September 11

I never thought racism was real to Nigerians. It didn't seem as such at all. Maybe to those in the Diaspora but not to Nigerians living in Nigeria. It seems as one of those globally recognised distant topics that can augment a debate or a lesson in history that is now non-existent or ''efficiently'' dealt with in our hallowed four walls. So, you can imagine my scare when a friend.... told me about his experience in UK (when he went visiting). He was followed by the security into different aisles of a shop because he was ''colour-impaired'' apparently to ''inspect his shopping'' (whether he was doing it properly). According to this friend it was particularly conspicuous because he was the only one that had this "colour-problem" and there wasn't exactly a security operative attached to everyone in the shop. It made me wonder how much of racism we still have to talk about. I am not a race blogger but I know that it is worth asking if equality is a substanstiative term or is one of those unreal ones that will never be explained and never be achieved? Is it possible to relate to Arabs 'objectively' again after 9/11 or will Nigerians in the UK ever go by business without being looked at with a suspecting side eye?