The sky stretched overhead like a discordant painting with the colors black and orange. Right below the horizon, planes turned to fire balls hurling towards us in a quick descent. Sirens pierced the air and bullets were sprayed into the sky in quick streams. Wails broke out in the distance and toxic fumes filled in the air.
Everywhere smelt like blood and the roads, which were once tarred and living, now resembled a cadaver lab with fresh corpses. Nigeria was at war with itself, and our school, sadly, was the grass in the elephants' fight.
It all started when Adebowale was inaugurated. The skies were shrouded with ominous clouds, much like many Nigerians as Adebowale was paraded into his seat of power. Eyes were glued to different TV channels, hoping Adebowale takes the mantle and collapses. But it didn’t happen. Although wizened with age and bad health, Babatunde Adebowale remained resolute. He collected his mantle, donned a hearty smile and waved. He was barely standing, but he was standing nonetheless. The youth seethed with anger.
Ballot thief !
Justice must prevail!
No one that cheats their way to power deserves my respect!
Twitter was awashed with many dissenting voices, saying “he is not our president”, “if only”, and “I inaugurated Peter Okafor today because he is my real president”. It was Adebowale’s day, but it felt like it was Okafor’s. Many sides clashed but the Abimbola clan (the other opposing party) remained as quiet as ever. Sequestered, knowing no one would rally their cause. “An era had ended,” many said.
“We shall only know war and sorrow,” Judikay tweeted, and over twenty-five thousand people retweeted. Many of them unaware of what the future holds and the bloodshed that will soon follow. If only they knew how true the words were going to be, maybe they would have hesitated.
At 2 am on May 30, a video materialized on the “Nigeria’s” president, Peter Okafor(Sleek), twitter homepage. The caption read;
“A message to Nigerians. We haven't lost yet.”
In an hour, everyone was talking about it. It was like posting “Jesus” all over again. Nigerians posted their Jesus and his message:
Dear Nigerians, we have been pushed to the wall and we have to fight back. Our legacy won’t die. Come all to Tafawa Balewa Square tomorrow at 7 am. We are going to fight and take what is ours!
Though merely three seconds long, the video stirred the hearts of many Nigerians. Celebrities picked it up. Everyone was tweeting and in under a day there were over 600,000 tweets. Even Esther and Peter, the common folks, were ready to fight back. The king had spoken and the youth were ready to give their all.
May 31st arrived and Tafawa Balewa Square teemed with life. Over a million youths came to fight. There were placards with red “wrong” signs across Adebowale’s face and people sang Ellu P. The roads were barricaded and walls bore the hard message—we aren’t going down easy. The road was littered with nylons and spray cans. The youths waited for Peter Okafor but he was nowhere to be found. Dr. Olumide, the pretending Lagos Governor, took charge and Lagos was shut down. The youth made sure the authorities listened.
It wasn’t long before Adebowale felt he needed to protect his beloved state. Lagos, although had left him to the dust in the past election, was still his pride and home. And he won’t let “hooligans” take control. He reported when interviewed about the issue. His tweet came later that morning on June 1st.
“We would restore the peace of Lagos state. I am mobilizing thousands of trusted law enforcement agencies. Nigerians, remain calm. Your president is here!”
The security measures picked up quickly and tanks with fully armed soldiers flooded Lagos to curb the “violent” youths with their placards and speakers. Alabi tweeted at exactly 6:09,
“I guess old habits die hard.”
Below the tweet he kept the tag (“20/10/20” we still remember).
If the youth remembered, they must have forgotten what happened next. At exactly 7:00pm, June 1st, the first bullet was fired, and the first death was recorded. His name was Adéyemí Jolaade. He was a family man with two daughters at home and armed only with a placard.
The shot marked the declaration of war. A line had been crossed and the other side, without a doubt, retaliated. It was the beginning of the end, and yet, from the one who had delivered the message, Peter Okafor, not a word had been heard.
To be continued!
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