A New Generation | Emmanuel Inya Otu-Nwachi

The youths, from east to west
North to south, gathered as one,
None remembered they hailed from
The north or south; none thought
Like Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba

On Friday prayers, Christians stood guard
Over the Moslems to ensure they prayed
In peace and on the Sunday the Moslems
Waited on the Christians as they worshipped;
Was it really in Nigeria
Where the religions are always at daggers drawn?

The youths raised millions
To support a groundnut seller, not minding
Her ethnicity nor her religion, in only minutes
They raised over two million
For a protester that needed artificial legs
Because they saw the need; At Lekki Nationalism woke
And killed the primordial problems
Bedeviling us as a people, stunting our growth,
Pulling us down as a people:

Ethnicity and tribalism
Sectionalism and religious bigotry
Corruption, bribery and selfishness
With nepotism all died
And publicly were buried,
Over their rotten graves rose love and peace
Unity and the lost hope of a brand new Nigeria,
A transformed generation!

Poet's note: In October 2020, there was mass protests all over Nigeria as a result of police brutality especially the squad named Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS for short. The protests later became a movement against bad governance. On October 2020 armed soldiers attacked the protesters at a place called Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos-Nigeria. However, the youths conducted themselves as a people not minding ethnicity or religion. This shows nationalism and patriotism which are lacking in the country. The poem eulogizes this became it showed unity.