Praying for the safe return of Nigeria’s 234.
Let us now in desperate and grim realization attempt to
Focus on the magnitude of the horrendous that continues
To escalate and engulf the existence in the country called Nigeria.
How can the essence of the nation survive this unrelenting onslaught…
Alas, which of the detestable will cause the collective again to demand relief.
Will it be the death trap that stretches its clutches across the expressway
Once ironically designed to provide safe passage from Ibadan to Lagos.
Or the bombings of sanctuaries of worship where many perish in services, or
Death by diseases otherwise successfully managed elsewhere around the globe.
Or the degradation of educational standards from the lack of vision to the
Continued loss of the eager youth, and profound detriment of the nation.
Or the lack of running portable water amid of the absence of electricity
The latter, resulting in high tone deafness from constant noise pollution
Generated by the fixtures of survival attempting to illuminate darkness.
Or the refuse dumps that litter the landscape like monuments to garbage,
The welcome refuge, for vermin of all description and cultures of pestilence.
Or the bombings shattering lives of the citizens embarking on life’s daily toil.
Or the unimaginable slaughter of the innocent boys seeking knowledge
Amid the school halls and classrooms where youthful vigor should flourish.
Nay, all that suffices not for a nation to suffer, for the siege on hope
Determined, took ghastly form beyond the contemplation of despair itself
And laid before us adversity intent to ravage the invaluable treasure
Of the nation, our youth, our future and promise of tomorrow…
No, the calamities unremitting continued whilst the authorities slept.
Thus the number 234, the loathsome figure now synonymous with DREAD
In a foreseeable act of abominable monstrosity, swept through a school
And inflicted more violence on the sanctity of the classrooms, where
Youthful laughter should intersect with intellectual curiosity for the
Advancement of self and to the enduring benefit of the nation.
The atrocity, sending shockwaves through the tattered and bloody fabric
Of the society, in repugnant manner, hence haunts the daily existence of a nation.
Yet, after the horror…
Where were the officials in appropriate sackcloth for lamentation.
Where was the immediate declaration of a state of mourning.
Where was the decisive proclamation deploying all measure of troops to
Embark on the mission, to rescue our future from the captors, to assure
The aghast nation, that the welfare of the people was of paramount concern.
Rather, the aftermath was laced with misrepresentation and vacillation
To the further disillusionment of the parents and disbelief of the nation.
As mothers wept and fathers gnashed their teeth, some inept officials
Charged with the responsibility of stewardship of the nation, floundered
And some could still celebrate, board jets and drink, and dared to sleep
In the comfort of homes fortified by legions that should be searching
For our girls, who in that cursed forest, no freedom nor solace can embrace.
Why should the Nigerian flag still fly.
Why are lights in state houses not dimmed.
Where are the resignations in the wake of this enormity.
Or has it escaped reason that a mammoth disaster has befallen the nation
That this, in all form of description is an unspeakable national tragedy.
Or does their callous indifference know no bounds.
Where was the swift response to the assault on innocence.
Or do they in vain, believe the plight of the girls is nothing short of
Dehumanization, extreme hardship and unimaginable cruelty.
Do some in governance still seek to ignore the glaring obvious
Or are they so inoculated with apathy that the stark evades them.
When other nations unwavering, search for their missing and presumed dead,
Let all forcefully make bold declaration in one accord on this matter.
That the failure to prevent the dreadful and the ineptitude in its vortex
Constitute a reprehensible blot of incalculable proportions, on one nation,
Warranting scathing and persistent international condemnation, as such
Rightfully castigating the nation, found so terribly wanting and wantonly unprepared,
In its manifested lack of fortitude to search for its living, and its future,
So violently abducted from within the heart of its own territorial boundaries.
Dr. Yemisi Solanke Koya ©
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