Another article from Femi Fani Kayode
"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it but in the end, there it is" – Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945 and 1951-1955).
Nothing empowers the spirit more than the truth. Nothing warms the soul more than the truth. Nothing dispels the darkness more than the truth.Nothing emboldens the noble more than the truth. Nothing sheds the light more than the truth. Nothing enlightens the ignorant more than the truth. Nothing frees the enslaved more than the truth. Nothing liberates the mind more than the truth.
Nothing purges the evil more than
the truth. Nothing hurts the vile more than the truth. Nothing troubles
the murderous more than the truth. Nothing exposes the reprobate more
than the truth. Nothing burns the slanderer more than the truth.
Nothing chains the liar more than
the truth. Nothing heals the wounded more than the truth. Nothing brings
the peace more than the truth. Nothing torments the oppressor more than
the truth. Nothing haunts the wicked more than the truth. Nothing
punishes the tyrant more than the truth. Nothing humiliates the proud
more than the truth. Nothing restores our hope more than the truth.
Nothing serves justice more than the truth. Nothing delivers the captive
more than the truth. As Churchill said, ‘’the truth is
incontrovertible’’. It is overwhelming and it is irresistable. It is
powerful and it is beautiful.
It cannot be destroyed. It cannot
be denied. It cannot be suppressed. It is eternal. It will always be
revealed at the appointed time. It may be ignored for a season but it
will eventually resurface to torment the deceiver.
With truth comes the opportunity to
repent and to forgive. With truth comes justice, healing, peace, love,
restoration, reconciliation, reparation, redemption and the chance for
new beginnings. Without truth there can be none of these blessings or
virtues: only darkness, deceit, ugliness, suspicion, hate, carnage,
violence and the enthronement and celebration of bitter and wretched
souls. Without truth evil goes from strength to strength. Without truth
the wicked crush innocent souls. Without truth the oppressor continues
to thrive and flourish but with truth the righteous rise and reach the
top. Without truth nations wither and perish but with truth they
prosper and excel.
Yet what truth resides in our
beleagured country? A country that feeds fat on lies and revels in
deceit. A country that refuses to teach its children our history in
order to cover up the many wrongs and injustices of the past. A country
whose elders refer to the oppressed and dissolusioned as desperate
''miscreants''. A country whose leaders refer to those that seek to
enforce their legitimate rights as ''money-loving drug dealers and
skillful scammers''.
A country that cannot make a
distinction between those that seek to peacefully exercise their right
of self-determination and those that terrorise, kill and maim others in
an attempt to impose their faith. There are many truths that the
Nigerian people will have to come to terms with before our nation can be
at peace with itself.
An ocean of blood has been shed in
the name of a united Nigeria yet the perpetrators of state-sponsored
violence have never been brought to book. Many souls have been wasted in
trying to keep us one. How much more blood has to flow before those
that have ruled us from time immemorial accept the fact that nations
cannot be established by subjugation and tyranny but only by justice,
equity, truth, equal rights and consensus.
The truth of the Jos massacre in
1945 where hundreds were slaughtered cannot be denied. The truth of the
Kano riots in 1953 where thousands were butchered cannot be denied. The
truth of the pogroms in the north in 1966 where hundreds of thousands
were killed cannot be denied. The truth of the slaughter of millions of
innocent civilians, women and children between 1967 and 1969 during the
Nigerian civil war cannot be denied.
The truth of the Asaba masssacre in
1969 where 1000 little boys and old men were rounded up in the town
square and shot in the head cannot be denied.
The truth of the massacre of
hundreds of thousands of Christians and ethnic minorities all over the
north and particularly in the Middle Belt throughout the 80’s and 90’s
cannot be denied. The truth of political sharia with its attendant
violence, trauma, blood-letting and butchery from 2000-2003 in the far
north cannot be denied.
The bitter truth of Boko Haram and
the relentless slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Nigerians
by Islamic fundamentalists in northern Nigeria from 2009 up until today
cannot be denied. The truth of the murder of dozens of young youth
corpers and hundreds of other people in the far north in 2011 cannot be
denied. The truth of the brutal slaughter of innocent Nigerians by
Fulani herdsmen over the last 20 years and up until today cannot be
denied. O Nigerians, who has bewitched thee? Why do we hate truth and
those that speak it with such passion? Like the ostrich, we have buried
our heads in the sand and we act as if these things never happened. We
refuse to acknowledge the evil within us and we refuse to honor the dead
by atoning for our sins and calling for retribution and justice.
These horrendous events cannot be
denied and neither shall they ever be forgotten. The blood of the
innocents that were slaughtered by these relentless Huns speaks through
the ages and from generation to generation. That blood cries out to God
in heaven and it calls for vengeance. It is time for justice to be
done. It is time for those that consistently kill and shed blood in
their ignoble quest to rule us forever to be brought to book. It is time
for the Tutsis of Nigeria to be brought to heel. It is time for those
that starved millions of little children to death in the name of
crushing Biafra to be exposed.
It is time that those who seek to
play down these events and who seek to cover up their complicity in
genocide be called out and shamed. It is time that some of our elders
and so-called leaders are sent to the International Criminal Court for
genocide and murder and for crimes against humanity. It is time to
rediscover our humanity. It is time for the ancient leaders and
guardians of the Nigerian state to admit that they have built our
so-called unity on nothing but murder, carnage and the blood, guts and
bones of millions of slaughtered innocents.
It is time for them to apologies to
the Nigerian people for their insufferable conspiracy of silence and
their insatiable greed. It is time for them to tell the truth about our
blood-soaked and frightful history, to confess their sins, to kneel down
before the Ancient of Days and to beg Him for forgiveness. It is time
for them to start fearing the Lord of Hosts, to stop hating the
messenger and to start dealing with the message.