At New Year’s Eve, 31st December 2019, I was in the church like every other persons who care to pray for a new and defined beginning in the New Year. The New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year and people celebrate it at different arenas around the world. For the high ranking Marlians in Nigeria, it is better celebrated at evening parties, where a colony of Marlians dance, eat and watch or light fireworks; while the presumed Christian and Islamic brothers and sisters attend watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year’s Day, 1 January.

On New Year’s Eve, the perceived special places for the celebration witness twice their usual population. It’s a time for those who believe in the existence of God to appreciate Him for seeing them through the year; on the other hand, some believe a chilled bottle of wine would refresh their minds into the New Year. For the believers and unbelievers, New Year resolutions and wishes are necessary.

Like I said earlier, I was in the church to pray for a new beginning but I didn’t fail to take cognizance of everything that happened in the church that night. Maybe I need to tell you I observed that almost everyone saw the day like a new tonic in a new bottle; for me, it’s just a change of time and date but who am I to query convention. Sincerely speaking, I saw people danced like there was nothing to worry about in Nigeria, and the small Marlians therein gyrated with the danceable style of their master, the crooner of soapy song.

The service was perfectly structured, well timed and everything had been in place until one of the pastors said the church should pray for Nigeria during the prayer session. It was supposed to be 5-10minutes prayer session as I have noticed; well, there is nothing bad to pray for Nigeria as I have expected you to say. After all, people say there is no place like home but the countenance of people at the moment speaks volume, it was a moment of bad vibes like people were not interested in anything ‘Nigeria’. I observed with pity as the minister tried to spice the session with a lot of talk on corruption, cybercrime, kidnapping and others but the body language still ended like Oga let everyone does what he or she likes O jare. Inside of me, I was speaking to myself but the minister would not hear my rhetoric, I told him as he struggled with the mic: sir, everyone has lost interest, the apathy is high and people do not give a dime again.

I do not blame those who have lost interest because those at the helm of affairs have successfully disintegrated many from the full benefits of democracy. The spirit of patriotism is currently on the offside and people are now much more interested in personal growth and development. Just like every other persons, I look forward to praying for Nigeria from another virgin land, I want to go else where to get the good vibes to say God bless Nigeria. Nigerians do not really like to pray for Nigerian forces but we do not mind to chant support for other countries when they are in trouble. I want to be different, I want to pray for Nigeria from another virgin land but I need to learn how to say "God bless Nigeria" from here.

Are you ready to pray for Nigeria?


Iyiola Oluwatosin Damilare writes....