A letter from a Fallen Hero to the Nigerian youth today

Dear child, I write you this letter because of how much I love you. You are young and full of life, restless and in need of some action but watch it. Watch it, I tell you, for you are about to destroy all I lived and died for, you are about to sacrifice your life on the alter that no longer exits, you are about to be cut short in the prime of your life, you are about to leave your kids orphaned, your wives widows and your parents childless for a concluded cause. 

You take this too far, and that is because you didn’t see the war! If you did, you would do everything to stop any further reoccurrence. I fought and do you know that I lost some of my loved ones? I and my colleagues had reason to mourn over sons, daughters, fathers, mothers and siblings before we finally joined them. I felt raw pain. It wasn’t funny; sometimes we had to take up our alms and fight even on hungry stomachs, we often had to lie in muddy pits and trenches crawling with warms and all manner of rodents, we had to see our friends fall in battle and I tell you, if we could do anything to stop it or turn back the hands of time, we would have. But alas! It was too late. So we fought on till we had to stop and when we did? We couldn’t rejoice that the war was over because of the devastation. We could only hope that our children and future generations would have a more peaceful existence as they build in unity. We took solace in the fact that we had cleared the way for you. 

So now, tell me; are you trying to make our sacrifice of no effect? Are you trying to reopen old wounds that we struggled so hard to burry? What are you trying to do? With your strength and intellect, modern facilities and all manner of technologies available to you, you can chat a different cause; one that is indeed noble, one born out of love for your fellow brothers regardless of what names they bear or tribes they represent. Not a cause born out of hate, un-forgiveness or the feeling of deprivation and oppression. Look at it, everyone member of this great country suffers one challenge or the other, isn’t it unfair to think that you suffer the most and become insensitive to the sufferings of others? But imagine if we were all to rise and fight to overcome our challenges rather than fighting ourselves; no matter how diverse, our unity will grow from strength to strength as we harness all our resources to make one great nation. We only need to be one people with one cause and with God on our side; rising is a sure thing for us.  What would happen to the strength and solace that we found in the company of each other when we choose to see our differences as a plague rather than a blessing? Remember that the brothers that have misunderstandings more often are usually the ones that end up being the closest. Why not give your immaturities, faults and misunderstandings time to be worked out till your friendship gets to the place called ‘closest ’. He is different from you because he is not you, and even if you had a twin brother, he would never be you. Our differences are the very things that make us eligible to be called humans and live with each other. You want to be comfortable and safe? I won’t stop you but think it through again, there is always the right way to go about things. 

What you have now, may not be the best, but it sure is better than what you’ll get if you fight the way I believe you intend. However, if you would endure and build with your brothers, you will definitely have something better than you imagined. Let your name go down into history as one that made a positive contribution to your land, as one who stood for peace even when it wasn’t trendy, as one who lived and let others live.

Indeed, there is no war without peace, but there are better ways to fight a war than with harsh words and ammunitions, especially when I and my comrades have finished the war and laid the foundation for peace. Now, it’s time to build. Build with everything you’ve got, for that is the reason God made you a Nigerian. He put in you just the right amount and quality of muscles that Nigeria needs to whether these storms, so arise above ethnicity and individual differences for we have only one cause- to serve our father land with love, strength and faith. We are a nation under God and in His strength we rise and we build! 

HAVE YOU MET ME?

Yes! I may not have the best functioning home 

I may not have so much money yet 
 I may not look so pretty                                                    
And I may not even be so smart 
            But I am me!
I don’t have your home, you brains or your looks 
But that’s simply because I Am Me ... The Best Ever!

I used to feel down, like I was odd and out of place in the midst of people. I thought every other person had a perfect life, I always wanted to be someone else until I had the chance to catch a glimpse of what their lives really were…

Kevwe  was pretty as a diva, had the carriage of a duchess, and pulled a crowd wherever she went. She seemed to have it all and though she was my friend, I avoided being close to her because I felt like a speck of dust standing beside her…I felt insignificant! Then one day I heard her say “if only I had a happy home like yours…” wow! 


Then I met Sonia … she was beautiful and wild, not afraid to take on the world and I thought “if only I was this bold and beautiful” until she sat face to face with me and said “you are beautiful, I love your eyes”. She was off the next minute but I stopped to ponder…she didn’t have any reason to want to flatter me so was she serious?

Well then, there was Dubem…he could sing for Africa! And I thought "I love to sing but will I ever be able to sing like Dubem?" My voice was too tiny and fragile, or so I thought, till I saw a replica of what I had despised, winning a music competition...

That was when it dawned on me that no one has it all. We all have something to be proud of as well as something we are not so proud of. The only difference is that they are fitted to suit our peculiarities and some people do a good job trying to hide their imperfections such that you only see the ‘perfections’. 
At this point, I had to call myself to order after some deep thinking … let’s assume I could become like all these people what would that make me? The second best of an imperfect being? That simply isn’t not good enough!  

