We wouldn’t be straying too far from the point if we say Nigeria is going through tough times right now, both emotionally and physically. I feel like being a Nigerian at this moment is stress on its own, and the situation of things around is not even helping matters. As a people, we can only hope for the light at the end of the tunnel- because the darkness is not it at all. This week, bad news and heartache have been in surplus supply. First, Nigeria’s favorite entertainer: D’banj lost his one year old son to an accident that could have been easily avoided. The whole country mourned with him and felt his pain like we had all lost our son. He and his family must be going through unimaginable pain right now, and my heart goes out to him as he deals with his loss.
Then there was the terrible story that after a long struggle, India had finally bowed out, leaving Nigeria with the title of poorest country in the world. A whole bunch of people and I were still sighing about that, when the news of the herdsmen killings in plateau state surfaced. Who have we offended for God’s sake? The level of lawlessness in Nigeria is unreal; to think these people have carried on with impudence for so long without being properly checked, begs for answers and some very crucial steps to be taken. As we turned to our president for succor, he informed us that all the killings have political undertones, and the major perpetrators have political connections and such. The craziness of this whole thing is, using people’s real lives to play politics. It’s like we’re all pawns in a game of chess which hopefully doesn’t come to a violent and abrupt end soon. Politics is not a do or die affair, nothing costs as much as the life of people.
Fostering civil unrest will lead to what end again? What is the use of governing a country or state where all its inhabitants are dead? The answers are almost as irrelevant as the question because they don’t matter much; these people have shown time and time again that they are just after our resources. That wasn’t bad enough, our personal ray of hope, our teleportation device, our discussion and rallying point (Super Eagles), lost their deciding group match to Argentina at the world cup, and I’m livid. Truth be told, I’m not even livid: I’m confused, tired and restless all at the same time. The only thing that kept a lot of people going is the world cup, and the thought that our national team would advance beyond the group stage. ‘Even if the sky is falling, at least we have our super eagles’. But alas, our hopes were dashed, as they were beaten 2-1 by the ‘Europeans of south America’. The consolation out of this is we put up a good fight and didn’t bow to their whims. Our gallant brothers: they fought till the very end.
Another devastating blow came yesterday, when a petrol tanker lost its brakes at the Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway; started sliding back, crashed into a culvert and caught fire almost immediately. A minimum of 54 cars were burnt, and sadly lives were lost too. I was actually at Ikeja when it all happened; I saw the mountain of smoke, but didn’t know what was going on. I had to get home to hear what happened and put two and two together. I can’t over emphasize that these are trying times for Nigeria. We can say ‘pray for Nigeria’, but in avoidable incidents like this, is only prayer really the answer? This isn’t the first time a bus or heavy duty vehicle has lost its brakes resulting in the loss of lives, something needs to be done urgently. Most countries are moving forward with road safer technological advancements, but Nigeria seems to be taking a back seat. It’s either the driver of the truck is driving like he’s possessed, or the exhaust is emitting the same level of smoke a bonfire will, there is always something wrong with them. Why don’t we value our lives? Eventualities like brake failures are the reasons for routine checks.
This kind of emotional stress should be reserved for a mid-life crisis, I feel like I’ve already lived 4 lifetimes in my 28 years on earth. These are trying times for Nigeria, but as usual we will forge ahead. The future looks murky and obscure, but we will pull through. One smart step at a time, Peace and Love
Note to self: Indoor pools are cancelled