When Will The Pigeons Begin To Fly Again? -By John Kokome

The incident at the 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, where pigeons released by President Muhammudu Buhari obviously refused to accept the freedom that was been offered it to fly again, that was quite very symbolic, meant only for discerning eyes to understand.

This is an age-long tradition to mark the day; many observers are wondered why the pigeons have refused to fly. The truth is that there is palpable insecurity in the land and as such the innocent birds being very sensitive as well as spiritually gifted have sensed the danger inherent in accepting a freedom that may be short-lived in an atmosphere polluted with hatred and bloodletting, it would rather prefer to remain in the cage where they are at least guaranteed maximum security and protection from marauding beasts.

I hope the president decoded the message that was passed by the birds, if not I may offer to help. Nigeria as at today, is grappling with insecurity from the north down to the south, the story is the same. Since the president seems in most cases not to be aware of some of the stark realities on ground, the birds have done a good job by drawing his attention to dangers imbedded in the land.

It is my firm believe, that Mr. President would seriously ponder on the message and not the messenger, to rejig the security architectural structure of the country in the interest of the people. In addition to overhauling the security architecture, the government must move swiftly to douse already tensed security tension in the country especially the very recent one between the Yorubas of the southwest geopolitical zone and the Hausa/Fulani herders from the north, this if not quickly nipped in the bud is capable of escalating into an unpleasant situations.

However, one could also argue that, perhaps the pigeons’ final destination from Abuja was to the southwest, but having foreseen what is currently playing out decided to remain within the parameters of the villa for security reasons, which a presidential aide has quickly dismissed as a natural phenomenon that should not be taking seriously. For us to make progress as a country, we must be ready to tell ourselves the bitter truth as well as admit to the realities on ground, with the intention of making adjustment where and when necessary.

For anyone to begin to tell Nigerians that all is well in the face of the obvious realities starring us in the face, would amount to insulting our collective intelligence and sensibility to decipher the true state of things in our country. The worst thing that can happen to a man is to continue to lie to himself, living in perpetual denial is a grave injustice to one and to the society. Admitting there are issues is not in any way a sign of weakness, but rather it gives a sense of assurance and hope that indeed, the issues would be addressed. Even the deaf can hear clearly the drums of war raging in the land and the blind can see there is danger ahead, if the various issues threatening our peace and unity as a nation are not addressed as quickly as possible we may all be engulfed.

The situation playing out in the southwest is quite unfortunate; one must be swift to commend the efforts of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum led by Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State for wading into the brewing crisis and holding a no holds barred dialogue with all the parties concerned in a bid to finding a lasting solution to the problem. Such initiative is what the federal government ought to be emulating by engaging representatives of all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, in a no holds barred national dialogue to save the country from the impending implosion.

The pigeons will begin to fly again freely, when we begin to take human lives seriously, the pigeons will fly again when there is equity, fairness and justice in the land and above all, the pigeons will fly again when genuine love begins to reign in our country. The pigeons have only succeeded in putting us on the spot as a nation in order for us to right the wrongs in the land, and chart a new course for peace, prosperity and progress to reign in the land.

John Kokome
A Communications Strategist & Public Affairs Analyst
writes from Lagos
kokomejohn@yahoo.com