11 June 2021
06:26am
With nostalgic feelings, I recall how beautiful it was growing up in the 70s. So many activities to remember and look forward to. One of them was the visit of the President. For whatever reason, ...and the President came.
The preparation to welcome the President was like none other. Children were made to line the streets of the major Roads in their school uniforms, just to welcome the President, catch a glimpse of him, proudly waving the green white green flag of the Federal Republic of Nigeria...and the President came.
I recall how my mom of blessed memory, would iron my brown khaki uniform, bring out the whitest of all my socks (in retrospect, I think she used to keep a particular pair of white socks for the visit of the President🤔), polish my brown Cortina shoes shining like a beautiful mirror, you could almost see yourself in them, as you walk majestically in them, all eyes on you as...and the President came.
Beautiful! She would say after looking at her handiwork, my hair packed into two pony tails with pink ribbons knotted beautifully on both buns styled hair, my face looking smooth with her white powder, my body smelling with the aroma of her Bintu perfume, all in the preparation of the special visit of someone very special ...and the President came.
With a firm but soft warning she would release me into the street, "make sure you wave very well, my child make sure you see the President and he must see your beautiful face as you wave at him. Let him see your white socks and clean shoes"(as if he would come out of the car to look at my shoes from his open roof car😅). With excitement and the greatest care on earth, I would saunter to the street to welcome and wave at the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria... and the President came.
What a beauty to behold! In an open roof vehicle, adorned in agbada and cap, he would wave to the left, right, forth and back at us the children, lined up on the streets in our different beautifully ironed school uniforms as we all waved the flags, jumping and singing in excitement...and the President came.
The highlights of these Presidential visits would be the NTA Network News at 9pm! Sitting pretty tight in front of the black and white TV set with my entire family to look out for me amongst hundreds of other children as I welcomed the President, the shouts of 'see me! See me there' would rend the air with my bony finger pointing at some imaginary me. Others would chorus "Yes! Yes!". But the truth is 'I really didn't see me, I just imagined me' as ...and the President came.
Fast forward to 30, 40 and 50 years after as ... and the President came!
Children taken out of the roads, youths taken out of the roads, parents taken out of the roads and replaced with armed security personnel to gun down any human that makes any attempt to move anywhere around the routes of the President on those same roads that used to give us beautiful memories and feelings as we look back and say ... and the President came.
What happened? When did school children become terrorists or threats to the President of a whole nation? What memories have we left or are we leaving for our children? What memories are we left with as adults and parents to tell our grand and great grandchildren as... and the Present came?
Let me share a bit of what most people experienced from 09 June (as the State of Lagos prepared for his arrival) to 10 June (his arrival date) in this year 2021; fear, tension, pain, gridlock, heart wrenching traffic, open day robbery attack in traffic on some of the roads as a result of major road blocks to pave way for "him", possibly kidnapping because most of the State security personnel had been drafted to ensure that no one goes near those routes that he would pass through and ensure strict security only on those routes for one individual thereby leaving other areas vulnerable without adequate security ... and the President came.
...and the President came for just some hours leaving behind all and more of the above. No one knows when the next visit would be but just be prepared because, we must always have a visit or the other to leave us with memories as ...and the President came.
Beams
11/06/2021
Hmmm, I can imagine what your experiences were at the time. Indeed, the pain we have to go through just because a president is on town is too much. We can only hope that our political leaders will understand these things and do better
ReplyDeleteNice piece
ReplyDeleteSad! How things have gone really bad and our leaders are watching .😢😢
ReplyDeleteSo sad that this is what out dear country as deteriorated to.
ReplyDeleteSo sad that a great fearless nation became a fearful nation for its inhabitants.
May God save our Land
It's really sad what Nigeria has become. I used to love my country but now.... I fear for our lives.
ReplyDeleteOur lives are in God's hands.
God help us.
And this is the reality we have come to live with. Very sad indeed. Our children will henceforth see the coming of the president as a time to stay put indoors and not step out because nobody must go close to "him"
ReplyDeleteA very nice read
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the President came to Lagos; to political praise-singing and rhetoric. Oh what a gladsome day it will be, when the President will come to the people who he represents in the north and in the south ... when he will come to them with empathy and kind words because he’s the people’s President.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very beautiful write up. It's brings such sweet nostalgic feelings of the good old days.
ReplyDeleteMay God restore our dear country Nigeria to its past glory in Jesus name.
Well done Beams.❣
Thanks Aunt Beams. I remember the early 80s at Maryland,Ikeja, just like you have narrated, amidst many others from both Public and private schools,...It's sad as the best that is drummed into the ears of our children is how to be safe(don't go out) as if this will solve the problems of insecurity caused by older generation who refuse to see the repercussions of their many actions that has landed us in this mess. I really hope we see and find solutions to these insecurity and lawlessness; with the prayers that our children will have fond memories when they are older to override the ones they are currently facing.
