The “Orishirishi” Tales: Of Hashtags, Fat-bellied Police Men and Raised Fists
Feature Post by Adejoro Daniel
“The truth is a simple one that we must establish now.
You have managed to keep them indoors, boxed inside their minds.
But you would have chaos on your hands when they realize that the doors are open,
And they can come outside.”
I am currently in front of my laptop, eagerly waiting for the clouds to begin their tears. Fela’s “Beast of No Nation” is playing from my headphones, and I realize that the song is an exact reflection of the times we live in. A time where “this uprising has brought out the Beast in us.” A time I regard as an age of “Hashtags, Fat-bellied Police Men and Raised Fists.” A time where the people have realized that nothing will ever take the place of Freedom. A time where the Youths; the beautiful ones who for years have been ridiculed and insulted for “being too rude and insolent,” have finally decided to show the world that the “power in the people is more powerful than the people in power.”
Chants of “Soro Soke” and the hashtag #EndSARS fill our ears and blind our eyes. For me, I feel a sense of hope that just maybe the Revolution has finally begun, that the age of the Beautiful Ones has launched.
And I don’t think anyone can help but feel this way; looking at the way we have riled up as a collective unit with a familiar cry, a common goal. Millions of Naira raised within days to feed Protesters, pay for healthcare, pay for transportation, all without the bureaucracy and bottlenecks we have come to expect from the Nigerian System. Some have even called this unity a form of “Disorganized Organization.” Without any leader or a central figure, my brothers and sisters have put up a fight with the spirit of Communalism flowing within each of us, the nature of Ubuntu, of Unity.
And they have heard us; that is the beauty of our cry.
The world has heard us and is held transfixed.
We have utilized every means in our disposal to cause a disrupt, and the world is shocked. And it is apparent, with how many elected officers have come out to brand us as “enemies of the state” or “wailers”, or “noisemakers”, blockheads like Adamu Garba and his associates. They have for long treated Nigeria like their personal property. And they are afraid of what we can do because they have seen what we have done.
“Some people say why I dey talk like this.
No be talk like this take to carry me go prison ooo
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha dey talk ooo
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha dey talk ooo
Him say, “This Uprising will bring out the Beast in Us.”
To my Brothers and Sisters, the Beautiful Ones, the Leaders of Today, I have a message; a plea if you will. And it is a simple one.
The fight is not over yet.
I understand that there is a risk of getting overwhelmed by the Protests and the Hashtags and the Government finally “agreeing” to some of our demands. But I would like us to remember one thing; “where the protests end, the work begins.”
We must never again allow our voices to stay buried deep and or our freedom taken from us. This country is our country too, and not the exclusive preserve of some “Elite.” Our voices must always ring, and our votes must count from 2023 and even beyond. We must never raise anyone to a state of “Messianic Complex” or allow any Leader to feel like the “Sovereign.” We must always call out bad governance, bad leadership, and demand for Accountability. We must never allow our rights to be trampled on again, and the Government must never allow our fight for all our slain Brothers and Sisters to be put to waste.
Finally, we must never lose this spirit of Communalism, of Kinship, of Brotherhood and Sisterhood. Because really, we are all we have. We must love each other and be prepared to fight for anyone suffering from abuse of liberty.
Aluta Continua, a Vitoria e certa.