I need to get this message across to Mr President, I really need to get this message across to Mr President, I must get this message across to Mr President…
I am not trying to crave attention or sound like a broken record but the matter at hand craves urgent attention and I really wish Mr President will read this to know how I feel.
Mr President,
In Africa, the birth of a child is welcomed with merrymaking. The sight of a new born melts even the hardest heart, everyone wishes for such tiny but great bundle of joy. When this child starts growing, people quickly forget the joy attached to the birth and he or she becomes just another child. As unattended to as a child might seem in the faces of people, the child never becomes insignificant in the face of his or her parents and that is why most parents will gladly lay their lives down in exchange for that of their children. In Africa, when a child dies it is an abnormality, how much more when children dies, that is a great disaster. Death shouldn’t spare the elders and take the children instead, when such situation arises it calls for a sober reflection among the elders. Death has left the circle of the elders, the dry woods are left alone in the forest while the sprouting trees is being fell. One should think that the dry trees should offer themselves in place of the sprouting trees but these dry ones do not desire to forsake the company of the forest.
Mr President, be patient, do not dismiss my letter in a haste. The illustrations are a reminder of the Africa I know and I want everyone to have an idea of the Africa I was born. Today, Death has taken a seat of power in Nigeria. Oh, is that strange? Maybe you think you are still in control of affairs in the nation, which would be a great misconception sir, permit me to say that you lost the seat of power the first time Boko haram threw the first bomb. Since then, it has been death through the hands of bokoharam for innocent and unsuspecting citizens who believe so much in their president and are willing to accept that the situation is under control. You still don’t understand sir, here let me remind you that you have been on top of the situation since 2003 and the situation instead of subduing is more deadly than it started out as. Lots of people have called your attention to this situation, some have given you advice, some have abused you, and others have simply decided to neglect you. I do not know the set of people you enjoy most but with recent actions, I’m sure you would prefer it if we all keep quiet and ignore the situation.
I want to ignore the situation sir, I want to close my eyes to it and keep silent like you do on these matters, and I would have only if it didn’t involve the future of this nation. I will never forget February attack on Burni Yadi, fate of the Chibok gals are still unknown since April, now it’s the kids at Potiskum and you expect me to ignore that. God forbid I keep silent on an issue like this, in fact I rebuke every spirit that will try to seize my tongue or stop my hand from writing at a desperate time like this.
That morning, those kids happily picked their bags and hurried to school as they bade their families goodbye with promises of returning later in the day. They got to school and mingled with their friends, hurriedly exchanging the gist of the weekend before rushing to the assembly ground when the bell rang. With smile on their faces, they were ready to go through the singing, prayers, inspection and motivational talks from the Principal. In their midst, stood death under the disguise of a student, dressed in the same way they are, probably had engaged in the gisting earlier but with a sinister motive. The sound was deafening as their innocent bodies got torn into pieces. Like fire, the news spread, parents hurry towards the school in desperate hope of finding their kids alive. Some were lucky, their kids were unhurt, some found their kids injured while others searched desperately but no one could tell them the fate of their kids. Just like that, the peace the community once enjoyed was shattered.
In their pains, they waited for the world to comfort them, they needed to know we all felt the pain. They waited for you, Mr President to identify with them and show that you are as human as you look, but again you failed them. What is the death of some kids to you while you are desperately trying to secure your make sure no one unseats you, come 2015. You chose to ignore the screams and cries for your political jamboree in Abuja the following day. Like Nathan in the bible, I ask you to be your own judge, if someone brutally murders one of your children and you know someone who is capable of bringing that person to justice, yet he or she ignores your plight, what should be done to that kind of person?
As if that wasn’t enough, just yesterday there was another attack on the students at Federal College of Education, Katangora, still you remain unfettered. I wonder how you manage to go through each day without even giving any of these a thought. By now, our flags should be flying at half mast, your 2015 declaration should have been postponed, and war should have been declared on these terrorists. Your silence is deafening Mr President and I hope you will realise that these lives matters before it becomes too late. The word of Martin Luther King Jr. is true, ‘our lives begin to end the day we start keeping silent about things that matter’.
Aderonke. A
Media Personnel
DeeScene 