‘There is seemingly no way out of the chaos called Nigeria’ —  Adebayo Agarau.

Yesterday, you asked me to have faith in you.
My hope had left me years before you sat on the throne,
But your words made me look for it.
You asked me to pray against the killings of my brothers and sisters,
But you, you ride in the comfort of your bulletproof SUVs.
You live in the sanctuary of your gated fences, manned by uniformed men
Please, help me make sense of this.

How do I find sanity in this hellhole?
The enemies are not without. They are very well amongst us, known faces we see when the morning sun wakes us from sleep.
‘Protest against the killings and kidnappings,’ someone said.
It seems you still don’t understand how things work in this jungle.
I laugh out loud! When you protested police brutality, did it change anything? Answer me!

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You are on your own, comrade! When will you realise that no saviour is coming to save you? No superman is gearing up to rescue you.

In this hellhole, we go to work with fear in our eyes. Even while we sleep at night, we invoke the gods for protection. Yesterday, it was Najeebah. Today, it is Esther. Tomorrow, it could be you or me. Where will you run to? I laugh. There’s death on the road to work. This death can also trace you to your safest space. Even if you japa, you are not completely free. What if the unknown gunmen come for your relatives back home?

We are trapped in this hellhole.
Bullets accompany us to work; sometimes they stray to our roofs.
It’s our cross and curse.
And the leaders – the ones who swore to save you, the ones who vowed to protect you when they sought your votes – where are they? They must be busy riding in the comfort of their bulletproof SUVs,
Sleeping in the sanctuary of their gated fences manned by uniformed men,
And stealing wealth from the nation’s coffers for their unborn children.

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But in the end, everyone dies.
Both the ruler and the ruled. The killer and kidnapper. Even the unknown gunmen and repentant terrorists.
The dates of death may differ, but death will surely come for everyone.