The cost of freedom is presence
I feel like this moment is the most tested moment ever. Where does one even start from with this news of a President-elect in spite of all outstanding evidence of rigging and manipulation? I woke up this morning to the announcement made in the dead of the night and I couldn’t believe the complete disregard for Nigerian rights and votes. It feels like an impossible task but I found a bit of ease while turning to the framework. I’m slowing down to breathe deeply.
I’m giving gratitude for the energy and actions of everyone who came out to vote and has been involved in the electoral process and holding leaders and lawmakers responsible.
I’m taking responsibility for my mental health and any part I can play in supporting fairness and justice.
The minute I saw a Stears poll putting the current President-elect of Nigeria at the head of the polls with almost a gap of 1 million votes, I knew there was trouble ahead.
Let’s scratch that, because it was really the minute that the incumbent President of Nigeria violated electoral regulation to show his thumb-printed ballot paper that I knew something big was coming.
To be honest, my first inkling that something was fundamentally wrong was the presence of a Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate with unaddressed allegations & accusations of terrorism and financing of thugs and drugs, and an inconsideration for diverse religions and ethnic groups, on the ballot paper.
I posted the quoted text in the Akanka community while actively working through all the feelings I had, and even now, it represents how I feel about being a victim of injustice and oppression.
I’m reminded once again that one has to thrive in mind and in spirit to thrive in the physical. And that instant gratification and rewards often have undocumented externalities that remain obscured until they are obvious.
One thing is clear: many worldviews have been revealed to be lies, many outlooks have been taken advantage of, and yet many others have changed.
Outlooks like ‘voter apathy’ are beneficial to parties that need the absence of voters to rig. Outlooks like ‘naive youth’ are needed to justify the violence that oppressors use to keep their victims in order. Worldviews like ‘a country that doesn’t work’ are used to encourage people to turn a blind eye to the way a country is actually designed to work. Every worldview is beneficial for its intent and has its resulting consequences.
Mission 25: Remain Tethered
To cut the umbilical cord of a child is to finally tether them to the earth. It is to acknowledge that they are here and now, existing in the flesh. There are many cultures that have rituals documenting this event and its importance. I remember this because it is easy to dissociate in tragic moments, a defence mechanism that unlocks when we feel helpless and unable to defend ourselves from traumatising events.
However, as studies have shown, the body remembers and each dissociation becomes an interweb of painful stories that we have to unravel and work through later when we are ready and grown enough to handle it.
In this moment, I remember that I am no longer a child, and I have built up the tools I need to take care of myself in moments like this. With tools like conscious breathing, gratitude, responsibility, kindness and love in my toolbox, I am able to continue living and thriving.
What do you have in your toolbox?
Find of the week
I loved how this read made me analyse my worldviews through this brilliant framework that identifies the problem people want to address when they adopt them. FYI, I’m working on a project that promotes radical visibility. You should check it out. Also, welcome to women’s history month.
