[pull_quote_center]“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it but in the end, there it is” – Sir Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945 and 1951-1955).[/pull_quote_center]
Nothing empowers the spirit more than the truth. Nothing warms the soul more than the truth. Nothing dispels the darkness more than the truth.
Nothing emboldens the noble more than the truth. Nothing sheds the light more than the truth. Nothing enlightens the ignorant more than the truth. Nothing frees the enslaved more than the truth. Nothing liberates the mind more than the truth.
Nothing purges the evil more than the truth. Nothing hurts the vile more than the truth. Nothing troubles the murderous more than the truth. Nothing exposes the reprobate more than the truth. Nothing burns the slanderer more than the truth.
Nothing chains the liar more than the truth. Nothing heals the wounded more than the truth. Nothing brings the peace more than the truth. Nothing torments the oppressor more than the truth. Nothing haunts the wicked more than the truth. Nothing punishes the tyrant more than the truth. Nothing humiliates the proud more than the truth. Nothing restores our hope more than the truth. Nothing serves justice more than the truth. Nothing delivers the captive more than the truth. As Churchill said, ‘’the truth is incontrovertible’’. It is overwhelming and it is irresistable. It is powerful and it is beautiful.
It cannot be destroyed. It cannot be denied. It cannot be suppressed. It is eternal. It will always be revealed at the appointed time. It may be ignored for a season but it will eventually resurface to torment the deceiver.
With truth comes the opportunity to repent and to forgive. With truth comes justice, healing, peace, love, restoration, reconciliation, reparation, redemption and the chance for new beginnings. Without truth there can be none of these blessings or virtues: only darkness, deceit, ugliness, suspicion, hate, carnage, violence and the enthronement and celebration of bitter and wretched souls. Without truth evil goes from strength to strength. Without truth the wicked crush innocent souls. Without truth the oppressor continues to thrive and flourish but with truth the righteous rise and reach the top.
Without truth nations wither and perish but with truth they prosper and excel. Yet what truth resides in our beleagured country? A country that feeds fat on lies and revels in deceit. A country that refuses to teach its children our history in order to cover up the many wrongs and injustices of the past. A country whose elders refer to the oppressed and dissolusioned as desperate ”miscreants”. A country whose leaders refer to those that seek to enforce their legitimate rights as ”money-loving drug dealers and skillful scammers”.
A country that cannot make a distinction between those that seek to peacefully exercise their right of self-determination and those that terrorise, kill and maim others in an attempt to impose their faith. There are many truths that the Nigerian people will have to come to terms with before our nation can be at peace with itself.
An ocean of blood has been shed in the name of a united Nigeria yet the perpetrators of state-sponsored violence have never been brought to book. Many souls have been wasted in trying to keep us one. How much more blood has to flow before those that have ruled us from time immemorial accept the fact that nations cannot be established by subjugation and tyranny but only by justice, equity, truth, equal rights and consensus.
The truth of the Jos massacre in 1945 where hundreds were slaughtered cannot be denied. The truth of the Kano riots in 1953 where thousands were butchered cannot be denied. The truth of the pogroms in the north in 1966 where hundreds of thousands were killed cannot be denied. The truth of the slaughter of millions of innocent civilians, women and children between 1967 and 1969 during the Nigerian civil war cannot be denied.
The truth of the Asaba masssacre in 1969 where 1000 little boys and old men were rounded up in the town square and shot in the head cannot be denied.
The truth of the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Christians and ethnic minorities all over the north and particularly in the Middle Belt throughout the 80’s and 90’s cannot be denied. The truth of political sharia with its attendant violence, trauma, blood-letting and butchery from 2000-2003 in the far north cannot be denied.
The bitter truth of Boko Haram and the relentless slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Nigerians by Islamic fundamentalists in northern Nigeria from 2009 up until today cannot be denied. The truth of the murder of dozens of young youth corpers and hundreds of other people in the far north in 2011 cannot be denied. The truth of the brutal slaughter of innocent Nigerians by Fulani herdsmen over the last 20 years and up until today cannot be denied. O Nigerians, who has bewitched thee? Why do we hate truth and those that speak it with such passion? Like the ostrich, we have buried our heads in the sand and we act as if these things never happened. We refuse to acknowledge the evil within us and we refuse to honor the dead by atoning for our sins and calling for retribution and justice.
These horrendous events cannot be denied and neither shall they ever be forgotten. The blood of the innocents that were slaughtered by these relentless Huns speaks through the ages and from generation to generation. That blood cries out to God in heaven and it calls for vengeance. It is time for justice to be done. It is time for those that consistently kill and shed blood in their ignoble quest to rule us forever to be brought to book. It is time for the Tutsis of Nigeria to be brought to heel. It is time for those that starved millions of little children to death in the name of crushing Biafra to be exposed.
It is time that those who seek to play down these events and who seek to cover up their complicity in genocide be called out and shamed. It is time that some of our elders and so-called leaders are sent to the International Criminal Court for genocide and murder and for crimes against humanity. It is time to rediscover our humanity. It is time for the ancient leaders and guardians of the Nigerian state to admit that they have built our so-called unity on nothing but murder, carnage and the blood, guts and bones of millions of slaughtered innocents.
It is time for them to apologies to the Nigerian people for their insufferable conspiracy of silence and their insatiable greed. It is time for them to tell the truth about our blood-soaked and frightful history, to confess their sins, to kneel down before the Ancient of Days and to beg Him for forgiveness. It is time for them to start fearing the Lord of Hosts, to stop hating the messenger and to start dealing with the message.
Femi-Fani Kayode is a lawyer, a Nigerian politician, an evangelical christian, an essayist, a poet and he was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006. He was the minister of culture and tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from June 22nd to Nov 7th 2006 and as the minister of Aviation from Nov 7th 2006 to May 29th 2007. He tweets from @realFFK.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
