If you think this article will echo your thoughts on the current state of the nation, I urge you to resist the temptation to read and advise you to find something more pleasant to do.
I do not seek to state the obvious but to in my own little way present my thoughts in a manner undeterred by moral restraint or the fear of judgement.
I am who I… This is fear preventing me from ending this sentence, lest I sign my own death warrant out of the pointless need for expression. I understand that my thoughts have been made straight by the foundational imprints of religion and culture and that my actions exude that definition and the moral obligations that follow. Make no mistake, I am a believer in a higher being with a deep appreciation for culture but more so a liberal, the idea of non-conformity to established norms brewing and spitting only what could be conceived as weak punches at a millennia old reality shrouded by paranoia.
We are victims of ideologies built on the illusionary foundation that perfection rests in one tribe supported by the one true, that power belongs to where the compass points, that liberty is the mindless expression of passion fuelled by rage and that an isolated fortress can thrive on its own. Amidst this illusion, how then do we present the truth in a manner unscathed by misconception, ideology or any imperfection of reason? How do we present the truth in a manner that is reflective of who we are as a people? How do we make perfect this definition less the absence of war be fuelled by the raging desire of men?
Peace. I find peace to be an irony of sorts or the idea that men with distinct differences in ethnic constructs can co-exist or the idea that diversity somehow translates into strength. Understand these words, lest you misconstrue them as meaning that in division is strength or that the elevation of the tribe is preferred as against the defined common goal of “All” wherein tribal differences and ethnic violence are simply a given and uncounted for by the equation of unity. Understand those words and ask yourself, laying aside every religious sentiment or the blinding effect of hope, can these men co-exist without them being at logger heads; scheming and devising creative ways of expressing dominance over each other?
Cultural identity paints the undeniable imprint of the tribe, the identity that defines the societal prejudices; the sentiments that overshadow the magnificence of national identity. We are not at war with culture, but with the moral definitions of identity, the imagery of uniqueness that overshadows who we are as a people. Should we then progress along the path of a secluded identity or along the paths of the inglorious, blinded by tribal indoctrinations with sight only to what we deem permissible under the unwritten laws of religious bigotry wherein the definitions of culture and religion are made one.
Religion is a tricky subject in a country like ours, so I fear to take aim directly less I be a victim of the patriotic infidels masquerading in traditional attires of the trinity, divinity and elemental definitions of the one true. These virgin minds violated by the violent penetration of ideology as against truth. And so, a man believes because he is made to, because he is made to deny logic in the face of something bigger, something powerful. He is made to believe something inconceivable to his perception of self, clinging to the mental imagery, so powerful, yet so true or false. He is haunted by the constant thought of worship, plagued with the responsibilities of action and conditioned by the impossibility of his existence with and without.
Alleluia! I must pause here because you have expressed a prejudice to think that I am Christian or maybe I am wrong, but the thought crossed your mind. The possibility that I could be religious, the thought that I could be expressing a religious propaganda rather than expressing an idea or simply using a word. Albeit, that is the obvious objective, to direct your thought as it seems fit, to fixate you on the imagery that I have painted and to drive that mindless expression fuelled by rage into action. Hence, men are poisoned to pick up arms to slaughter every imaginary infidel in the name of a higher purpose. But pause! Alleluia! I must pause here because it is a sin to write in the house of God especially on non-religious subject. It is also a sin to be everything but a conformist, it is a sin to be liberal. It is a sin to express one’s self without adhering to the moral philosophies of restraint and moderation. So, I must pause here, lest I be the victim both mentally and physically walking the path to mental enslavement with pride driven by the false notion of truth and hope.
Hope, the ultimate construct that makes men submit in obedience. My religious figure preaches a lot about hope, telling me to be content in the physical things and focus on the spiritual. His continuous echo of words hurled at my subconscious and in truth I am convinced, convinced that there is a greater purpose here, one that excludes my lust for wealth and flesh but one that has finally convinced me that at this rate, confusion will lay siege to the shaky walls of belief made straight by resilience and re-enforced constantly by the single-minded objective of possibilities
I am in search of sanity if that can be found. In search of peace, in search of hope, in search of the definitions of self and the illusions and truth that it presents. What happens when all these fails? What happens when reality decides to simple f*** it all up? A people emerge, a people driven by the ragging madness of frustration and anger masqueraded by selfless resilience towards a cause. Success is all about not giving up and fools are all about trying endlessly till every essence of life is drained out and nothing is left but emptiness.
So, help because in all this madness masqueraded as a cause, I must sustain myself and my family. Help, lest I threaten you with violence because once my sustenance ends, the next line of hope begins with you with plenty; glittering and seductive. Albeit, only fools wallow in poverty amid plenty except plenty is simply an exaggeration of in excess of little and that illusion is laid bare by my cry for help; a reminder of the falsehood. So, help that we may not be victims and that I may find meaning behind all this. And that your falsehood be sustained by our willingness to agree and to walk this path with pride.
In the end, we all sing different songs heavy with worship and cultural intonations with the chains of mental enslavement wilfully worn and dangling on our necks. Men are first tribal and religious before the national identity, sticking to their own version of events under the falsehood of tolerance. Chanting songs that echo we are tolerant because we are not violent but still we express the thought in act and in will so often blinded and made deaf by the profanity of political goons and religious idols masquerading as leaders. Albeit, the will to choose a path of logic wherein men understand the infallible value of the Nigerian identity is weakened by long end suffering and smiling, weakened by everything with thought only to the next story after this.
Whatever you do choose, I urge you to choose reason and to refrain from pointless arguments but to focus on the walking the path to building a future where men are not defined by the tribal or religious affiliations but by the contents of their character and by the seeming will to build a future today for tomorrow.
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