Football: Uniting us as one Nigeria

The World Cup is an event that unites entire populations. For a month, we put aside our differences politically, socially, religiously, culturally, and we forget about our judgments of people who root for one political party, social group, religion, culture, language, with the ones we root for. For one month, we throw on our jerseys, flags and colors of our country and unite as one giant support system for those 11 men on the field. Strange, but when there’s national pride for your country at stake on the world stage, you set aside your differences and become one.

As our first game was being played against Iran, four years of anticipation of the World’s biggest tournament culminated with the realization that, no matter how much you follow or enjoy other sports, there is nothing that can be compared to the magnitude of the impact football has on Nigerians, and it’s about more than just the game; it’s about more than just culture, it’s about passion and love for your country, your history, pride in who you are and where in the world you hail from. And whenever the Super eagles are on the pitch, they unite us all as one Nigeria, there is no Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba or any other tribe, there is no Christian, Muslim or any other religion, there is no PDP, APC or any political party, there is only one Nigeria. 

Football brings Nigerians together to share a common interest and celebrate the country they hail from. It’s a reason to shout our country’s name, belt out our National Anthem (which is the best in the world) with pride, and take on an “it’s us against the world” mentality. And while only one team can win, everyone takes away something special from watching the game, none more obvious than we can live and coexist together as one country without any hindrance or socio-political barriers not only for the ninety minutes of the game, but forever. If that doesn’t sum up what the football can do to bring Nigerians together, there is no other way to describe how important of an event this world cup has been in making us realize despite the insurgencies, the differences, the disputes we proudly unite as a Nation.

                                      By Mubasheer