LETTER TO MY COUNTRYMEN...

LETTER TO MY COUNTRYMEN

FELLOW NIGERIANS…

PHONE: 07031816797 E-MAIL: poetojotisa@yahoo.com POET ENOCH AMANDLA   AWETU NOTHING SHALL DISCOURAGE US

                It is with dutiful heart as a countryman of this nation that I pen this on this paper. But more of importance of what am about to divulge is better glued to your inner pinnacle of your memory than just to be read and accredited of grammatical pureness. For what we do today will forever be reckoned with and referred to. What am saying in totality, is not for us to just say that what I have printed on this paper is true; rather, let us put into action what has already been longed planned for in our society. What we do about this issue will last for a thousand and thousand years!           

This day 29^th of May, 2011; this Geographical entity, which is composed of various amalgamated cultural groups, celebrates her “DEMOCRACY DAY”. And not only that, but gives the veil of authority to the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan led administration. Though the whole process is being done and celebrated under the semblance of pretence of full scale security; whereas where there is in fact nothing called guaranteed security welfare in this unit called a state.

If I would be pardoned by my readers, I am constrained, yet but convinced by the full fletched historical and socio-political happens, that have over the years proven Late SIR LUGARD wrong over his amalgamation theory of the Northern and Southern protectorates. With all due respect to those who have been before me in stringent line of poetic and political thought of procession; the course of uniting the various cultural geo-political lands into one fused nation had the course of commendable state of confusion for this element of Africa.

God favored West-Africa with sound weather system. The British officer favored us with the evil passion of “ONE NATION”.

I am unrepentant in asking the  Western white man if he could continue to live all his life with another white  man from the Eastern part of the world; with a different human ideals and morals but yet with a common governance and political system? I am ravenous with no answer. And this struggle of vagueness of unity amongst us led to the late qualification of the so called NIGERIA for Independence. For those citizens of this so called only PAPER COUNTRY and not PEOPLE’S COUNTRY, you will agree pari-passu with me that, NIGERIA was due for independence as early as 1954 and then 1957 before we finally wrapped it up in 1960 out of shame of the remaining fiasco of the British government. Our nationalist fathers then could not arrive at a junction of unity because unity was not in consideration as at the time of “Berlin conference and the Amalgamation year of 1914”.

This is war! One with which we shall fight with the last drop of blood in our vein. A war of cleansing our nation from its foundational debris; for how can this state entity whose citizens are fast naturalizing into other nations are washed as white as snow?

The system of governance which was left by the British was far more open than the presidential and “Americana way of governance” which we now emulate. Though there was war of COUPS as from 1966. But can it be out rightly stated that the causes of these coups were due to fight against corruption? And if truly they were battles only taken in the military way to combat corruption, why then were some of the civilian politicians killed?

Some of them were killed because of their fraudulent and corrupt actions and character. But then, how come even in the so called regions, only the Western region and partially the Eastern region considered the augmentation of their people Agriculturally, Health-wisely, Educationally, Socially and Politically? How come the Northern region was briefed of all these social amenities given out by other region leaders to their people?

The answer is quite effortless and undeviating; such a political system which was left to the so called Nigerian people actually fitted into the cultural ideals of the Western region and its people and partially the Eastern region; but not into the Northern region. Take note! That is not in way against the cultural and traditional values and adequacy of the Northern brothers in this nation. It’s just so evidential that their society is a FASICIST culture.

Though, the regime of General Gowon was that which preached the message of “GO ON WITH ONE NATION”: which was an acronym for his name GOWON. But, such a message was only a paper-tiger message which was not in any way profitable to the nation at long run. It was after the civil war that the NYSC scheme was introduced as a means of securing UNITY for the state entity called NIGERIA. But of which it has over the years become the sacrificial period of our brilliant youths in the country.

The question am directing to all readers of this article is that, how can you and I go on with one Nigeria when the social amenities a country and a nation is meant to provide her citizens are no longer present?

Why and how should I accept this state entity as my nation when I can boldly state that the so called country as failed the definition of a Nation which means the sovereign gathering and rule of a homogenous people? Nigeria is HETEROGENOUS in our case brother!

Most of our fathers believe so much in their region rather than the country itself.  Will Nigeria survive as a country up till a certain number of years is a question of food for thought? This is because of the civil war that broke out in the country sometimes in 1967 to 1970.  Should Nigeria operate a CONFEDERAL SYSTEM like we closely had in the 70s’ or like other great nations of the world? Or should Nigeria be broken into OODUA NATION, AREWA NATION AND BIAFRA NATION? Or should we continue to sing chorus of pain and agony in an assuming nation called “NIGERIA”?

FIGHT FOR A NATION OF ONE MAN; ONE GOVERNMENT AND ONE PEOPLE. THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION BEGINS!

YET WE WILL DANCE AGAIN

When the chants of sorrow,

Gaol our rights like no morrow;

In our heritage we lament.

But there will be atonement.

For our oppression is not originated from our sins;

Rather, it has been destined since.

Tears flowing like river through red eyes

Washing down the lake of our face;

Oppression like ABIKU, says our divination lies.

We mourn our dance in our own place.

Yet we must not let our dance die.

Our dance is our culture ____to the foreigner we say bye.

Who can say that only time?

The time we will cease to dance to the foreigner’s mime.

Brothers! Our time to dance is come.

The dance of our heritage; can’t be lost in calculating its rhyme’s sum.

I shall stand not in his regalia.

My rib shall no longer be called like Priscilla;

She shall bear like a new African maiden.

We shall dance in our Africa’s night of white-red scarf test of pure maiden.