It's been 4 years already and I am still haunted by the sound of the DJs loud song in a bid to create awareness, I remember the day vividly; when I decided to stop joining political rallies.
It was a beautiful holiday and the sun was shining brightly, trying to escape the boredom from our rooms, I and few of my friends came out to the studio to meet up, then we approached by senior student to come represent the department, we went out being informed that we were to attend a meeting after which we would be appreciated, who doesn't like such plans, little did we know that the next 8 hours were going to be spent on the streets of Uyo.
The streets were filled with students from different communities, all marching helplessly and commanded towards where we never knew, where we got the strength to keep moving is what I wonder. I had always wanted to be politically active and felt a sense of duty to be a part of a valid movement. But that day, something inside me changed. Yes we are laughing in these pictures but this was before we knew the calamity that was to befall us.
I decided to step back and observe from a distance. As I watched, I realized that the rally was not about unity or bringing about change. It was about proving a point, being heard and seen. The sense of community that I had expected to find was lost in the chaos.
At that moment, I realized that I didn't want to be a part of the anger and hate that was so prevalent in political rallies. I wanted to find a different way to bring about change. One that focused on constructive dialogue and finding common ground, rather than fighting against one another.
Yes we were appreciated; #500 lesser than $1 that was what each student recieved for the stress, what were we to say. We came back home and all we could dream of was the pain of the scouching sun of the city of uyo upon our skins, and being yelled at by political leaders,
But am glad that day happened cause it was a defining moment for my being.
That day, I made a conscious decision to no longer attend political rallies. Instead, I started volunteering with organizations that focused on grassroot change and community building. I learned that there were many ways to be politically active, and that change could come from small, localized actions.