‘’We are not shirkers; we are not asking God to do for us what we can do for ourselves. No!’’
By Dr Emmanuel Mede
FRI, JUN 05 2020-theG&BJournal- In any society, those who are supposed to drive the discourse in tackling socio-political ills are the elite. But in this country Nigeria, right from independence, the elite have consistently traded off their ugly souls to the forces of regression for juicy appointments!
The few courageous souls who challenge the status quo are chased like rabbits into yawning graves. The situation here is classic Animal Farm: They control the official forces of State-violence – army, police, and all kinds of paramilitary horrors! And over and over again, they have demonstrated their crazed resolve to unleash the bloodhounds on us poor citizens who dare to ask incisive questions.
Meanwhile, they have a mob of highly lettered and well-heeled spokesmen to defend their indefensible actions! If those who have a modicum of social privilege are so treated, what do you expect the underprivileged citizenry to do? No, we are not cowards as a people; we just find ourselves in a freaking Animal Farm.
Now to the four-hundred-years-plus of the emasculation of the African soul by those who murdered the original Red Indian populations of North America and who now fraudulently claim that it is a whiteman’s land: We lend our voices to the raised fists of protests because the madness has to stop!
Whether we’re able to do the same in the jungle is beside the point; if our bleating voices are too feeble to be heard above the din of roaring lions in our jungle, perhaps if we bleat to protest injustice elsewhere, we just might make a difference.
Finally, we are not shirkers; we are not asking God to do for us what we can do for ourselves. No! We are doing our freaking best and asking God to bear us up in His caring arms where and when our bruised and swollen feet can no longer crawl!
The Jews are some of the smartest and most brilliant souls I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing; but in spite of their accomplishments, Yaweh isn’t for them a smart pin-up they adorn on the Sabbath; He is a daily living reality! Invoking God as we do does not blunt the razor-sharp edge of our intellectual minds; it hones our resolve to confront our socio-economic demons on multiple fronts!
Dr Emmanuel Mede, a lecturer, English Language writes from Warri, Delta State
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