Do You Believe in an Inclusive Society?

Nkechi walks into her colleagues on her way to submit an official document in the office.

Olatunde: The Igbos are so greedy. Does everything always have to be about money for them?

Segun: I was thinking the exact same thing. Don’t get me started with their women, they are so vain.

Segun pauses as he notices Nkechi standing by the doorway.

Segun and Olatunde return to their desks. While, Nkechi remains at the doorway trying to gather her thoughts.

This happens countless of times to others. From the story above, we see Olatunde and Segun discussing the Igbo Tribe. Nkechi who walks into her colleagues belongs to this Igbo tribe and overhears their discussion.

What exactly happened here?

The Igbo tribe had a stereotype _a socially accepted assumption_ which Nkechi's colleagues believed. And, it was very rude and offensive to Nkechi who had to hear those words.

With different ethnic groups, languages, and religions, Nigeria is rich in diversity. It builds pride to belong to a country with so many delicacies, artifacts, and traditions. To meet with people from different states and learn about their history, helps to foster understanding and unity.

Despite our differences in culture and language, we did not let it stop us as we united on October 1st, 1960 to gain our independence. Because we realized the truth in the famous saying, united we stand, divided we fall.

But, with time, this strength has been underestimated and devalued. We no longer see reasons to stand together. All we see are what make us different from the next culture. This could be our food, behavior, language, dressing, or even gods. Instead of such, we should remember that we are ONE.

Are you first born Yoruba or Hausa or are you born human, as you enter the world taking in oxygen to survive?

Thinking about this, you realize that we are first humans regardless of all else.

So, as humans, we need to strive for unity. This is possible in a society where everyone, old or young, educated or illiterate, rich or poor feels included in societal issues. And would help to reduce the level of apathy to these issues.

A sense of inclusion or being involved in important decisions would foster belonging. This would then cause people to take part more during elections and petitions because they want to contribute in any way possible.

That is my idealistic belief but the reality is that the society we live in is so segmented and segregated. We try to stretch our hands to reach one another but encounter walls in the process.

What exactly prevents us from approaching and understanding one another?

Is it our environment, past experiences, personality, or mindset? Which is it?

As we grow up, we inculcate certain beliefs. And this is because we either keep hearing of it or had a bad experience.

Hear me out, when you hear that a particular culture is one way, it is just an exaggerated opinion. You should not be so quick to judge everyone as a result of that opinion.

Looking beyond all that has been said, how can we create a society where everyone feels involved? It’s simple.

• Let go of your bias. A bias is when stereotypes affect our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors.

Look, the Yoruba person who stands in front of you does not fit into the image you so quickly assumed or judged. The Hausa person on your street is not going to shoot you, he/she makes a living by simply selling food items. And the Muslim brother on the bus you are sitting in should not be overlooked because you are a Christian.

• Be more empathic to people around you. A lot of us feel like we have it hard.

This is justified but we should not limit ourselves by focusing on only our pain but also be understanding of what others go through. Being empathetic requires you to see things from other people’s perspectives. For example, how must it feel for him/her at that moment?

A Perspective refers to how one sees the world, their pattern of thinking, and interpretation of situations. This varies from person to person. We need to help one another in society by being more open-minded less we remain narrow-minded.

• Lend a hand is very important in creating an inclusive society.

I would rephrase it as simply taking action. This could be through thinking up ideas or implementing a project. It could be starting a fundraising campaign, writing petitions, or doing environmental clean-ups. It could be so much more.

Taking steps to put these into action will help create a society where exclusion is no more. It will make inclusion the norm of the day. And a sense of belonging will go a long way in making each and every one of us feel at ease and united.

We need to see people as they are, not their culture, religion or status, acknowledging rather than disregarding and understanding without making quick assumptions to create a more inclusive society.

- Laja Modupe