"Not gold, but only men can make a nation great and strong. men who for truth's and honour's sake stand fast and suffer long; brave men who work while others sleep; who dare while others shy. They build a nation's pillars deep and lift them to the sky." - Ralph Waldo Emmerson.
As I write this piece, I am choked with a lot of incurably complex emotions: anger, contempt sorrow, love etc. I was feeling helpless a moment ago when something reminded me I can get a pen and shoot back. That is just what I’m doing here.
On an average busy day, a lot of things can happen to provoke the above mentioned emotions. But I don’t think what makes me feel this way happened this afternoon. Instead, it is an accumulation of desperation, anger, frustration and depression over the years. I should not bother you about my emotions because not many people care how I feel. And I don’t care how they feel either. What I care is that everyone does what he/she should do, when it should be done and how it must be done. The weather in Makurdi is very hot and as I sit on the second floor of an upstairs here, I can explore the topography of the town with my eyes. The streets are busy with vehicular movements. People are coming and going at a very fast speed. People here are very serious about their businesses. From the recharge cards’ sellers to the fuel hawkers, the story is the same. They all want to earn a decent living with a more comfortable future. The noise here gives me headache. I asked myself a moment ago why I have to be here in the hot Makurdi sun. the answer was clear: I was looking for something I have never been able to find for the past two years: something I might never find in Nigeria.
