“You don’t? Sorry. I can’t help you then”
“Amara, explain na!”
“Nope. I don’t have patience for basics that you can Google. Besides if you don’t know the 7 wonders of the ancient world, what have you been doing with yourself?”
“Anyway, do not make me lose my trajectory please….
So the temple of Artemis and….
“Ehen?”
“There was this riot which lasted for about 2 hours there. Residents and tourists were just streaming in and screaming themselves hoarse”
“Inside the temple?”
“yep’
“How big was this temple?”
“Had a capacity of about 20k people because Ephesus was an International Trade hub. And that temple was a tourist attraction which minted money for the country’
“Okay. What led to the riot?”
“Most of them didn’t even know. They just heard, waltzed up and allowed their sentiments be whipped up into the frenzy”
“Kai, these Kurdish people sef!” 
“Was it only the Kurdish? This is like a riot at Buckingham palace square and you say this English people sef.
There were other Arabs, Armenians, other Asians, Jews, Romans, Greeks infact I am sure some Africans were even there”
“Haba Amara! Africans in Ephesus? In Bible days?
“Oh, now you know the story? How come you don’t know that the Ephesians are the Turkish?
Or you have forgotten we are talking of Istanbul? Is there any place where there were no Africans?
The Bible is replete with the history of Africans – Cushites, Libyans, Ethiopians, Egyptians, infact why waste my time on someone who doesn’t know their history?
Let’s stick to the story”
“Alright. So this riot?”
“Aha. Most didn’t know why they were they. But it was one wealthy merchant – an importer and exporter of silver. I mean a silversmith, who engineered it in order to chase someone away”
“Why?”
“Apostle Paul challenged his beliefs and presented a counter view which trumped his. So Demetrius got intimidated and scared then defaulted to emotional blackmail’
“Emotional blackmail?”
“Yes na. That thing people do when you question their assertions, values or views.
You know, how when you come with a counter opinion yet instead of pausing to look at it objectively, they get defensive and ….
“Block you?”
“You are thinking social media while I am talking real life? Abegii!”
“They try to shut you up. Dumb you down. Attack your person. Question your worth. As in they do everything else but come to the table to have that hot conversation”
“They even whip up sentiments among their circles and tarnish you.. especially when their many followers are like those Turkish people”
“Amara, this is confusing. You say you are talking real life yet you reference followers. Is that not social media?”
“So the Jesus you follow was a social media influencer ba?” You saw his TikTok video, liked what he was saying and followed abi?
“Or that your boss in the office who passes you over for promotion in favour of the other person who ‘gets him’ is on social media too?
“That neighbour you keep at arm’s length because his outlook differs from yours, did you meet him on Facebook?
“Oh, I think I get it now. This selective reasoning sentiments does cut across all spheres of life, right?
“Gbam! Isn’t that why you settled for your wife over the other babe whom we knew you with for years? Because she made you feel safe and didn’t come with counter views”
“Don’t even go there now. Which wife that has now opened eyes so wide? I can barely recognise her with all these new things she is learning now”
“Congrats. It’s called growth but that is not my issue”
“No empathy for me?” From you the queen of empathy, that is huge”
“Not today. I need you to understand how it feels when you behave like those Ephesus rioters”
“How?”
“When you join sides with a louder voice to resist a weaker one instead of remaining neutral enough to view it objectively”
“But, isn’t that what supporters are for?”
“Nay, that is what hooligans are for. Bereft of their own capacity to reason”
“Amara!! You and this your mouth sha!”
“Not my fault. Blame my head. That is the way it works”
“Okare!”
PS: Story adapted from Acts 19
