A Cry for a Generation
We cannot allow our hearts grow numb.
There is no time for unnecessary dilly dallying around this. Nigeria is wounded. The nation is bleeding.
Too many things are going on in the country. There is poverty in the land. There is a wave of insurgency. People wake up, not knowing if they will live to see the next day. We have terrorists killing Army Generals. Churches are being invaded and attacked. School children go to school one morning and spend that night in the kidnappers’ den. Youth Corpers are kidnapped and some killed on their way to their state of posting. And this is not up to half of the ordeals of this land.
It breaks me to see the nation I call home crumble right before my eyes. The nation I have ALWAYS maintained hope for is crashing down before my very eyes and there is nothing I can do directly to stop it.
And in the midst of the chaos, the government is quiet. The shepherd goes into the public to deny the fact that lions and bears are devouring the flock. The principal goes to the media to deny the fact that there is a full blown chaos among the students.
I write to my generation. We cannot afford to be numb about this. I know that it seems like there is nothing that can be done, but we cannot afford to be nonchalant. Whether you accept it or not, Nigeria is home. Africa is home. You do not just leave your house with everything else inside it when there is an emergency. We are at a period when the old is rolling out and the young is rolling in. And it is in this same period that everything seems to be going haywire. This is the time for my generation to be as connected as ever. The exiled Israelites were asked to pray for the peace of Babylon because if things go well for Babylon, things would go well for them. In the same vein, your prosperity is connected to the prosperity of your nation, in one way or the other.
“I will just japa”. What happens to your family members then? What happens to your friends? What is the cost of thinking about saving only yourself?
My heart aches with a burden. Your heart should burn as well. This is a cry for my generation. There is a lot at stake. Our future is slowly being burnt to the ground. You say that speaking up has changed nothing. Well, silence is not any different. So why not choose the more active route. I repeat. There is a lot at stake. We are in sensitive times. We need all hands on deck.
The blood of the innocent cries for vengeance. Let us not lose our sense of humanity in this season. There is still a God who hears the cry of the blood of the dead, innocent man. There is still a God who hears the cry of the vulnerable child in the wilderness.
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:9)
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. (Psalm 122:6-9)
There’s no reason to wallow in sadness
Stand up strong and raise your head
For the day of reckoning cometh
When we’ll be marching to the sound of freedom
Change will come to the one who is ready
Face the truth and stand for justice
Too many days of pain and sorrow
Now is the time to make your move
The Path by Beautiful Nubia (2014)