I jolted from my sleep,at the sound of the bell from the security post, its midnight already. Whew! The beginning of another day, I’m really upset that I am back to this harsh reality of total blackout,and excruciating heat. I’m left to wonder how hell would be,if this heat was not half a dose of what it felt like…the more reason why I must make heaven. I turned,and saw my brother draining the poor laptop of its life,with his movie, if only he knew how much it silently cried out for help *sigh*. He looks up and says to me…“Finally! I almost thought you would never wake,you slept like a log of wood,and were smiling like you had been offered a diamond ring,with ruby stones and probably at your wedding,on Wilson Island Australia…” I laughed“.
He was right you know, for 3hrs,I lived in a perfect world,I felt what it was like to have a perfect system,where love prevailed, to have a government that listens, leaders who are not just charismatic,but are also willing to give an arm,for the development of their society, and are not just lame ducks, followers or subjects who are patriotic. For 3hrs,I lived on an island filled with milk and honey,maybe I was delirious as a result of my dysmenorrhea,but I experienced a true world. I got out of my bed to get fresh air,I went to my balcony,and I could feel the crispiness in the air, the leaves chattered away, however foolish it looked,the moon seemed to be in deep thoughts, the generators from neighbouring houses made a cacophony which ironically,formed a rhythm which the night birds seemed to hum to, at a point it sounded like a funeral song, an ode to a lost nation. My brother called out from the room, ‘Happy Independence’,I scoffed,’Independence’,what a misleading term. For a minute,I had forgotten we had a date of such significance. No wonder the bizarre reaction of nature. Its Oct 1st, Independence day,we start the day with a blackout,PHCN is far from enjoying or appreciating,the significance of this day. Today like other days,they had decided to take umbrage against the government,while we are left to bear its brunt. I took my almost dead blackberry,and decided to go through my updates, and possibly access twitter,because I know that’s where the fun starts,the jokes and jibes,that would definitely be heaped on Nigeria,the angry youths, emotions will definitely surge high, comedians would have a field day,celebrities too. In fact,every Nigerian has something to say,about one issue of the other. Logging on to twitter,I wasn’t surprised at all wen i saw #IWANTANIGERIA trending,different views were aired,both reasonable and unreasonable. With a deep sigh,I retire to my bed, resigned to my fate, What a nation!
Its 6am,and am up again,surprised to see that power has been restored,I stretch on my bed, am sad that I did not go back to my rosy dream,I think the prevailing harsh realities,fine tuned my dream *sigh*. I quickly perform my ablutions,and turned on the TV. GEJ gave an independence speech,I hoped it did not leave any question marks thereafter,as the views and opinions, he aired in the media chat,he had the previous day,had been insensitive,I seriously hoped eaten humble pie. He impressed me a little bit,truth be told, governing a nation like Nigeria is like walking a tightrope. We celebrate independence with a lot of questions,on the minds of Nigerians,people are scared of going out for fear of the unknown,our government lives affluently while many Nigerians live on less than a dollar everyday. Amongst one another,we live at daggers drawn,we are at sixes and sevens,we believe that poverty is the root for our problems. I beg to differ. Poverty,is not the cause of terrorism, let the truth be told,that’s just a lame excuse, 53yrs of experiencing one strike after another, 53yrs gone,our naira weakens at investment profit making,53yrs of experiencing four unfruitful general elections,the president keeps setting up a lot of endless and senseless committees.
I do not get the drift of this celebration. Yes, it’s a new month,I’m grateful for life, but if i should celebrate, its not for uninterrupted 53yrs of independence,it is 53yrs of civil rule not even democracy,because as far as am concerned we do not operate that system .53yrs and a day gone, ASUU is still on strike, resident doctors embark on strike, polythenics strike, an unemployment rate of 60%, an illiteracy rate of 63%, bad roads, no electricity,our basic amenities are not properly catered to. Terrorism and corruption,is the order of the day,I’m forced to ask a vexed question, “53yrs,and a day gone, ARE WE THERE YET?” Let us be on our toes and quit being sitting ducks,let us wake up and smell the coffee.
Revised and Edited by
Aura Moha
~Learnedpoet~
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