This post was supposed to come a little earlier than this. In fact it was supposed to be written either on the first of January or a few days later. But I purposely decided to wait a little longer to see if any of y'all will eventually get to do the right thing. But this was to no avail as there was constant neglect and abandonment of the saviour because of a temporary flurry of enjoyment.
Think about this, that you were there for a bunch of people whom you considered friends /allies for 360 days in a year, and just in the space of ten days when the accolades and awards are about to be handed out to the best supporters of the year, they all deserted and abandoned you. Reeling out pleasantries and encomiums on themselves and other things that had no bearing on their survival, completely ignoring you for the whole time as if you never existed in their lives.
That's what most Nigerians did to my very good friend and confidante, GARRI (cassava flakes). I have watched with a keen and raking eye to see if any of y'all will give garri its flowers, whether any of y'all will sing its praises, whether any of y'all with spread the gospel of its goodness. But no, what y'all did was pretend like burger was your everyday thing, as if shawarma made itself available at every corner of the street, and as if chicken was your daily bread.
Garri was relegated to the position of a saviour whom the saved are too ashamed of to own up to its selfless work. Garri who was humble enough not to follow others and speed up on the inflation highway. It stayed grounded and available, never needing advert to be seen. Anytime anyone called upon him, he was available, never complaining no matter what.
When the day was hot and exhausting and family and friends seemed to be busy and unavailable, garri came to the rescue making sure that the scathing sun does not harm you by day.
When the night was cold and your intestines twist in pain of deprivation, garri was there to comfort you and provide succour so that the chilling moon does not harm you by night and you survive to see another day.
When you had soup for compliment, like gold, garri went through the soul skinning heat of boiling water to emerge valiantly in balls. It then takes the courageous steps of diving deep into the unknown terrain of the stomach to lay bricks on bricks and form a formidable structure, protecting the walls of the stomach from biting hunger attacks. A heroic feet.
When you had no soup, it took a step back before delving into the chilling sphere of cold water. It whirrs in circles of confidence even when it's not confident in your abilities. And just like a quack contractor, you pour it down the tunnel of your throat through to the belly cave. But then it does not complain and goes about setting up a rigid foundation where the fragile pieces of intestines can rest peacefully as you go about chasing the unknown.
Garri has been there for many of us. It has been there in the cold and the heat, it's been there when we had everything and when we had nothing. It's been there for the rich and the poor. It's even had to make friends and form a rapport with things they normally wouldn't have engaged with like milk, sugar, salt and groundnut. They've even had to swell up and increase in quantity for the less privileged.
Even in all of this, we still abandoned it when it was time to pay its tributes, we left it in a state of comatose as we went around toasting to the trivial and ephemeral festivities. But the frenzy is over and many of us are about to go back to our first love with our toxic love. But I'm here to advocate for Justice for GARRI!
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