My Nigeria, My Home and My Country

How did we get here, how did we get here for heaven's sake.

Nigeria has become a country where abnormality has become normal and normality abnormal.

This is a country where when you do the right things, people look at you as being abnormal and strange but when you do the wrong things, people see you as being smart, knowledgeable and wise.

Someone using one-way will argue with you about the legality of his actions and when you stand your ground, others will fault you as being unnecessary wicked and hard. “let em pass” they would say.

Someone will jump the queue and others will say, "just allow em, he don already reach there".

This was the same country not too long ago where it was mandated to queue in the banks, bus-stops or any public facility before you can be served. Where throwing things out of your car was an offence and crossing the expressway was punishable. Today people do all these things with reckless abandonment. And we call it normal.

Where a sitting governor can decide to take all the present and future benefits of his state as his pension thereby depriving generations both born and unborn of what is rightful theirs.

This is a country where a sitting House of Assembly member was caught on camera with clear video and audio, collecting bribe from a business man and he is still seating in the House.

This is a country where parents gather money and pay school authorities of their children to ensure they collect WAEC exams before the exams, so their children can study it ahead of the exams.

This is a country where Ghanaians were asked to leave at one time but Ghana-must-go bags are regularly been given to members of the House of Assembly for passing bills that would not benefit the public but private individuals and institutions.

This is a country where lies have been replaced with truth and nobody knows what the truth looks like anymore.

This is a country blessed with so much natural resources but only one is constantly be pursued and even that one has been given to foreigners to developed and sold back to us at an even higher cost than we sold to them. Madness!

This is a country where the reward for killing innocent individuals is amnesty and loads of free cash and the reward for stealing public funds is plea bargain.
But when a poor man steals one kobo he is put inside jail without trial.

This is a country where the police in the full glare of the public would rather cause traffic than control it, by standing in front of a bus in a busy road demanding money from the bus driver.

This is a country where when a police man asks you for your “particulars”, what he is actually asking for is not your drivers' license or vehicle documents but "kola".

This has become a country where the police is happy triggered to shoot innocent bystanders or bus drivers, they call it “accidental discharge”, funny it hardly happens to them, instead of a thief, because they know nothing will be done to them, for others before them have done same and still in the force.

This is a country where cars don't go for any test but pass the road worthy test with honours.

This is a country where the citizens think because they don't belong to the ruling party can call the President and Commander-in-Chief all kinds of degrading names and the opposition listens and laughs.

This is a country where a particular item is banned by government officials only for an official to be given permission to import the same item and sell to the public at the higher price.

This is a country begging for change.

This is my country, my home and my first love.

This is Nigeria, my Nigeria of today.