October 18
The Day I Got Bold
I have long been an introvert but more than that I’m also a perfectionist. I can be so particular about details and how people feel about my actions generally. Each day I had to endure the conflict of getting things right and very right too. This affected my writing as I always wondered if they will ever be “good enough” read to be appreciated. Thus, I sparingly wrote but when I did, I find it difficult sharing to a larger audience other than myself and one or two other friends.
I became aware of Medium sometime in April 2020, I’m on the slow lane, I know that. A friend from my university had sent me his story on Nigeria’s Afro Brazilian Heritage for review. It was an eye-opener; beautifully delivered in a way that caught my admiration. From then on, I looked forward to an opportunity to express my thoughts on a platform like Medium. At this time, the pandemic had halted physical lectures at the Nigerian Law School where I was preparing to sit for the Bar Finals. Online lectures replaced our classroom activities to complete the scheme. So, with bar finals in mind, I jettisoned the thought of taking writing seriously but downloaded the Medium application. Later in the month, I got another link to his second story “Energy and Its Important Recognition”. After giving it a read, I made an honest review. That was the last time I visited Medium until it was October.
Young Nigerians took to the streets in October to protest police brutality in Nigeria. There were allegations of extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrest and detention by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). It was common for members of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to profile anyone with a tattoo, piercings, dreadlock as a criminal. It was a “crime” for young Nigerians to drive the latest brand of cars. Their wealth was easily attributed to online fraud. People were easily framed, detained and made to pay huge sums to perfect a bail. Others didn’t make it out alive. Still, some others are remanded in prison awaiting trial.
By mid – October, the protest tagged #EndSARS was trending across the world with more Nigerians joining the struggle from Nigeria to the UK, US, Netherland and Canada. All the young people wanted was a reform of the police force. They were not deterred by the constant threat of being arrested and detained. Then there were reports that the military had plans to disrupt the protests in Lagos. In anticipation of military intervention, protesters were cautioned to take a Nigerian flag to protest grounds. It was believed that the Nigerian army will respect the National flag and would refrain from shooting at protesters waving the flag. They were disappointed. In some quarters, it was believed that it is treasonable to shoot at the Nigerian flag.
I became curious. Where did they get this notion from? I looked back to the past 4 years
Of my stay in the university studying law. I never heard of such treason. I started to research to find out. I wanted to counter what I considered was innocent misinformation.
It was a legal analysis and I didn’t want to be wrong. I didn’t want to make mistakes. I wanted it to be as factual as possible to give a true reflection of the law surrounding treason and defacing of the national flag.
October 18, 2020, I chose to be bold. I ignored my imperfection and gave doubt a chance. I summoned all my courage to write and share an analysis of Shooting At The Nigerian Flag; What Is The Law? I chose to share my opinion with readers across the world on Medium and I can say it was the best decision I’ve ever made in my budding writing career. It was my first story on Medium and the most read. It’s also the only story of mine to be distributed. It wasn’t perfect. I made a few corrections after publishing. I finally accepted my imperfections.
Since then, I’ve published over fifty stories (mostly poems) on medium.
2020 has not been a perfect year either but with it’s passing I’ve become bolder and more expressive.