ReplyDeleteNice piece, but honestly Really sad😔wish I could turn back the hands of Time to the old days where we travel through ore road to the east without fear of being kidnap by herdsmen, good old days of 65per fuel liter,the good old days wherr we have no fear of famine and social media restrictions and threats.... Indeed Nigeria is experiencing a serious siege that will take only the intervention of the most high God for peace n unity......but in all this things ,our redeemer liveth......
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice & sweet memories. God Almighty shall restore peace in our country. Well done ma
ReplyDeleteHmmmm what a good recap of our Nigeria then and now.
ReplyDeleteThis is where we are, we can only trust God and come together with one voice to forge the country we desire. Nigeria will be saved, Nigeria will be changed and Nigeria will become great in my and your lifetime in Jesus name
Food for thought "As the president came" I am hoping things will get better back to those days Beams narrated above, I am a living witness in those days, but what some of our children and grands are witnessing now is directly opposite as above, my grand asked me "grandma will the president kill all of us if we go out? Why is everybody afraid of the president " I am still waiting for her grand dad to respond to this on his return from work as he is the one that's singing it to us all to stay indoor all through Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I am hoping the president will come around and children will be able to have a handshake with him some day again. INSECURITY !!! INSECURITY!!! INSECURITY!!!
ReplyDelete🤣🤣🤣. This cracked me up badly. "Will the president kill all of us if we go out?" From the innocent mind of a child as seen through her eyes and heard through her ears.
DeleteTears swell in my eyes as I recall the beautiful memories your narrative evoked in me. Sad what our country has been reduced to by those who swore _serve Nigeria with all their strength, defend her unity and uphold her honor and glory_ ....has God stopped helping them?
ReplyDeleteNo doubt that times have changed so also the social constituent of the society. In our case, a downward trend that affirms a sharp decline in citizen's concern for government or governance - a situation that has birthed selfhood and the evils of unpatriotic citizenry. No thanks to muffled constitution and disregard for the rule of law. And the President came. Aunty, this is a literary masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm, thank you so much for bringing back memories Momma....
ReplyDeleteI was a victim with my sick daughter in that gridlock because of the visit of a president....
I pray we would be able to do something pretty fast, in other for this generation to have beautiful story to tell their children...
Nice! So many good memories
ReplyDeleteWe hope for better days to come again...
ReplyDeleteWow, Wow, Wow... if I could turn back the hands of time!
ReplyDelete...But Nigeria is meant to move forward not backward... what a pity!
Well-captured... I wonder the sort of memories Nigerian children now have of our President
ReplyDeleteIt's appalling to see how it moved from a thing of joy when the president comes around then to a thing that brings sorrow now.
ReplyDeleteMay God visit our land and heal it, because this is in no way a good history.
Beautiful Beams, reading it left me feeling nostalgic. Oh!How much fun we had back then , fun our children will never understand. So much pain for the millennium we all anticipated !
ReplyDeleteThe contrast is amazing! We trust God that in the coming years, that beautiful experience of the President's visit you had in your childhood would be restored.
ReplyDeleteWhat a contrast! I trust God that the beautiful experience of the President's visit you had in your childhood would be restored.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm I read with Joy and also sadness,it was peaceful and fun then ,now however it's like a nightmare ,we say a lot and my sons don't understand because they have never experienced it,God will indeed come thru for us as a nation and bring back the great days . A great read this is indeed
ReplyDeleteWow I can literally feel those experiences us you described them thou I never went to welcome the president but I can remember it's a dream for us but all that has faded left with another experience now. Thank you for bringing back those memories.
ReplyDeleteNow the presidential visit leaves us all stressed. We prepare to stay indoors and heave a sigh of relieve when he leaves. Bit by bit the joys of older years have been chopped off giving way to the jaded views and experience of our children in the present.
ReplyDeleteYet we pray and hope for a better future as we have no other country
And the president came!!! Well captured experience, Perhaps it would be better to declare a public holiday the next time the president is coming.
ReplyDeleteThe president should be concerned about the insecurity.
Definitely something to read over and over again ,because there is a truth in it. How ever there is need for change ,but are the same time ,how ready are we for it.
ReplyDelete...and the President must come again....to dispel our thoughts and make Nigeria a better place to live and to give our children, the leaders of tomorrow a good stead to look forward to. The "President", whoever, must come again!! Thanks, Bimboh, for the valued reminiscences written for a better tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteGood old days may God heal our land and bring back the good old days
ReplyDeleteThe question is: what can we do about this?! I feel helpless about Nigeria. And that instigates hopelessness, which comes from the fact that we have become a docile bunch, due to the fear instilled in us through brutality and threats. I don't know the 70s but even then, Nigeria was failing. It has always been a slippery slope. It is sad for a country with so much resources, but squandered by so few.
ReplyDeleteDid the President of Nigeria come ?
ReplyDeleteI reckon the Emir of Nigeria came
He left his regular trademark, the one Fela sang about in STB
" ....dem bring Sorrow, Tears and Blood ; dem regular trade mark "
Once we had a Country