songs, protest and the drive the two nwe

Egwu bụ one of the things m ga eji cheta ENDSARS peaceful protests. All the songs dị iche iche anyị ji buru protest kpagharia Enugu in those days. Beautiful songs. Moving songs. Songs that recognised who we were, the time and age it was, and ihe anyị chọrọ from the society.

The most iconic of the songs a gụrụ during that protest bụ one a gụrụ on the first day. A wonderfully sonorous dirge anyị ji buga protest to Lion House - the Enugu state government house. It was so appropriate. It was our first day of protest and it was the first trip anyị takeri to government house ị talk to the useless excuse na-achi the state.

The song was formed on the spot, somewhere from Otigba junction, through bisala road to government. Ndị ma the song si na ọ egwu ndị Ngwo ji etipute mmanwu. Of course the original words were changed from mmanwu appropriate song to ENDSARS appropriate words.

Not much remains from the song mana e chetaram na onwe words of pleas that went

Soloist: sha ejiri wayọ 

R: sha ejiri wayọ

Soloist: anyị adị achọ okwu

R: anyị adị achọ okwu

Soloist: wayọ wayọ

R: wayọ wayọ 

Soloist: wayọ wayọ

R: wayọ wayọ 

There was something very cultural and 'wawa-centric' about that particular song. How we could all relate to it, how it gingered us all. Otu anyị si e respond as if na anyị ncha ma the song before then. The song was literally begging si yọọ ndị SARS ka ha jiri nwayọ, na anyị adịghị achọ okwu, ka ha egbuzina anyị. It was a song ga-eme ka akpata oyi ju gị ahụ na okpuru anwụ efifie a na-achari isi.

Forward to the days that followed, one of the song that prevailed through the protest all over the country bụ FEM by Davido. For some reason, that song tọrọ anyị ka ihe etinyere ọgwụ. Of course it helped na the egwu bụ egwu eji dissie mmadụ and we had a lot of diss of our own against the police, gburugburu na Buhari. We were basically channelling and it showed in how we always went crazy mgbe ọbụna Dj kpọba the song.

On a personal level, the songs from the Hollywood musical "Hamilton" bụ the songs m ji mee protest. I left the house with the words 

"I may not live to see our glory 

but I will gladly join the fight" 

ringing in my head. Ama m, just like every other person pụtara protest that na Nigeria ga ezipụte ndị army ka ha gbagbuo anyị. It was the oldest and truest response na their book. Mana I and every other person pụtara pụtara in spite of that knowledge.

When the protest got heated but ndị youth ekwerọ ka ike gwụ ha, and when I came on twitter na abanị ị join the online protest na screams of SORO SOKE going out to different parts of the world in tweets and retweets, I had the words 

"look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now"

na-erepeat na my head. I felt fortunate ịbụ a part of the generation sịrị NO ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Finally when ọnwụ na-achi obodo a na-akpọ Buhari decideri ime anyị address and only came with a threat, Jonathan Groff's voice bụ ihe nọ na-ada m n'isi. Ihe ọ nọ na-agụ bụ 

"and when push comes to shove 

I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love". 

And boy did Buhari keep the promise made by an American actor playing the role of a British king?!

Ọ gara ahead to fulfill other parts of the promise sef. He kept true to the latter part of the song asịrị  

"I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love".

Ka the protest bidoro, someone called him our Father and we rejected it with every sinew in our body maka na Buhari enweghị a milk of fatherly love n'ime ya or an inkling of ihe a father bụ irrespective of the fact na onwe ụmụ. This must have been why when it was time to remind us of his love as the song said, he did so to the letter.

I took comfort in the words of the song 

"who lives, who dies, who tells your story".

I told myself na Tinubu, Buhari, Lai, Buratai, Segalink na ndị otu ha might kill and destroy and stop twitter. Mana at the end of the day, ha agaghị edecide who tells their story. People like them and their families that stand by them while they bring a nation to ruin have succeeded to this point because their stories have not been told from the perspective of arụ ha kpara.  We will remember them for what they were and for how they pursued human blood.