There is hope! Trust me when I say there is hope. I see light, as flickering as it appears; it is not yet extinguished and wouldn’t soon.
I hear the echoes of hopelessness . The beats and sounds of despondency are rising and the reason to believe, it is all over, very palpable.
There is every need to be hopeless and feel defeated. Every reason to lose faith and throw in the towel. When one thinks it is getting better, from the thickest of the cloud comes disruption, manipulations and hostility to re-route the train of progression and better Nigeria back to our Egypt.
There is hope and the light at the tunnel still flickering. There is hope! Wipe your tears, pick up your pieces, tough? Yes! Discouraging? Sure! Feel like shouting and screaming? Yes! But never imagine losing hope for in this kind of situation only the tough wins.
There is hope! The hope I see and feel isn’t feeble. Strong, firm and reassuring and wouldn’t trade it for anything.
There is hope! Even in this moment of pain and despair, there is hope. You may deny your nationality, burn and tear into shreds your passport, nothing changes and nothing is solved. You may japa, having a haven in another man’s country, nothing changes and nothing solved.
Running away and getting discouraged may be the lot of many but the road to our total freedom can’t be found anywhere near it .
There is hope! The hope I see and the realization of a better Nigeria isn’t what hopelessness, whining and indifference will solve.
There is Hope! Nothing good comes easy. Freedom isn’t given. It is earned and fought for.
There is hope! Our struggle and believe in a better Nigeria isn’t a tea party. It is neither a sizzling sound on a hot oil nor one to be approached with kid gloves . It is a war, a battle between light and darkness and if light must win, resilience, firmness, unrelenting commitment to the course must be required and sustained.
There is hope! This is the time to separate chaff from the main grain. This is the time to winnow the grains. There is hope! The time to show how commited one is to this course for a better Nigeria is now. There is hope! Where a man stands in times of challenges defines him more than where he stands in rosy times.
This isn’t an interesting time for anybody, however; this is time for men to distinguish themselves from boys.
We have pulled the strings. The bullets of change fired on the 25th of Feb are till raging and causing disruptions.
This is the time to consolidate and defend the mandates stolen in broad daylight, not to scurry with our tails in-between our legs in fear and despair.
It is always darkest when it is about to dawn and the arrows of oppression, suppression and Intimidation are more fierce and deadly when the victims and captives are revolting, chanting freedom songs.
Don’t get scared by what you see, the hostility, the horror, the carnival of brutality and thuggery flying like noisome pestilence. These are signs of the end of their reign. Just hang in there and be assured that victory is assured.
Take solace in this as my parting shot for you *I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence*.”
There is Hope!! And the dawn of a better Nigeria very possible.
There is Hope! don’t lose hope. A time will come when those who stood and fought for a better Nigeria will stand out with their scars and wound.
Remain hopeful for a better Nigeria to be counted!
Run today, the battle will still be there waiting!!
Jarlath Uche Opara
Jarlathuche@gmail.com
