A SHOCK TO TELL

Nobody will ever believe that people are still living in an environment like this, in a country like Nigeria with abundant resources where the government has ruled out anything connected to make life wear smile in the faces of the wretched. But because of the ugly nature of life, people have no choice to choose than to continue to live under a terrible condition, forcing them to adapt life in the first instance what is very horrible in outlook.

The issue of ‘choice’ brings to mind the graphic nature of how millions of families in this country
go through hell to shelter their broken lives. Ordinarily, nobody in his or her right senses will want to choose to live in a place like this in no time. It will be awful to even contemplate making a decision of choosing a place of such terrible and scabby environment.

This picture explains an experience of the difficulties of poor families battling with existence under an odd life of such circumstances. Many years ago in December 2013, during the Harmattan season in Lagos State when I visited this community. What I saw exposes farther whatever the government advertises on media about what people think outside this country falls on wrong perspective especially when the Bosses says life is better for rag cloth class. The politicians responsible for the gall and muck life of all episode, exposes the commentary of government on what they represent in policies.

Some will say the government of whosoever political party in power in this country whose policies are gear to inflict pain on the mass then and now is doing better to improve on the welfare of the wretched, as claim by some noise-makers in politics. And when you swim in the same pool, you will now begin to say, all is well. That they are putting effort to resolve the living condition of people in this country. But the reality before the experience of what to tell about the shock and terrible nature of life for the mass living harden lives is that, the government of this country by their policy has been unfriendly to the wretched cloak; especially letting a drop of water to quench the long thirst of the faces of broken lives.

A close look at this picture tells more of the opposite of what government preaches in their book of development and Millennium Goal that has been a partnership agenda for swollen pockets all over the world even countries like Nigeria crawling back to Stone-Hedge. A country with abundant resources both Natural and Mineral and also rank amongst as the richest in the biggest global commodity: Crude Oil. Yet, the reality before this country grows like plague. What they preaches never tally with the reality of life confronting millions of people, also living in a very shape of life like this. It tells that the government has just been rattling with words, making policies of peculiar interest against the meaning of hope already slaughtered in the street.

If government policies are meaningful, the need running after shadow won’t arise. But because reality always present a graphic picture of how odd life is for people, fact remains a reality to reflect upon and up-turn to make difference. That fact is what this experience demonstrates, as said in this community I visited in December 2013. It doesn’t in any way begin to literately present a fiction existence of what people go through in life out of nothing to get what is not there that is out of reach.

The interesting experience about what I saw in this shabby environment was that, my tour in this neighborhood (downtown of Tunkarimu) situated in Ajegunle Lagos, gave me the opportunity to fortunately meet one Mr. Tunde who refuses to tell me his other name; which to me was understandable. Inasmuch, he refuses to do so. The psychological fear of such can’t be explain out of the context of probably sensing “maybe” I am spy for the Lagos State government to run a documentary.

But because that was not the original intention of what I have in mind is that. I have to socially convince him that I was also a resident in this ghetto community. This was able to dilute any symptom of fear and panic noticeable during the conversation.

From the conversation, after patiently listening to Mr. Tunde who was a native of Yoruba and has miserably wasted twenty of his life to make nothing out of poverty; he told me that the means of survival under this Iron Nigeria and harden economic condition is an episode of reality to tell. While he was painfully saying this as I look into his eyes. He took me around the premises to convinced farther what the neighborhood went through during the Wet season.

Some years ago he highlighted me. There was a time as of 2012 when heavier rain flooded their vicinity. (The house in the picture he lives was not speared during this period and closed buildings). In fact, he told me how terrible it was for him and his family and other members of the neighborhood to survive through this horrible experience; especially during that flooded day, many of them have to run to preserve their life from been drown in the canal . To him, he frankly and bitterly expressed it as we conversed in colloquial that “no bodi go lik liv fo dis kind condishun, human being dey go tro fo di kontiri wey us dey liv.”

Mr. Tunde saying these I sympathized with him. Even when the admittance is obvious to say there is knowledge about this mountain pain suppressing people, the need to say realistic experience at the end orbiting all over people can’t possibly be cheating itself; when the confirmation is there to read as book. It also explains the behind of this country claiming to make life better for the poor as the government of corruption does claims.  

While we stood together in-front of the building before the snap-shot I took, inhaling all kind of congested odour, unbearable to inhale any longer and also the terrible environment of the surrounding; he led me around the neighborhood to convince me of his broken mind and experience that psychologically is traumatic to live in a place like this.

And what I saw in other things he showed me not in the picture are very gall that ordinarily shouldn’t in any way for normal circumstances warrant a person to lay head in a shelter like this. But as the surviving challenges is before Mr. Tunde and other poor people in the neighborhood; even when I asked him literately in the few minutes spent in this place, knowing well the response to get and policy revolving around it. But to allow a mutual communication to interwoven between us, I have to asked a question to balance the discussion. “Shey yu get any plan to liv dis place at all, knowing say de condishun no gud fo persin to liv?

Looking at my face while looked his like pitied child, he said. “My friend no bi say I no wan commot fo place wey bi lik dis. But wetin dey pains me be say I no get moni. Na dis be de probilem wey dey, my friend; he said. This question falls back to the “realistic experience” earlier pointed out that the people psychologically live with as unhealed wounds. The wounds that the slum of wretched faces go through under a government of corrupt politicians, is to tell this won’t stop unveiling itself in a country of abundance.