Visions from A Troubled Soul

His look was stern. He stood afar off, cutting a figure from a movie scene, the dark rising of a falling sun, or something like that if the movie ever gets a title. His shadow covered half of Lagos, or so it looks. It was a frightening sight, the streets closed, central business districts deserted and the ever combustible ojuelegba now a shadow of its former self.


It was total chaos, loads being packed hurriedly by aunts and sisters while uncles cried with tiny voices of pain, juxtaposed with the voices of brothers that lost loved ones. Madness is everywhere... From third mainland bridge down through the now deserted ikoyi toll bridge to Lekki with beautiful houses but no occupants, or not mildly said, dead occupants, first victims of the darkness that has befallen the nation. Ijora to costain, egbeda down through iyana ipaja, alausa and berger, ojo through to orile, surulere, gbagada? Madness is everywhere!

"Fellow Nigerians,...", he bellows o'er the stand, half of the citizens dead under it, with his camouflage, garnished with ranks unexplained, battles fought only in the comfort of his office and madness pruned in the vestures of his brain, "this day in the history of our dear nation, strong leaders need to do the needful". From the covert position where I had found myself with my wife and baby, his accent was untraceable, his husk tone didn't devulge whether he is Fulani Hausa or Abeokuta Egba or owerrenta abakaliki or otueke yenogua or any tribe from this side of the divide. It was plain, straight yet terrifying.

"We are beginning a journey today..." He spoke for a while but I was too concerned about how my young family would find an escape route to Cotonou, through Badagry, the slave trade route where humanity lost its humanity years ago, to hear the rest of his fearful speech until he said "... The 4th republic as we know it, is Dead! The malfeasance of our politicians, corruption and gross mismanagement has come to an end. A new era has began and the glory of Nigeria will shine even if it will be polished with the blood of patriots and patricides alike"

It was a gory sight as heavy dogs were let loose on the dusty streets... It chased down little kids and bit of unchewable parts without remorse. The khaki boys that released their leash smiled from a side of the cheek and looked away in disdain. I was in a car as the dogs ran up to me, spittle drizzling from the rabies infested mouth, barking through the sealed windows, me, cringing to one 
side as the little car rocked from side to side. It was a complete horror movie. I wanted to wake up from the nightmare...

...and I did.

It was a dream! My God... That looked too real. I was sweating in my air conditioned room. My wife was awake and I told her, "honey, I just had a dream, I think there's gonna be a coup de tat before 29th of May, 2015. We need to be very prayerful". I stood up from the bed, knelt and pray and couldn't do anything through out the day, couldn't even go to church. This dream must not happen.