Monday 11 October 2010

Nigeria@50_Day Eleven_Arise O’Compatriots

Yesterday on Nigeria@50 Day 10 - Spesh'sWorld

~

I am the star formerly known as the giant of Africa. Those days are long gone now. Used and abused, my glory has departed. I have survived a great deal of developmental regression. Is a renaissance possible after 5 long decades of deprivation & disease? Isn’t it just nonsensical that I am still battling with the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae?

.

Age is nothing but a number, they say, but time is the factor that has happened to me & has taken a chance on me. Over the years, a good number of my people have left me in search of greener pastures; not all of them will find it greener but most will settle-in well with the ordinary lushness of foreign lands. I blame them not for I may not have given them hope enough to stay. I only pray I don’t lose the dear ones that are still abiding to the devices of hostage takers and explosives.

.

I am now of the people by the people & for the people. I am my people. Mine has been quite a difficult life despite my priceless resources. I have been in the messiest relationships, going from one bad to another. My presidents have continually screwed me over, through & through.

.

I’ve been there, done that & bought the tee shirt which is now stained with oil & with blood. Like an interminable rollercoaster, I relive the days spent. I have fought a war. I have hosted festivals. I have been stripped, raped & beaten. I have borrowed, & then borrowed again. I have been afflicted & impregnated. I have had children. I have had several abortions too, likewise miscarriages. I still had more children & I want to borrow some more. I have been frustrated & deep down in the depths of despair. I should have died but my people have been praying.

.

Dear God consider our fervent supplication, we pray.

.

I didn’t do these things to myself; some of you did it to me. Guilty as charged, it’s not up for debate. You know yourselves. My program got structurally adjusted and it became either upper class or economy. My poverty is not only of the mind, it is of the pockets of my people. My poor resilient folk; all they ask for is light. Please let there be light.

.

My people let us take the bull by the horns. We shall all come out & we shall vote, & our votes must be counted. Our voices must be heard. We can make it work, whether they like it or not.

.

My past & present leaders should be made to bear the repercussion of their actions. You can’t leave me in abject penury & walk free. There’s no free lunch in Freetown. Once beaten twice shy. I have had enough of the prejudice & the selective judgements. All perpetrators of wickedness must be brought to book. We must live right, & devoid of any more sorrow, tears or blood. I am fed-up of all your cocktail & bullshit tales of bygone years, it is still fresh on our minds. We want equal rights & justice.

.

Arise o’compatriots. The time is now. Rise up. Save me, save you, save our country.

.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

~

Tomorrow on Nigeria@50 Day 12 - Flygirl

16 comments:

Scarlet said...

This is a beautiful piece of writing. The end says it all: "the time is now raise up".

Rebirth said...

yup...the time is now to save Nigeria.... the youth should stop complaining, now is the time to do something

Good post

rethots said...

"The time is now. Rise up. Save me..." We are the only ones that can save ourselves.

How?
....by making our voices relevant in the governance of our country.
....by not being discouraged that we each have just one vote but, making sure we 'use' it.

Yes, "Arise o'compatriots."

Spesh said...

..Arise o'compatriots it is...we should stand up to save this nation of ours.

well written :)

NoLimit said...

Don't care what people say...Naija can still be saved!
Let's do this people!!!Make your vote count,
Register
Select
Vote
Protect...
R.S.V.P

Nutty J. said...

Wow!! lovely write up...was gonna use that same theme (Arise O' Compatriots)

The time is now people....if not you, then who?

Anonymous said...

Well said. I feel an empathy for this giant yet with renewed hope. Very well written.

Molara Brown said...

Register
Select
Vote
Protect...
R.S.V.P

Lovely write up...a call to action

isha said...

Makes you think and then smile and then feel sadness; and then pumps you up for a fight. Beautiful.

So, help us God. We will rise up.

SHE said...

Nice one.

Unknown said...

Well said! Ah! Nigeria really needs help and we all have to make some contribution in our own ways. The time is now.
Nice post.

Myne said...

Yes o, now is our time. Well written Baroque!

Unknown said...

lol @ "...all they ask for is light. Please let there be light".
Tis true anyways.

and...

We must recognize that the solution is in making right choices.

"My people let us take the bull by the horns. We shall all come out & we shall vote, & our votes must be counted. Our voices must be heard. We can make it work, whether they like it or not".

Unknown said...

No free lunch in Freetown, indeed. That ideally is the theory. In nigeria, the practice is at present as far from the theory as can be. Not only are lunches freely eaten, they are stolen in billions, willy -nilly.

But we hope for a new dawn when Nigeria will marry both theory and practice.

olaoluwatomi said...

Nigeria still has hope! We must all join hands and save it from the hands of those who have no clue what being Nigerian is.... great write up

The Activist said...

... and we shall educate ourselves to vote right and demand accountability!