I’m currently experiencing the worst days of my life being a Nigerian. I’ve had bad days as a Nigerian, but nothing like these. It’s so hard to not feel pain, it’s also dreadful feeling it.Everything hurts. We’re in dark days.
It hurts that I’m watching this happen from afar but I can only imagine what the people who experience this feel. I feel very guilty that I am not there and of course dying wouldn’t make me feel better because as we’ve all seen, no ones death is worth it. It’s not just insects that’re dying, these are whole universes, complex human beings, unique special, thoughtful and innocent people who woke up with the goal of making their home better. They didn’t have to die for it.
This is the essay I wrote and submitted for one of my secondary applications below:
Currently, in my country Nigeria, the government has been attacking peaceful protesters who have been fighting for justice against police brutality. The current attack which happened at Lekki toll gate in Lagos, involved the military starting fires by both ends, removing the security cameras, burning people alive, and shooting several others. A country next to mine, Congo, has been fighting against genocide for several years because they are being overexploited for minerals like diamonds and metals used to make iPhones. Earlier this year in the US, I had to protest against police brutality for black lives and justice for Breona Taylor on the streets of Oakland. It is so difficult to see my people die because they want to live. It is difficult because I am just like them and while my life has been spared, I have to protest and convince people that my life matters and that I deserve to be alive. That we all deserve to live. The history of my blackness stems from fighting for my life and this is more than unfair. As hard as it is, I owe it to the lost lives to keep on fighting for justice. Even when I am unable to march, I always have an online presence.
