An Illusion of freedom

 

Source: Pinterest

I am going to assume you must have heard, things are not the way they seem. This means what we accept as the truth is often an illusion and until we change our perspective we might never know the truth. One of such illusions is freedom, we believe we are free because we can do what we choose to and we are not under any clear oppression and until we look closer, we likely get away with believing it.

I read a quote somewhere and it goes like this, 

What is worse than a bird in a cage?
A bird in a bigger cage because it believes it is free.

 Freedom is the state of being free; not being imprisoned or enslaved and assured liberty. It is the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint and the absence of a despotic government. Our fundamental human right embodies freedom and it is an integral part of who we are even if such freedom is often within limits and is supposed to be protected by the laws and government of a region or country. Another thing I learnt is this; until everyone is free, no one is free because your freedom is dependent on the next person and as long as they are under any form of oppression you are affected by it.  

For so long, I thought that we were free in our country but with everything going on, it is becoming clear that our freedom is an illusion. As some who has been involved in the #ENDSARS protest albeit online, the occurrence of the past week has been overwhelming. I have cried, spoke out in anger, gone to the extreme of cussing out people, turning God to a contract Killer and finally decided to pray for justice. I felt torn between logging off Twitter and putting my phone down or remaining online to watch the outcome of things because going offline seemed like a betrayal of those that lost their lives for the cause. 

A recap of last week’s events; after the peaceful protest was hijacked by thugs (and evidence points at them being government-sponsored), jailbreak in Edo state, some states issued curfew to restore order or most likely silence the protest. A group of protesters at the Lekki toll gate remained despite the curfew for a sit-in, cameras were removed, the lights were switched off and at around 6:50 pm on the 20th October 2020, some men of the Nigerian Army opened fire on the peaceful protesters killing them. Peoples’ attention was drawn to it on Twitter and DJ Switch went live on Instagram so that everyone could see what was going on and have evidence of the occurrence. 

The Lagos state Governor denied involvement in the shooting and claimed no fatality. Things took a turn in the country starting from people on social media bringing out recordings of the night and pictures of the incident now called the Lekki Massacre, TV stations were set ablaze, BRT buses were burnt, I shared the panic in my friend’s voice as the violence broke out right across the road of her cousin’s school in Enugu, the pain of those who lost someone during the killing that is now going on everywhere, the warnings from Abuja left me sad but with a bit of hope. Along the line of events, warehouses filled with COVID 19 Palliative were found. Different Governors came up with excuses of why there was a stockpile of palliative after the lockdown earlier this year, the defence minister claimed the live video of the Lekki Massacre was photoshopped and by the time the President came to address the country, he ignored the Lekki Massacre altogether with a dash of threats to both the protesters and international communities. 

What does this mean?

A peaceful protest was hijacked by hoodlums and thugs affected by the same issues the protesters were trying to fix shows that the government has found a way to keep people oppressed by illiteracy, poverty or unemployment so that they can be weaponized when needed to carry out the government bidding. The fact there was a protest in the first place shows that we are not as free as we thought. The government that lacks accountability and showed no empathy suggests that we have a despotic government. Last week shattered that illusion for me and maybe a lot more of us. I kept asking myself what this is going to lead to and what is the next thing in our line of action because obviously, all this has to count for something. Surely the labour of our Heroes past should not be in vain.

Source: Twitter

If you are like me and you are asking the same question, what is next, I want to share with you something I am sure of and the only solid plan I have made as of now.  It is from a tweet I saw earlier this year. We have to change ourselves first then go ahead to help others either by educating them, giving and volunteering to a cause that helps change the narrative, pray if you can and lend your voice to as many causes as you can. The most important thing is this, you can no longer sit back and do nothing, not anymore, your freedom depends on it.

Source: Twitter

So what do you think?

Leave a comment or better still you can reach me at theestherian@gmail.com.

Have a blessed week.

The Estherian