Protests are Pro-tests.
Take 1: “Nigeria is being rocked by protests.” That was how the room for the news channels put it—and not rocked in the way that boys and girls dance and rock each other in the clubs, the way we see in Nollywood club parties. None of the parties (the government and the people) want to be rocked, not on this dance floor, at least. And if by chance anybody is enjoying “the dance,” it definitely isn't the protesters.
Take 2: It also turns out that leaves do more than we give them credit for–that aside from oxygen and shade, in many places in Nigeria now, they're almost the only thing that allows you to get from A to Z almost unscathed. A while from now, I might have to tell the “my children” that if you had to draw a vehicle, a leaf branch had to be part of the windscreen, or else it couldn't be called a car. Or a keke. Or a bike (bikes are on the list for the sake of equality, I suppose).
Take 3: The people are asking for Bad governance to be ended, and the government, after checking itself, asks what's bad about their outfit, to which the people stamp their feet on the ground and march harder. The only problem, however, is that as they march, more innocent than guilty people are being stepped on.
Take 4: I stood outside my room a few days ago(because we've all been asked to stay in the rooms, and there's no room to disobey), and I watched the sun go about his business, unfazed. But it wasn't the sun that woke me up. It was the sound of a gun, a bullet rocketing itself to try and touch the sky. These days, guns are more effective than alarm clocks. These days, they awaken us and our fears together from our slumber. I and my school people are not sure how much longer we can stay awake, but we've learned a good deal from World War movies that men caught in the crossfire don't like to come across their emotions. So we nod our heads at each other and talk about everything else but the elephant.
Take 5: These protests are pro-tests. In one or another, we'll all be tested. Some of us are on the streets, shouting, while others wait the time away in their rooms. Some of us are trapped in ourselves, while something bigger than ourselves happens outside. Others are ignoring the thuds of the elephant, walking as fast as we can away from it, forgetting that eventually, even the breaking dawn outruns the fastest shadows.
Take 6: It seems I have more members in the room club now. Not that I have anything in particular against the sanguines on the streets, but I think I'm probably more of a penguin with the way I act now, minding my business and trying to see how I can throw my weight without chaos.
Take 7: I really would've joined the protests, I would, but half the people on the road where I live don't exactly want peace either. I'm not sure the Force-men do too. And they say hate unites people more than love does because it's simple: love is complex. Love makes demands. Hate just wants to destroy, to avenge, to clear a path, regarding nothing but itself. The ones who are making the demands may not be the majority because they chose the narrow path. Hate is simple. Love is complex. Hate is a broad way.
Take 8: So, at the end of the day, it's safe to say that we're all writing the pro-test — the people and the government — that it has been set up by our circumstances, and history is invigilating all of us. Time will mark our scripts, but by the look of things, we're not sure if we, the people, are going to pass this pro-test.
