by Nnaoke Ufere
Amid ominous rumblings of thunderstorms,
And swirling turbulent winds,
As lightning flashes seared the air,
And apocalyptic dark sky descended,
I dreamed of a dystopian nation.
There was war fever in the air,
The drumbeat for war was deafening.
There was foreboding everywhere,
And chaos engulfed the nation.
I saw terrorists terrorize,
And kill in the name of God.
I saw kidnappers kidnap,
And the kidnapped,
Paid ransom or were killed.
I saw bandits rob the innocent,
And some innocents were killed.
I saw students murder students,
Neighbors killing neighbors,
As they shouted aloud, “God is Great!”
I saw politicians exploit the carnage,
Pouring gasoline on raging tribal fires.
I saw religious leaders fan the embers of hate,
Stirring up religious violence.
I saw citizens incited into bloody frenzy.
Mass suffering and despair,
And all borne of insecurity, corruption and poverty.
And like blood thirsty zombies,
Angry and aggrieved citizens filled streets.
Nigerians were out for Nigerian blood.
In this apocalyptic state,
No clear winner emerged,
From the 2023 presidential election.
Not Obi, not Atiku, not Tinubu,
Would concede for a peaceful transition.
I saw a corrupt supreme court divided,
Along partisan and religious lines,
Self-bound and unable to decide impartially.
Behold! There was a constitutional crisis.
Buhari declared a state of emergency,
And suspended the constitution.
I saw Buhari annul the election results,
Declaring himself continuity president,
And, “for the good of the nation”,
Set his military in a state of alert.
Pandemonium.
Thugs became vigilantes,
And vigilantes thugs.
Bandits became kidnappers,
And kidnappers bandits.
There was rioting, looting, burning.
Speculation of civil war loomed.
Then the dogs of war were loosed upon the land.
Social media was the people’s opium,
And Nigerians got high and addicted,
To fake news, conspiracy theories and whodunit.
Hatred and fear consumed,
Everyone raged for revenge,
As the voices for peace were silenced.
I saw the nation collapse,
Of bad leadership and corruption,
Of insecurity and poverty,
Of hatred and ignorance.
On social media and national discourses,
Nigerians denunciated Nigerians.
They stereotyped, scapegoated, and demonized.
Clamor for Fulani blood was furious,
Uproar for Igbo blood was vicious,
Outcry for Yoruba blood was fierce,
And ethnoreligious violence drowned tolerance.
I heard the elites scream: WAR!
A war their children won’t fight.
Their children had one-way tickets,
Escaping the madness their parents fomented!
As Nigeria stumbled into war,
I saw politicians paralyzed.
Unable to lead the country,
Out of the abyss they created.
Everything was a harbinger of calamity.
Primal instinct kicked in,
To kill or be killed.
It was every man for himself
Friends against friends,
Tribes against tribes,
Muslims against Christians,
And Christians against Muslims.
I saw people dying,
From South to North,
From East to West,
In a horrifying cataclysm.
And then a voice come upon me;
“Nigerians must avoid devastation.
Nigerians must elect a leader
Who will unite, not divide the nation.
A leader for peace and reconciliation.”
I felt the voice’s calmness and reassurance,
With hope for national salvation and unity.
I woke and wrote down this revelation.
N.B. — If you aren’t terrified by the prospect of this revelation happening in Nigeria, you haven’t been paying attention. You must get involved in this most important presidential election.
