Are you wasting your energy in what you know that it will not work? My people, Africa naa
Africa.. Oyibo naa Oyibo.
What works for the White Man has no 100% formulae nor guarantee that it must work in
Africa..
That word CIVIL, a sibling of "civilian" and "civilization" does not pose as a good adjective
in Nigeria ..
Civil protest is moi moi for Africans and their leaders. And you don't blame them. We were
all born like that..
We understand Military disobedience better.
.
As a kid, I saw a white boy get angry in a movie and he told the mother, "mom, I ain't
eating your food anymore".. The mother knelt down and started begging.. In fact she
cried..
Two days after, my mum got me angry in a worse case scenario and I was like "mama, I
am not eating your food again! Mbanuuuuu.."
My mum smiled and said, "tenkiu nwa m.. Good son! Minus one! Now I can fend for the
rest.. Over feeding was even worrying you!"
Next she turned to my siblings, "if any of you dare give him a grain of rice from this House
again.. Consider yourself dead!"
My bothers ate well, licking all their phlanages..
.
The next meal.. I knelt down and cried that, "ulcer is excavating a borrow pit in my large
intestine!"
.
That's why no one resigns in Nigeria. If my siblings had protested too.. Maybe the point
would have been driven in. But no.. They shared my own food. Taa cha anu.. Taa àzú..
.
Same way you Will resign today in a protest.. Your Umunna will call you a big fool and
another from Ebonyi is installed by the fulanis the next morning..
Even your Pastor will be wondering why he slept last night and allowed village people to
confuse you with mere red hanky..
.
White boy will walk away from the house and their mum will run all down the street
begging, " Johnny please don't do this. Please come home! Don't walk away! Dad and I
Love s you"
.
But in Naija, your father will pursue you with machete and when you run away, he will be
screaming down the road.. "si kwa there Gbafuooo!! Don't come back to this house again!
Amadioha carry you from there!"..
.
In my youth days, my dad's friend, late # Nnanna_Ukaegbu went on hunger strike at
Assumpta Cathedral roundabout Owerri against the government of Sani Abacha..
His people were like, who send am. Big men that can mumu sometimes.. The government
no blink.. Small small.. Hunku begin deteriorate.. Naa so e ask for water.. Next milk.. Milk..
I am sure that when he dived eba and good okro soup.. He wouldn't know..
.
So how then do you expect such society to begat children and leaders that will understand
hunger strikes, peaceful protests, boycotts, sit outs, resignations etc..
.
The man that climbed a high rise billboard somewhere last week in Nigeria, asking for the
sack the Muhammadu Buhari government only graced social media for a minute.
Nigerians began tagging it, "stupid man! He even have the energy to climb!".. Some kept
screaming "jump naa!!! Wetin hold you for there!!"..
No negotiators came.. When the man heard the advice of some owls in the middle of the
night, only gawd knows where he climbed down and hid himself..
.
That's how much we cherish civility. IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu would have had more talks
with government if they went the Boko Haram and NDA way.
If they brandished one AK47 and one double bar.. Akuko for de a bit straight up..
.
A country that protesting senators are tear gassed? Soldiers called to stop labour union
and student protests? Lethal bullets are used on religious protesters??
Even the citizens are separating motives of a protest in tribal, religious and party lines??
What on earth can be done rightly?
.
Nigerians love doing the opposite of things. Tell them to sit at home.. They will all come
out..
If Ipob swore with Amadioha that everybody should come out on election day.. Them go
kuku boycott..
But we shall continue..
We shall not capitulate..
We shall sing the Lord's song in a strange land. Fight and win civil. Use flags, protest and
songs. We shall use microphones and radios just the way it's done naa mba ofesii and not
only PVC vs APC..