Forged In Fire

A few nights ago I had a dream, it's similar to several dreams I have had in the past. Usually set in a location I left about 20 years ago, the vicinity I grew up in as a child. Sometimes I wonder why I have such dreams, why certain things stay etched in my memories. While these dreams are today's reality they seem to be some twisted lines connecting my past to my present. They are figments of my life’s journey as it continues to unravel. Do not worry yet, I will share with you some of the content of my dreams. But there is a backstory to all of these.

Almost 4 decades ago a couple welcomed a bouncing baby boy, in the commercial city of Kano in northern Nigeria. He was their second child but their first male child, full of dreams and hope they raised their family with love and cheer. That child was my humble self, yes I had that loving upbringing within my home, but our stories as humans do no always comprise of the atmosphere within our homes alone, our external environment vehemently intrudes into our lives and in ways more than we think shapes whom we become. While we might have a lot of control within our homes we might not have as much outside our homes.

It was barely my 6th birthday when I witnessed the first horror that is forever etched in my memory, It was the year 1991, we woke up in the middle of the night to the news of rioting and killings in the ancient city of Kano. We did not know where the rioters were coming from nor the direction they were headed so the men decided its best to stay put and assume a defensive posture. I remember vividly our neighbor brandishing his sword and some machetes in the midst. The goal was simple, if they come for us, we would go down fighting. As God would have it, the day broke and we picked a few belongings and jetted out. No car, no other means of transportation, just escaping on foot to the nearest military formation. At this time our family had grown to 6, with four kids. I remember being dragged by my parents trying to hold all of us while clutching a few belongings as we made to escape the rioters. On our route, we decided to use a shortcut alongside other families like ours trying to escape, only to be accosted by the rioters in front, we made a U-turn and headed for a different route even more dangerous than the first. If we had been accosted in the second route, there would have been very little chance of escape. But God had other plans, we did escape and spent some time in the army barracks till the rioting stopped through military intervention and peace restored before we returned home.

This is just one of many tragic tales of kids like me growing up in Nigeria’s troubled North in the late ’80s, the 90’s and even into the early 2000s. I dare say escaped and cheated death on multiple occasions. I remember at some point as a teenager I had a little knife with me, my goal, if they come for me, I will not go down without a fight. I have been forged in fire. While this is in no way represents my entire story or the conditions in Northern Nigeria 100% of the time, it’s part of our story.

Want to know what my dreams are about, parts of it are about the fear and uncertainty that characterized life if you lived in certain areas of the city I grew up in, the fact that you may be harmed for no fault of yours and having to live in fear of your life even as a kid. It’s a scar I still carry and many like me still carry to date. But it's also a clear lesson in life as in business that no matter the hand we have been dealt we can still survive, we can still thrive, we can be resilient, we can still dream and conquer the world. The beginning of our stories might turn out to be a stark contrast to what our future eventually turns out to be. This has been the eternal tale of mankind, from grass to grace. Our stories prepare us for the future ahead of us. While the process in some cases might not be as palatable, we cannot jettison it.

While the rioting in northern Nigeria has abated considerably today, but we now have the issues of criminality, kidnappings, and terrorism crying for solutions as well. It’s a fight that must be worn collectively by citizens and the government.

Every oneF of us has a story, this is just a tiny bit of my story, forged in fire. What’s yours? Looking to read from you in the comment section below.