Not Silenced

Mother Africa chronicles series

“Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.” Martin Niemöller, First they came (1892-1984).

Their eyes are wide open,
Fiery and indignant.
The sorrowful buzzing,
growing louder each day.
Like the spirituals of old,
Different but the same.

Their voices power through,
Pulsing with the roar of a djembe drum.
Unrelenting in their pursuit for justice,
And freedom from state oppression.

I turn away,To face my own…
Different but the same.
Yet all I see is their blood running red,
And their stained placards.
Justice,
Their voice remains.
EndSars…

So I open my eyes,
To glimpse this generation,
That speaks for itself.
The brave hearts.

Massacred, yet never cowered.
Never bowing.
Though my struggles linger,
I’ll learn from them; to speak up,
and pray to God for half their courage.

Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and oppressed. Proverbs 31:9

To Nigerians in their struggle. #EndSars
To the 69 who lost their lives exercising the most basic of human freedoms.
To the countless facing a humanitarian crisis in 2020.