Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey
To serve our fatherland With love and strength and faith The labour of our heroes past Shall never be in vain To serve with heart and might One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.
These are the lines of our national anthem. Sadly, not many of us, including those who are holding public offices, can recite the national anthem, let alone believe in the words.
Today, we pay tribute to those who not only answered the call, but whose lives were cut short because of the impunity and callous acts of the political cabal in our dear nation during the ENDSARS protest.
I revere all who knowingly put themselves in harm’s way to ensure that their voices were heard.
But the debt we can never repay is to those who lay down their own lives in the endeavour.
No words can adequately convey the magnitude of our veneration. Rather, I choose to eulogize our fallen heroes by ensuring their deaths were not in vain.
We the citizenry should pay everlasting tribute to those who traded their lives for a greater cause bigger than all of us. The least we owe them is to ensure their magnificent gesture isn’t squandered through apathy and trepidation.
The freedom they gave us is to choose who leads us, who represents us and who we give our voice to. And the power to change our mind when necessary. This is why we are stronger together.
DETAILS humbly redoubles its commitment that neither their valor, their names, their voices, their sacrifice, nor the principles that occasioned it will ever be forgotten.
May God heal our land!