Emergency In an Ambulance!

This is one word I hate to hear. It unsettles my mind, makes my heart palpitate and nerves trembles.

In emergency mistakes, wrong decisions and wrong applications most often happen.

Helter-skelter, “kitikiti”! Panting as one runs, thinking many things at a time, as time flies.

In emergency! Time is never fast. It slows, it crawls, like a snail in its pace, it ticks. Nothing matters , traffic light as good as it is, comes across as distractions.

Delays are bad omen, giving one the feelings of jumping off the skin to get things done quickly.

In emergency anything that seems to hold back the process irritates no matter how reasonable .

In emergency, protocols are set aside, due process may not be followed, strictness to rules and regulations may not be the best, concessions and preferences are considered oftentimes as rules and regulations, especially in life and death matters.

The blast of the sirens, the honking of horns! The ambulance zooms, speeding and racing, for a life to be saved.

The temperature is raising, the heart beat slows, the pulse gradually getting weaker, running and speeding to get to the hospital, like a magic, as if one is sworn at ,from nowhere the traffic built, the road blocked, chaos, confusion as motorists struggled to shunt their ways off the gridlock.

Standing at a spot, trying to move and maneuver, the sirens and the honking making no difference, the ambulance gets stuck, leaving that life laying supine inside, at the mercy of God.

Nothing works at this time, no magic, however shrieking the blast of the sirens and the honking of the horn, until the road is cleared, the ambulance and the fast dying soul inside remain at the spot.

Emergency! Reasoning gone, orderliness nowhere to be seen, nothing matters to them ,the motorists tried to shunt their way out, no matter who gets hurt.

The dying soul inside the ambulance makes no sense to the motorists, non cares, non thinks how to save this soul, the blasting of the sirens makes no sense, upper most to them is to make a way and move off the gridlock.

Who clears this mess? Who takes the task of maintaining order? Directing and controlling the traffic, bringing sanity and restoring seemless flow of traffic? Who?

The ambulance carrying this sick soul is still there for hours, no help, no solution, no control and no head way. It stuck, grounded ,risking life that laid helplessly with no help in view.

Where are the “traffic warders”? Where are the “Road Safety Marshalls”? Where are the “VIO”? They are there, looking and watching.

They are there, confused and frustrated. They are there, doing everything but controlling the traffic, chatting away, doing nothing to clear the build up.

The soul is dying, it is going, gradually losing pulse as strength by minute goes off him.

The shout , the abuse, the mud slings, the rain of abuse on the “traffic warders” by motorists saves nothing, there is confusion and the mind works in a disordered way, looking for help where help could not be found.

Who bells the cat? Who saves the day? Who steps in to clear the mess? A soul is dying, it is an emergency! Who?

Isn’t Nigeria in an ambulance, heading toward the hospital? Stuck by insecurity, blocked by kidnapping, grounded by banditry, while the “traffic warders” dazed and panel beaten by corruption, watch helplessly.

The whole place in chaotic mood. The truth is, nothing changes until someone decides to change things and do things differently.

Nothing moves, and as long as the gridlock is still there and the “Road Marshalls” held down by the mischievous, miscreants and monstrous elements of corruption, nepotism, tribalism, religious sensationalism the ambulance would continue to blast and the chances of the sick soul inside the ambulance ,to get attention by seconds and minutes will be receeding into the shoel of death.

We are in an emergency Ambulance. The soul of Nigeria is right in there, breathing fast, gasping and fast losing breath.

The noise we make, the shout at the relevant authorities, the abuse and rain of imprecative words on those whose jobs are to ensure safety and free flow of traffic wouldn’t offer any remedy.

Nigeria in an emergency ambulance is jinxed, boxed and pinned to die a miserable death.

Nothing good will ever come from these crop of “road safety personnel”. By the minutes, the road gets more impassable and the life in Nigeria laying helplessly in the ambulance filters away.

Who bells the cat? Who clears the blocked road? Who will bring back free flow of traffic? Time ticks, the red light in the Ambulance shows, it blinks, like a flickering light, it will soon stop and the alarm for her heart beat and pulse moving towards extinction will be heard.

Who will help us from this gridlock? Who will save Nigeria from this imminent death toll?

Life is involved, rhetorics isn’t the preferred here, “politics of entitlement and It is our time”, a poison and toxic to his life now.

Who is this astute road Marshall? With the knack of getting clustered and blocked road eased off within minutes ? In him we hope to get this ailing nation inside a stucked ambulance healed and well.

Be obident and Yusuful in selecting this great road Marshalls for a life to be saved.

 

Jarlath Opara

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