Come to think of it, I had always been too busy checking other people out, I never really took the time to look at me.  So I paused to take a long look at me and instantly, I saw beyond my clothes, my shyness, my clumsiness to the real me, one who has all it takes to be content with being me. 

It was an awesome discovery for me. So I sat, and began to carefully polish the me I saw, so others could begin to see me too and I realized I could be anything I wanted. I realized how much people craved for my specific voice texture, only when I began to use it. Then I paid attention to my eyes and I could see what Sonia saw, I began to appreciate my family more regardless. And guess what, it boosted my confidence to know that I love what I have, and if people can’t appreciate it, then they must either be blind,  insensitive, or just myopic. Either ways, it’s their problem, not mine. Now, I am much more comfortable with me, just as I am; with or without make up, with or without a crowd of followers, amidst all kinds of opinions, I am unperturbed because this is me learning to live life being authentic, being who God made me to be. This is me not having to do jack, let alone trash, to gain someone's approval because I realize, my own approval is more important after all.






This is a tribute to those still living in the shadows of others, still struggling with inferiority complex. You are special and your world needs what you’ve got. Don’t hide it under mediocrity.

By Fidelia Ben-Udi

 

HAVE YOU MET ME?

Yes! I may not have the best functioning home 

I may not have so much money yet 
 I may not look so pretty                                                    
And I may not even be so smart 
            But I am me!
I don’t have your home, you brains or your looks 
But that’s simply because I Am Me ... The Best Ever!

I used to feel down, like I was odd and out of place in the midst of people. I thought every other person had a perfect life, I always wanted to be someone else until I had the chance to catch a glimpse of what their lives really were…

Kevwe  was pretty as a diva, had the carriage of a duchess, and pulled a crowd wherever she went. She seemed to have it all and though she was my friend, I avoided being close to her because I felt like a speck of dust standing beside her…I felt insignificant! Then one day I heard her say “if only I had a happy home like yours…” wow! 


Then I met Sonia … she was beautiful and wild, not afraid to take on the world and I thought “if only I was this bold and beautiful” until she sat face to face with me and said “you are beautiful, I love your eyes”. She was off the next minute but I stopped to ponder…she didn’t have any reason to want to flatter me so was she serious?

Well then, there was Dubem…he could sing for Africa! And I thought "I love to sing but will I ever be able to sing like Dubem?" My voice was too tiny and fragile, or so I thought, till I saw a replica of what I had despised, winning a music competition...

That was when it dawned on me that no one has it all. We all have something to be proud of as well as something we are not so proud of. The only difference is that they are fitted to suit our peculiarities and some people do a good job trying to hide their imperfections such that you only see the ‘perfections’. 
At this point, I had to call myself to order after some deep thinking … let’s assume I could become like all these people what would that make me? The second best of an imperfect being? That simply isn’t not good enough!  

Come to think of it, I had always been too busy checking other people out, I never really took the time to look at me.  So I paused to take a long look at me and instantly, I saw beyond my clothes, my shyness, my clumsiness to the real me, one who has all it takes to be content with being me. 

It was an awesome discovery for me. So I sat, and began to carefully polish the me I saw, so others could begin to see me too and I realized I could be anything I wanted. I realized how much people craved for my specific voice texture, only when I began to use it. Then I paid attention to my eyes and I could see what Sonia saw, I began to appreciate my family more regardless. And guess what, it boosted my confidence to know that I love what I have, and if people can’t appreciate it, then they must either be blind,  insensitive, or just myopic. Either ways, it’s their problem, not mine. Now, I am much more comfortable with me, just as I am; with or without make up, with or without a crowd of followers, amidst all kinds of opinions, I am unperturbed because this is me learning to live life being authentic, being who God made me to be. This is me not having to do jack, let alone trash, to gain someone's approval because I realize, my own approval is more important after all.






This is a tribute to those still living in the shadows of others, still struggling with inferiority complex. You are special and your world needs what you’ve got. Don’t hide it under mediocrity.

By Fidelia Ben-Udi

 

HAVE YOU MET ME?

Yes! I may not have the best functioning home 

I may not have so much money yet 
 I may not look so pretty                                                    
And I may not even be so smart 
            But I am me!
I don’t have your home, you brains or your looks 
But that’s simply because I Am Me ... The Best Ever!

I used to feel down, like I was odd and out of place in the midst of people. I thought every other person had a perfect life, I always wanted to be someone else until I had the chance to catch a glimpse of what their lives really were…

Kevwe  was pretty as a diva, had the carriage of a duchess, and pulled a crowd wherever she went. She seemed to have it all and though she was my friend, I avoided being close to her because I felt like a speck of dust standing beside her…I felt insignificant! Then one day I heard her say “if only I had a happy home like yours…” wow! 


