Wednesday 16 May 2012

I Am Nigeria

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 & now home-made bombs?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Dear God consider our fervent supplication, we pray.
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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.
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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.
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My past & present leaders should be made to bear the repercussion of their actions. You can’t leave me with no petrol & in abject penury and then 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.
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Arise o’compatriots. The time is now. Rise up. Save me, save you, save our country.
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Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

26 comments:

NoLimit said...

I could cry!!!
So disheartening! May our hopes not be dashed...Amen.

AliceDCL said...

I wont lie i have given up hope, i talk about Nigeria now with a thought of the past, I used to be her greatest supporter but we have gotten dealt with so many blows in recent time, it just seems like betting against the odds,
Corruption has eaten too deep, people are too scared, some are too powerful, and a lot of the powerful ones want things to remain the same, how do we move from there.
Reading articles like this remind me of what could be, and make me have hope that maybe we should fight just one last time, and when that time is done, we will fight again "one last time", Hope is the one thing we never seem to lack against all the insurmountable odds.

Anon said...

E go happen one day.. All of them will be brought to book. From the FGN to all those bodies that say they fight for the people yet cheat and lie to us at every turn. E go happen one day

fearless said...

I agree wt bbb. Ve almost givn up hope. But we ve 2 kip tryn. Evil men rule when good men do nothing

Myne said...

It can really get depressing, but I keep the hope that it will get better too.

bArOquE said...

@Tonilicious, Amen oh

@NoLimit, ...in JESUS Name

@BBB, "...maybe we should fight just one last time, and when that time is done, we will fight again 'one last time'..." quite well said
Hope is all we've got

@Anon, e must happen one day...war or no war

@fearless, a few good men have started rising, my dear, we are on the road to recovery...by some means

@MyneWhitman, i personally have lost hope, but i'm still hoping that the hope will keep us going

Chris Ogunlowo said...

We can only hope.

This is not the type of post I'm used to reading here ;)

bArOquE said...

@Chris, We cant only hope...even bible talk am, "faith without works is dead"...we can do more than hope

*be there winking* what are you used to reading here??? :D

Zena said...

Speechless, Amen!!!!

Anonymous said...

I echo my dear Zena...speechless. This reminds me of reading passages in the bible where God beckons to Israel to return to holiness and forsake their lustful and self destructing ways. I truly have a soft spot in my heart for Nigerians and sincerely pray the country is healed of all that ails it.

Chiamaka said...

this sounds like an october 1st post,lol. Buh seriously when i read posts like this, i know there is still hope for our country, because since most people of our generation continue to notice and bemoan everything wrong with our country, i know when it finally gets to our turn to lead it, we are gonna make things right.

flygirlbidiish said...

we really can save the pieces... long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

ibiluv said...

hi

bArOquE said...

~Zena, Amen oh, my dear...

~QOMC, my dear, its just as you have described it, leaders of this country need to be dealt with severely for those coming after to learn from...thank God,, Ibori was jailed in London after the Nigerian justice system discharged & acquitted him

~Sugarcoated, i hope when it gets to our turn, we shall do a better job

~Flybidishgirl, Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

~ibiLuv, my very own runaway personal person....

Ibifiri Kamson said...

this is so food for thought. sometimes i loose hope i will not lie, but then again what can i do but to hope that one day it will get better. thanks for stopping by my blog.
www,secretlilies.blogspot.com

Ibifiri Kamson said...

this is so food for thought. sometimes i loose hope i will not lie, but then again what can i do but to hope that one day it will get better. thanks for stopping by my blog.
www,secretlilies.blogspot.com

Ibifiri Kamson said...

this is so food for thought. sometimes i loose hope i will not lie, but then again what can i do but to hope that one day it will get better. thanks for stopping by my blog.
www,secretlilies.blogspot.com

Ibifiri Kamson said...

this is so food for thought. sometimes i loose hope i will not lie, but then again what can i do but to hope that one day it will get better. thanks for stopping by my blog.
www,secretlilies.blogspot.com

miz-cynic said...

just had to ask.....are u married now?

Carol Lee said...

Socio-economic subject had always been written by many bloggers and all of them wants change and hopes for the better future.

Ed Butowsky personal investing

LovePaprika said...

That's some good write up there... Enjoyed

Real8 said...

baroque...just like u, the tears in my heart has made it too heavy to pump blood. its like with each passing day you hear news that sinks the heart. i pray that it gets better. kai! its really sad.

nyways how u doing *wink* this is lighty by the way, so visit my extrememly new blog, am waiting to see your prints all over it.

its amazing ure still blogging, u never stopped??? i bow o. x

Unknown said...

hmm..true talk o

lazioman.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Amen
http://trendysturvs.blogspot.com/

mr&mrs talklovealways said...

Well written. I actually hope that every Nigerian reads this. I really like how you have painted the picture of what the country has become. I will be here again to search for insightful posts like this. Thank for posting

Rhapsody Phoenix said...

Blessings.....
wonderfully provactive...

peace.
Rhapsody
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