|
Books by
& about Martin Niemöller
Exile in the Fatherland /
Of Guilt and Hope /
Hero of the Concentration Camp /
Martin Niemöller /
Dachau Sermons /
Here Stand I
From U-Boat to Concentration Camp, The Autobiography of
Martin Niemoller, Vicar of Berlin-Dahlem
* * * *
*
The Dignity of Man
By Uche Nworah
|
They came first for the Communists, and I
didn't speak up because I wasn't a
Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and
I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and
I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade
unionist. Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a
Protestant. Then they came for me, and by
that time no one was left to speak up."
Pastor Martin Niemöller
(1892–1984) |
I was going to call this piece "The Good Old Mr
Francis" after the movie
Good Will Hunting, a
movie that played on the virtue of goodwill as exhibited
by the principal character Mr Will Hunting, a good man
played in the film by Matt Damon. In the end I settled
for The Dignity of Man, borrowed from my Alma Matta –
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Long before I
enrolled for a graduate course at Nsukka, I had been
fascinated by their motto which is ‘To restore the
dignity of man’. Osamuyia Aikpithani’s global protests
on Friday, the 29th of June 2007 has indeed
shown me that Nigerians are good people, the ones who
want to be that is.
|
On the protest day, although I was caught up
in the whole protest thing, but still this
lone guy wearing a blue face cap with
Osamuyia Aikpithani’s poster held high to
his chest and standing by the corner of the
traffic Island opposite the Spanish Embassy
in London stood out. He haunted my thoughts
all through the mid-afternoon.
Midway my feet started hurting, it wasn’t
the shoes, I made sure that I wore a rubber
soled pair as I knew that the shift would be
long. It was actually my big feet; they hate
being enclosed for long periods and prefer
to stick out freely in sandals. I endured
and carried on.
Finally we got to talk; he wouldn’t tell me
his full names. He only introduced himself
as Mr. Francis and appeared to be in his
late fifties or early sixties. A Nigerian by
birth and by accent he is. |
 |
“I have come to add my little voice to the injustice our
people face all over the world”, Mr. Francis told me. He
was easily the oldest amongst the 21 people that came
out to protest. He could easily have been my father, at
that time of the day; his mates would probably be
watching the afternoon news or sitcom re-runs on
television with their feet up on the coffee table
sipping oyibo tea oblivious of what else is
happening around them, but not Mr Francis. The dignity
of man still meant so much to him. As we chatted, my
heart went out to him; his eyes whispered so much, they
were as haunting as a dark ghost on a dark night. His
voice was gentle but I knew that they were filled with
knowledge and wisdom.
As we worked the shift inside the barricaded traffic
island, I could hear Prophet
Folayan Osekitan’s voice bellowing out to
motorists passing by: “Killed like a dog”. Osamuyia he
meant. His two young sons stood by him like able
lieutenants, each displaying their own placard and also
handing out leaflets to motorists and passers-by. The
rest of the protesters; Wale Akin, Victor Akara,
Babajide Ojo, Ishola Taiwo, Abike, Kelechi Akwiwu who
came all the way from Leicester, Bukky, Anne Mordi and
the rest stood round the picket with their posters held
high.
I went back to Mr Francis. “How long have you been
living in the UK?” I asked him next. “Very long”, he
replied, “Enough time to have seen so much injustice in
one’s given lifetime”. “In this time”, I asked next,
“Have you had much dealing with the Nigerian High
Commission?”
 |
“They are not my High Commission, they only
represent their own interests”, Mr Francis
answered. I could sense the emotions in his
voice. Though he looked frail, but you could
see that he still has so much passion for
humanity.
Suddenly it was 2 PM, the protest was over.
Not wanting to breach our agreement with the
London Metropolitan Police we decided to
call it a day. Well, not completely.
As we were about shunting over to the
Nigerian High Commission on Northumberland
Avenue to also deliver a copy of the protest
letter, I asked Mr Francis if he was coming
along but I already knew his answer long
before he gave it. |
“I am a bit tired now” he said, “I have to go and get
some rest”. Even I was tired as well, my tummy was
biting me while my feet screamed out aloud.
Would I ever see Mr. Francis again? Maybe or maybe not.
But I honour and respect men like Mr. Francis, for me
they are lone voices in the wilderness, such people
carry the burden of humanity on their shoulders. I could
see that if he could, he would do his best to ease the
pain and suffering of man.