Then I met Sonia … she was beautiful and wild, not afraid to take on the world and I thought “if only I was this bold and beautiful” until she sat face to face with me and said “you are beautiful, I love your eyes”. She was off the next minute but I stopped to ponder…she didn’t have any reason to want to flatter me so was she serious?

Well then, there was Dubem…he could sing for Africa! And I thought "I love to sing but will I ever be able to sing like Dubem?" My voice was too tiny and fragile, or so I thought, till I saw a replica of what I had despised, winning a music competition...

That was when it dawned on me that no one has it all. We all have something to be proud of as well as something we are not so proud of. The only difference is that they are fitted to suit our peculiarities and some people do a good job trying to hide their imperfections such that you only see the ‘perfections’. 
At this point, I had to call myself to order after some deep thinking … let’s assume I could become like all these people what would that make me? The second best of an imperfect being? That simply isn’t not good enough!  

Come to think of it, I had always been too busy checking other people out, I never really took the time to look at me.  So I paused to take a long look at me and instantly, I saw beyond my clothes, my shyness, my clumsiness to the real me, one who has all it takes to be content with being me. 

It was an awesome discovery for me. So I sat, and began to carefully polish the me I saw, so others could begin to see me too and I realized I could be anything I wanted. I realized how much people craved for my specific voice texture, only when I began to use it. Then I paid attention to my eyes and I could see what Sonia saw, I began to appreciate my family more regardless. And guess what, it boosted my confidence to know that I love what I have, and if people can’t appreciate it, then they must either be blind,  insensitive, or just myopic. Either ways, it’s their problem, not mine. Now, I am much more comfortable with me, just as I am; with or without make up, with or without a crowd of followers, amidst all kinds of opinions, I am unperturbed because this is me learning to live life being authentic, being who God made me to be. This is me not having to do jack, let alone trash, to gain someone's approval because I realize, my own approval is more important after all.






This is a tribute to those still living in the shadows of others, still struggling with inferiority complex. You are special and your world needs what you’ve got. Don’t hide it under mediocrity.

By Fidelia Ben-Udi

 

Under The Light

Have you ever had a wound and decided to cover it up immediately without airing it? Have you seen what happens? Yeah right! It gets soft, begins to fester with gems and before long, starts to get rotten. Now that is a really terrible thing as it could result in amputation or death worst still, which no one prays for.  But the thing is we don’t always have to pray for things before they happen, es

Under The Light

Have you ever had a wound and decided to cover it up immediately without airing it? Have you seen what happens? Yeah right! It gets soft, begins to fester with gems and before long, starts to get rotten. Now that is a really terrible thing as it could result in amputation or death worst still, which no one prays for.  But the thing is we don’t always have to pray for things before they happen, es

As flowers in the attic

They were as flowers in the attic
Lovely, young and innocent
But they were abandoned, uncatered for, no light, no water, soil was failing
Their only hope as it were, was more interested in chasing after the wealth of a prospective boo
She had lost her stable source, her beau, to the cruel hands of death
She could have been all they had, but she too was dead to them and those adorable flowers...they had no one
They fed on what they could find, played with what they could find and were everything to each other.
Oh, how they longed for light, how they long to play in the rain and run wild in the field
How they longed for friends, but no. They were stuck in the attic!
They, elder ones; a he and a she, played father and mother through sickness, sadness and hunger 
The younger ones; a he and a she, played kids, because they were really little
They all wondered when their nightmare was going to end...
So it was, that weeks grew into months and months to years, yet there was no hope.
Then father and mother figure began to think and work together to make an escape.
And as they worked, there was determination, synchrony, but then, there was also a fatal attraction...they realised there was something happening in their bodies, they couldn't quiet understand.  

She looked more beautiful, he looked more handsome, hormones were allover the place with no one to give understanding, no one to express to but themselves.
So they had played mother and father to their little siblings, carried out every single responsibility of a parent, why not this?
Then it began, they two, same blood, cleaved and became one.
Now they had become 'children of the devil' as it was said, but they didn't mind.
It felt so good and with time, it became normal
After all they were both mother and father
Thus, these flowers in the attic lost their glow, their pride and humanity, but were resolved to escape. 
With one dead, and others sick, they finally did escape from the attic.
Wounded from inside out, that large feastering wound of a taboo on their conscience 
Who could they run to, who would heal the wounds that ran deep beneath the skin right into the fabrics of their being?
What could be done about this contaminated blood line?
They were as flowers in the attic.

Extracted from the movie "flowers in the attic"

Questions
1. What is this story about?
2. How much do think this is affecting society?
3. Do you have stories to share? Please do
4. What is your proposed solution/approach?
5. Any lessons?

Written by Fidelia Ben-Udi