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Nigeria’s Festivals Turned to Funerals Since 2015
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

Nigeria’s Festivals Turned to Funerals Since 2015

From Vanguard · (8m ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The article reflects on Nigeria's decline from a period of enjoyable and safe travel before 2015 to the current state of pervasive insecurity.
  • The author recounts personal memories of traveling freely across Nigeria for leisure and visiting friends, contrasting it with the present fear of visiting many regions.
  • The piece highlights a "predictability of mass killing" and widespread poverty, suggesting that happy days for many Nigerians are over.

Vanguard, a leading Nigerian newspaper, publishes a poignant reflection by Dele Sobowale on the stark contrast between Nigeria's past and present security landscape. The article, titled "Nigeria’s festivals turned to funerals since 2015," uses a quote from Geoffrey Chaucer to set a somber tone, lamenting the shift from joy to sorrow.

Those days are gone; nobody would go to any Kwara rural area again.

— Dele SobowaleSobowale reflects on the lost era of safe rural travel in Nigeria.

Sobowale vividly recalls a time before 2015 when he and his elderly friends, all over 80, could embark on comfortable and enjoyable road trips across Nigeria to cities like Abuja, Calabar, and Maiduguri. These journeys were not only affordable but also safe, allowing them to visit friends and savor the country's offerings. He contrasts this with the current reality where many of these same places are now considered "hells on Earth," avoided like a dangerous contagion.

The author recounts a specific memory of visiting a friend in Kwara State, exploring sugarcane plantations and interacting with laborers. This idyllic scene is now a distant memory, replaced by the grim realization that such rural areas are no longer safe. The article lists numerous towns and regions that have become synonymous with danger, transforming once-pleasant destinations into places of fear and regret.

Fellow Nigerians actually live and spend their festivals in all those Nigerian hells on Earth, which we are now avoiding like COVID-19.

— Dele SobowaleSobowale expresses dismay at the current state of insecurity in regions once visited for festivals.

A particularly chilling observation is the "predictability of mass killing" that now characterizes many parts of Nigeria. While in the past, government efforts focused on reducing road accidents, the current concern is the pervasive threat of violence. The article suggests that the happy days of carefree travel and celebration are over for most Nigerians, who now face imminent violence and poverty while others in more fortunate lands enjoy security.

MOST CHILLING: PREDICTABILITY OF MASS KILLING

— Dele SobowaleSobowale highlights the alarming trend of predictable mass killings in Nigeria.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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