In the words of Ace Nigerian singer Davido’s single FEM, before the matter gets serious, you need to make sure you don’t say too much”, I bet the Nigerian government never saw the ENDSARS protest becoming serious, until shots were fired in Lekki and things got dangerous indeed.
Realistically, finding healing after a Nigerian protest such as this , will take much more than a mere resolve. This is because, every time you experience another power outage, or drive through a pothole, or better still you get stopped by the police for frivolous reasons, in the future( trust me, it will happen) you are instantly reminded of the failures of the government and the anger rushes right back. Nonetheless there are ways to find healing and I will outline them in a few lines.
Redirect your anger
Anap Chairman, Atedo Peterside’s interview on Arise television Saturday resonated deeply with me. He stressed the need for youths to redirect their angers towards the elections of 2023. I couldn’t agree more. I believe that votes matter even if in Nigeria election fraud seem to be more potent. What I think is this, if we redirect our energies to mobilizing ourselves to strategizing and garnering votes for younger and more capable leaders in the national, parliamentary and even grass root levels in 2023, it will produce better results. It may hurt and feel like the government won this time, but know one thing, with good strategies, we would have the last laugh.
Stay of social media and find sleep.
Sleep is not for the weak, infact it is incredibly beneficial for the mind and body . Therefore , taking a downtime or going on a short social media cleanse will leave you feeling refreshed. The share amount of videos of Brutality shared online this past week was enough to dampen your mood for a lifetime, hence to find healing, you should go off the internet, to give your mind a downtime.
Practice self care
Self care involves finding the holistic combination of your spiritual, mental, psychological and social support systems for the healing of your spirit, soul and body. To do this, you should take time out to worship, and also call up family and friends for relaxation time. Also finding time for physical exercises, game nights, walks, movies and indulge your mind with activities that will improve your mental and physical health, even in these difficult times