Apparently on Newsline (a programme on NTA – broadcast mainly in Nigeria) last night there was a report on a guy who ran into a burning building to save (successfully) a baby trapped inside.
He said he couldn’t bear the sounds of the baby crying. Was told this evening that he passed, he was that badly burned from yesterday. When I heard the news I thought we would go on a fundraising drive for him, something I’m really effective at, especially when I’m passionate about the cause. But then I heard he died.
Really sad… And let me tug at your heartstrings; he was Igbo (one of the ethnicities in Nigeria) , and the baby wasn’t. What does that tell us? At the end of the day, we are one Nigeria.
Am I exalting Igbos above other tribes? Not at all. Am I saying another person from another ethnic group wouldn’t have done that? No way!! What I’m saying is that there is first blood, before ethnicity, in all our veins. What Michael did could have been done by anyone.
Regardless of the BS peddled about, at the end of the day, we’re human first (with consciences that I pray to God are still active), Nigerian, and then whatever ethnicity we were born into. This is the reason why I feel such a sense of sadness at young people who allow themselves be used as thugs and henchmen by politicians whose families are stowed away safely in Europe, far away from the storms they brew with other people’s children.
May his soul find peace in the bosom of our Lord who sees our hearts and rewards accordingly, not according to our tweets or ‘activism’. People like Michael (that’s his name) are our real heroes; they are the ones we should have in our history books, telling our kids about.
Michael is a hero, who’s yours?
Related articles
- Rebutting Fani-Kayode’s anti-Igbo slander (vanguardngr.com)
- Nigeria to include religion, ethnicity in 2016 census (worldbulletin.net)
- Blame not ethnicity for Nigeria’s failures (thenigerianoracle.com)
Fairy Godsister's Blog 
Touching…
Thanks for sharing. We need these reminders every day. May he find eternal rest. *sigh.
May Aondo bless this country of ours and raise us more heroes.
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Amen. My thoughts are with his family at this time. It’s a reality check type incident for me though; would I have rushed into the house if I was in his shoes? Or would I have tweeted till the child stopped screaming…
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I shudder to think of what reality really would find most of us doing…
Sometimes as a great man once said, we stand in the compound of the coward to point at the ruins of a brave man’s home. Glad to know we have heroes… And in our own different ways, may we never lose the chance to do our own bit … In that way, life glows brighter.
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This life sha! We can only do our best and pray that we won’t be found wanting on the day of reckoning.
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you are right, we all need to look beyond the cover of the book and realize that we all need each other, and not just in times of great need. Thank you for posting this
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You’re welcome Gary, I’m pleased that there’s a lesson for us all in this sad story. Even in death, Michael is still teaching us… May he RIP
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What A Sad Story! May His Soul Rest In Perfect Peace! Amen!
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Amen! Say a prayer for his family too…
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A very sad but heroic story, thank you for bringing to our attention. You remind us that we are a community of believers in Christ Jesus and we should live our daily lives reflecting His unselfish love to others. To answer your question…today, I see two uncommon hero’s- one in this story and the other in you, dear sister in the Lord. Bless you!
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Zoey! You always make me smile with your comments! You know, once I heard the story I had to share, there are countless lessons to be learned from the sacrifice of one young an who could have chosen to stay safe.
May God help us attain such heights of selflessness, amen.
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ar u sure we ar 1 nigeria wen hauasa ar kilin igbo in northan wel may d soul of micheal rest in pace amen
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We are I me Nigeria my dear, people like Michael should remind us of that whenever we find ourselves losing hope..
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