A gem amidst rubles-

My respect for you
Has doubled and tripled;
When all doors are closing,
Your feet are unhindered;
Though unappreciated,
By those at the table;
You still keep on pushing,
Striving and fighting-
For peace to prevail,
In a now broken palace;
For girls to be brought back,
Though hope is now faltered;

I respect you Dear Ma,
For efforts unwavered;
For keeping your words,
When the leaders are faltering;
For staying afloat,
With the waves all about you ;
Words aren’t enough for
Effort you’ve been putting-
To finding the girls
Neglected by the elders;
But words all I have,
And I give them to you Ma-
In respect and love,
And wishes that you prosper
Keep staying afloat-
A rare gem amidst rubles.

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This poem is dedicated to Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, one of the few Nigerians who till date are still struggling an airing their voices, striving and urging for the return of over 200 school girls kidnapped  more than 8 months ago. Words are all I have, and this only way I know how.

  Here’s a link. 

Bring Back Our Girls: 5 months; An enraged citizen

I belong to a country whose president cares more about campaigning for re-election (despite the massive failure of his two terms) than finding and bringing back over 200 abducted teenage girls. Yes, not one or even two, but over two hundred teenage girls were abducted from their school in the north-eastern part of Nigeria; today marks 150 days since their abduction and still, Nothing. I can’t begin to phantom what the families of these girls are going through. Protests upon protests, mass media coverage, international celebrity involvement, UNICEF- have all spoken out and are enraged in the abduction of the Girls and yet, all we got from the presidential villa was a speech by the First Lady filled with previously unimaginable grammatical blunders and fake tears.

For a country known to be the Giant of Africa, this is a huge embarrassment and a disgrace. Just because these girls come from lower class or rural areas doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the highest amount of effort into finding them. Five months! Lord only knows the physical, mental and psychological trauma those girls are going through right now.

Everyday, I log onto twitter and I see the hashtag ‘ForwardNigeria’ stating the improvement in our agricultural sector, revenue generated from oil export, new infrastructures. But in my eyes, there is no forward without those girls. Over 200 girls can’t just vanish and then be swept under the rug. No! If ever there is a justification for being enraged, then this is it. The lack of effort by the presidency in finding those girls is pathetic. They “say” they are trying, but come on, it’s been 5 MONTHS.

It is my duty and your duty as individuals, especially citizens of Nigeria to speak out, voice your airs on the lack of sufficient action in finding the girls. Use the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls and spread the word. We owe it to those girls to make sure they are not forgotten.