The past and the present

I lie awake now, wondering where it all went.I used to hear the national anthem played so proudly on the radio stations as we all sang along, nurturing smiles in our hearts that

I lie awake now, wondering where it all went.

I used to hear the national anthem played so proudly on the radio stations as we all sang along, nurturing smiles in our hearts that automatically lit our faces.

I remember how safe it was to walk the streets at night, telling stories of heroes past unsung. Now all we do is hide behind tall fences and lament about youths and the unemployed who have decided to take justice into their hands.

I remember how brandishing weapons were frowned upon unless a state of emergency was declared. Sadly, those days are long gone.

I remember playful kids lining the streets making dishes with plants we could find in make shift pots of old tins.

Not too long ago, playing catch and hide and seek were the standard playtime routine. If I had kids now, I wouldn't let them play in the sand right outside my yard, nor will I let them stay out playing catch for the fear that I just might get a ransom call later that day to come fetch them at a fee. 

I remember reading literature that informed me about my rich heritage; the great Jaja of Opobo, Moremi and how beautiful the Nigerian culture is. Lately, culture takes the back seat as our great country struggles to find its footing while attempting to measure up with some ‘foreign culture’ or the other.

I remember how we spoke so passionately about our delicacies and the essence of it all. How often do we pass on cook recipes to our lineage to carry on the lesson?

We turn blind eyes; look away in a bid to hide our rankle but we long for safe streets, quality education, re-cultivated culture, the embrace of our heritage and most of all re-valuing of the human life.

People usually long for the future, however unknown, but I know we long for the past even if just a little glimpse. Memories of our past might provide more comfort than the present but surely the future has to even be better than any of us could imagine.

Hope for a better Nigeria fellow Nigerians, it is our only comfort for the past is gone; the present is here and now, but the future is yet to come.