I have said it before, and I will continue to put it in writing for posterity: only a revolution can rescue Nigeria. We cannot continue to live under these subhuman conditions and still pretend we have a functioning society.
Frame 1: Desperate youths struggle to fix the tire of a broken-down truck on the street as a raging fire approaches, threatening to consume the vehicle.
Frame 2: A shirtless young man in shorts frantically struggles to save his shop and entire means of livelihood from burning to ashes, using nothing but sachet water and sand.
This fire raged for over 30 minutes, yet there was absolutely no sign of the fire service, despite the fact that Benin City is the capital of Edo State.
This is Chief Irabor Ologbosere.
When British forces invaded the Benin Kingdom in 1897 — burning the royal palace and stealing thousands of priceless Bronze art — Ologbosere refused to kowtow.
As a Benin warchief, he took to the forests and waged a fierce, two-year guerrilla war against the invaders.
He raided colonial outposts and tore down British flags, stubbornly defending his homeland's sovereignty.
The British couldn't defeat him on the battlefield. Instead, they resorted to burning down entire civilian villages and destroying food crops to starve out his support network.
Even when he was finally captured and stood in chains before a British colonial court, he remained unbroken.
Photographed unflinchingly moments before his execution on June 28, 1899, Ologbosere stood as living proof that our ancestors did not just watch their empire fall — they fought back with everything they had.
Today, we continue the resistance, and we will overcome.
Song credit:
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Babylon System.