the pastor’s responsibility to report them to the police. I am also of the opinion that the easiest way to ‘depopulate the kingdom of darkness’ in Nigeria is by providing constant electricity.
We would become a better country if our religious leaders signified an intention to destroy corruption, bad roads, poor education, and maternal and child mortality.
Looking back at my Judeo-Christian upbringing, I realize that I am supposed to speak in support of the destruction enumerated above. I am supposed to act and believe that my interpretation of faith is superior to that of others. I am supposed to be right and everyone around me is supposed to be wrong.
However, I choose differently. I choose to respect the rights and opinions of others when they conflict with mine. I choose to accept that I live in Nigeria and not in Zion. I choose to accept those who are different from me. I choose to believe in my own fallibility. I choose to leave the world a better place than I met it.
Compassion, empathy and tolerance are virtues that we need to help us build a better country.
Like those loud Borussia Dortmund fans asked me, I ask you: ‘Do you like Beer?’
