Tochi's Death and MEND

My mind could'nt help reverting to the last Friday hanging of of 21 year old Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi as i watched the Shell Cup finals on TV.My day had been depressing and i needed some cheering up.So when the match came, i was glad.At least it was football.I was turned on the more by the "fact" that the lads actually looked young.Well, it was good match ( between Govt College, Kano and Asegun Comp.Ibadan), so i sat back and watched.

But somehow that same match further kept reminding me of what a Tochi at 18 had been looking for in Singapore.Where to play his football. If only Tochi had an oppurtunity to compete in a Youth tournament such as this, probably he would have gotten a club here.The "ifs" in my mind were legion. I thought...but who would actually want to stay here when you can have a better oppurtunity at life elsewhere.This is the trajedy of our country.The death of people and dreams.

If only our Government had realised that the news of Tochi's hanging would do more damage than 6 months of ajalatravelling on the Heart of Africa image making project would have done, probably they would have pleaded on his behalf on time.If only we had more purposeful leadership, jobs, housing, food, fuel, education, medicare and oppurtunities, probably Tochi wouldnt have gone to Singapore.

My friend, an automobile spray painter travelled to Malaysia, a Singapore-like country about 2 years ago to seek greener pastures.Jobs werent coming because so many could afford to repaint their cars and he had expectations to meet from 367 degrees around him. So he took the plunge. Since then i've met only one person who had spoken to him since he travelled.I hope his case wont be like Tochi's.I fear for him. May Tochi's soul rest in peace. I hope i wont have to repeat this prayer for my friend. I guess that was the cause of the depressing feeling as i lay supine last Sunday.

MEND AND THE REST OF US

While the match was on, downtown Port Harcourt was held hostage by militants of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). An eyewitness confirmed that the youngest of these armed-to-the-bone combatants couldnt have been more than 22 years old. But despite the restraints of age, these guys were able to sack the Central Police Station and the Nigerian Prisons, throwing the jails open and setting case files on fire.It is regretable.But this what eventually happens when senile old men sit and dine in peppersoup parlours and the youths are neglected.This guys didnt run away like Tochi.They stayed to fight.Though criminals, they have a cause and the earlier we and the Government start to see Justice in their agitations, the better for all of us.