WHoSE STorY IS BEING ToLD?

After a week shuttling between NY, London, Geneva and finally looking forward to actually resting at the weekend, I caught the very last flight out of Geneva to London. Flicking through the Financial Times, I come across a headline with ‘Nigeria’ in it. My heart involuntarily skips a beat and then starts beating faster as I flinch wondering what negative story would be portrayed this time that would only go to make my existence as a global Nigerian even harder than it already is. News of Nigeria, it always seems, tends to be of the gory, the bad and the ugly.

I begin reading the story and come across the word ‘impoverished’ in the first paragraph, ‘Boko Haram’ in the third and sighing, resigned myself to a piece I was certain will sadden my already tired heart. As I read on, I found myself enamored by the tale written by Maggie Fick and deeply appreciative for the perspective she cast on the less publicized aspect of our national character, the incredible hospitality Nigerians can extend to strangers, as expressed by her central character, Ibrahim Bilal. Here was a man who I discovered was silently doing more for IDP’s in Yola than many of our richer citizens and politicians put together.

The Almighty God knows why He permits hidden stories like his to be discovered and the reason such roles are placed in the hands of the Maggie Ficks to tell. As I sat chastised for rushing so quickly to judgment, I was also encouraged and emboldened that no matter how deeply rooted evil can rage, there will always be men and women who exhibit exemplary levels of goodness on earth. Such people give the world hope and by so doing make the prospects of tomorrow worth living for today. Ibrahim Balal and Mariam Saidou didn’t wait for the government to act before lending a helping hand to shelter over 200 displaced people, feeding them daily; they just did and so can you.

What are you waiting for?

May God give us all courage to act today.