Peter vs Seun : A worrying case of intolerance

Last week, we experienced the social media brawl between Seun Kuti and Peter Okoye (one half of music group; psquare). A very short recap; the fight started after Seun aired his unpopular opinions about Presidential election candidate, Peter Obi. As you are aware, a quick way to attract a horde of angry Nigerians online, is to speak against the Labour Party flag bearer. So it is not surprising that Peter Okoye, took offence with Seun's opinions about his name sake. What is surprising however, is how far it went. Mr Okoye, didn't hesitate in involving Seun's father; the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti, into the fray. In his words, Seun had erased the legacy of his father. It was all gloves off from then, legacies were shaded, talent and careers were mocked, and some other people were eager to get a shot in too. The most baffling for me was the kamikaze Peter Okoye pulled. In a bid to shade Seun, he referred to his own late father as a 'nobody'. This piece isn't a play by play of the squabble, so let's get to the point. The point is this: why are Nigerians so intolerant of the opinions of others? We definitely do not have to agree with them, but we also do not need to resort to insults, mockery and name calling. With the display last week, one would think that there is an underlying issue between Seun Kuti and Peter Okoye. Maybe there is. Politics is always a conversation for different opinions. That a person does not share same choice as you, isn't a reason to fight (online and physical). It is a form of political intolerance to resort to such behaviours. Also we do not have to respond to every opinion we see, as there is also the option of ignoring. This isn't peculiar to politics alone though. There are people who cannot resist the urge to throw insults, regardless of the topic. I have had the displeasure of encountering such people. Quite frankly, it's annoying and discouraging. The point of having different opinions and trivial arguments, should be with the intention of learning. We cannot bully or force people to share the same opinions as us. Especially when it comes to the issue of politics. And even if we are backing the right presidential candidate, we could be guilty of using the wrong approach. I would leave with this; rule 12 in Jordan Peterson's book '12 rules of life' states: Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don't. When we apply this in arguments, we build and encourage tolerance.

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