At The Nigerian High Commission of Mr Francis’
nightmares, we explained our mission. “A Nigerian had
been killed in Spain, we have been protesting outside
the Spanish Embassy in London”, we announced to them,
“Please can you acknowledge receipt of the copy of the
said protest letter and we would move quietly on” we
told them.
By this time, our numbers had reduced considerably; we
didn’t look intimidating at all but still the High
Commission wouldn’t let us all in. “We can only allow
two people inside”, they announced to our surprise. They
asked us to wait outside; the rain had come back by this
time. As we waited, the male officer and his female
colleague came back and ushered the two of us in.
While I waited with Babajide inside the reception area
to get our letter acknowledged, the rest waited outside
under the rain. Finally with no one in sight we decided
to pop outside to see how the troop were doing.
By this time, Owoh, our firebrand co-protester had
already thrown some verbal punches at Mr Dozie Nwanna,
the Deputy High Commissioner who happened to be arriving
back at the embassy. He told Mr Nwanna what Mr Francis
told me earlier, and what every other diasporan Nigerian
must be thinking. Emotions were high as one would
expect, I was told that he screamed out at Mr Nwanna and
laid into him with his verbal staccato.
Who says that etiquette means anything to a diplomat
with full immunity? Our man the diplomat in London
lounged at Owoh and narrowly missed Anne and Bukky, our
co-protesters. Clearly courage under fire had gone
flying out the window. As tempers flared up we knew that
the show was over. We managed to obtain our copy of the
signed protest letter and were just about beating it
when the police arrived. Our High Commission had invited
the cops to arrest us. One of us was not so lucky, we
later heard that the police briefly arrested and
questioned him, but eventually let him go. Central
London was at a state of alert on this day as the police
had discovered explosives inside two cars in the Hay
market area. It wasn’t the kind of day that anybody
would wish to mess with the police, unless the person
wishes to be detained under the state terrorism act.
I congratulate Concerned Nigerians Worldwide for
the little they have achieved, for standing up to be
counted, particularly the lone ranger Angela Bruce who
stood alone before the Spanish consulate in Birmingham
and made the voice of concerned Nigerians heard very
loud. A very big Gbosa salute to the website –
www.nigeriavillagesquare.com for showing that truly
technology could be harnessed for the benefit of
mankind. Another heavy Gbosa to Philip Adekunle
aka Big K the platoon commander, I say God go
bless you well well.
Now that the protests are over and the Nigerian
government has gotten involved, perhaps the very next
and best thing to do is for those who have shown concern
for the Aikpitanhi family to dip their hands in their
pockets and show them some money love. They need it now
more than the tears and sympathies.
* * *
* *
* * * * *
 |
Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All
By Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons knows firsthand that
wealth is rooted in much more than the
stock
market. True wealth has more to do with
what's in your heart than what's in your
wallet. Using this knowledge, Simmons
became one of America's shrewdest
entrepreneurs, achieving a level of
success that most investors only dream
about. No matter how much material gain
he accumulated, he never stopped lending
a hand to those less fortunate. In
Super Rich, Simmons uses his rare
blend of spiritual savvy and
street-smart wisdom to offer a new
definition of wealth-and share timeless
principles for developing an unshakable
sense of self that can weather any
financial storm. As Simmons says, "Happy
can make you money, but money can't make
you happy." |
* * * * *
|
The New Jim Crow
Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness
By Michele Alexander
Contrary to the
rosy picture of race embodied in Barack
Obama's political success and Oprah
Winfrey's financial success, legal
scholar Alexander argues vigorously and
persuasively that [w]e have not ended
racial caste in America; we have merely
redesigned it. Jim Crow and legal racial
segregation has been replaced by mass
incarceration as a system of social
control (More African Americans are
under correctional control today... than
were enslaved in 1850). Alexander
reviews American racial history from the
colonies to the Clinton administration,
delineating its transformation into the
war on drugs. She offers an acute
analysis of the effect of this mass
incarceration upon former inmates who
will be discriminated against, legally,
for the rest of their lives, denied
employment, housing, education, and
public benefits. Most provocatively, she
reveals how both the move toward
colorblindness and affirmative action
may blur our vision of injustice: most
Americans know and don't know the truth
about mass incarceration—but her
carefully researched, deeply engaging,
and thoroughly readable book should
change that.—Publishers
Weekly |
 |
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* * * * *
* *
* * *
update 22 December 2011
|
