Voila! C’est ça!! That is what we are talking about!!!
I was pretty impressed by the reaction of the other Nigerians on board the KLM flight from Amsterdam to Lagos towards the trussed-up Nigerian deportee. Well, the deportation case is a different subject, but the sight of him being chained definitely would get one close to tears. This should be plainly condemned.
Common, every man, especially a Nigerian, loves freedom. So, psychological, he is in chains, locked up in a country where he has a lot of restrictions. The closest he can get to his family back home is via video call. Why bind him again when returning him home? The chains and cuffs were absolutely unnecessary.
Even if it appears that our government has become really busy to fight for our people in diaspora, thanks to social media and smart devices, we can stand united. Soon, caution would be taken when handling us as Nigerians and our dignity would gradually be restored. It is time we stopped having a repeat of demeaning incidences, especially one like the recent incomprehensible occurrence with the Nigerian students in India.
We can no longer sit still and watch. If we keep thinking it does not affect us directly, as long as we cannot change our skin colour, the truth is, our collective brand image is at stake. I long for that day, hopefully in the nearest future, when I would proudly say I am a Nigerian and get positive expressions on people’s faces. We really have to rebrand this image of ours, consciously and wisely. One occasion and one person at a time.
Although, I was not born at the time of ‘the slave trade’, credence to history, I could imagine and picture the time as I saw the condition of the Nigerian who was to be deported in that video. With the poem below, I tried connecting the past and the present.
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Captured and traded like merchandise
We were bound in chains
Across oceans, we sailed to unknown destinations
Freely jettisoned when we appeared feeble
Without a voice, our future was decided, confirmed and sealed
It appeared like the best, the way to go
Violently taken away from all we knew
We were plundered, looted and robbed
Our loved ones became existent only in the mirrors of our hearts
Eyes would never again behold them
Liberty became a tale we soon forgot
We ‘are’ royalty but a knowledge successfully buried
All for our natural, physical and mental wealth
We were displaced
And devoid of knowledge to survive or manage the wealth
We were returned to a divided territory with differing interests and tongues
To this day we struggle to swim through the rivers of confusion
But even in diversity, we still stand
Decades gone and trying to find our feet
We are still bound in physical chains
This time to return us to our own fatherland
Such an incredible irony
But now we have a voice, NO to being hobbled like animals
We now have a worth and a knowledge of our royalty
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Having said all, being bound in chains made the matter worse. It belittles us. Many thanks to the other Nigerians, who still understand that we should be treated with a little decency at the very least.
Nigeria will get there, we have begun the journey and soon we would have no need to be voluntary slaves in foreign countries. But while we are at getting it right, we deserve some decency, we deserve some regards, we deserve respect. And although acting right wherever we find ourselves will earn us this respect, standing up to correct those who already have an awry perception or impression about our identity would go a very long way.
God Bless Nigeria!
