Na Food Go Kill You

I have always detested a large crowd, only one thing made me endure staying in a place littered with people: food; Wedding, burial, birthday, you name it. My friends taunted like forever about my voracious appetite. When I heard about the last #endsars protest I was apathetic_ I knew the police would attack the protesters_ they couldn’t stand seeing people revolting against their brutality.

I logged in to Twitter a week after the protest had begun_ I saw pictures of eateries and companies supporting the protest with food, at that moment my patriotism woke up. I was broke and hungry, there was nothing to lose. Just shout: “End SARS! End SARS! End SARS!, ” for a few minutes, and the next minute you are on the floor devouring a packaged rice with obstacles in support. It worked out for two weeks, I was enjoying free meals on the protest ground.

The third week exposed me to danger, I experienced police brutality. The police attacked us and I couldn’t outrun them. They gave me the beating of my life, I went home with scars that night. The next day was the most tragic moment of my life, the government announced that there was going to be a curfew by 10:pm_ by 6:00 pm soldiers stormed the toll gate, we sang the National Anthem as we waved our flags sky-high. I had joined the protest mainly because of food, but my patriotism was awakened in the process. We thought soldiers respected the Nigerian flag but we were wrong. A few minutes after we had begun singing the National Anthem bullets started raining on the protesters, blood gushed uncontrollably like a faulty tap. There was chatter, it was like a disorganized choir singing. I always knew I was a coward, I have never disputed that fact.

Gunshots ringed in my ear like an alarm clock as I ran, I was afraid my body would be riddled with bullets. A few days later, I heard about the random discovery of palliatives across the country I was hoping one would be discovered in my area. My friends warned me against going there, but as usual I discarded his advice like trash: “one last time, after this I wouldn’t fight for food again. “

A day later, my prayer was answered. A warehouse was discovered close to my house_ a few minutes later, I was sprinting to the warehouse like an athlete in a marathon race. When I got there, there were a few people. A few minutes later the warehouse was crowded. I had managed to get hold of a bag of rice and a carton of noodles, but there was no way out. I was claustrophobic, a few minutes later I began to panic, some moments later I was on the floor before you could say “Jack Robinson!” I was losing consciousness. The guy beside smelt like a corpse. While I was dying, people were busy taking what they could get hold of. At that moment, I remembered what my friend always told me; “Na food go kill you.”