NIGERIANS WANT TO JOIN UKRAINIA ARMED FORCE TO FIGHT RUSSIA

March 11, 2022

This is “No Bullshiting,” by Harry Agina.

Folks, you must have heard the news that many Nigerians are scrambling to join Ukrainian Armed Forces. Just check that out, will you! A war is on between Russia and Ukraine. Russia is pounding Ukraine, because she has superior fire power. But, several Nigerians are scrambling to join the Ukrainian forces, not minding the huge odd against Ukraine. They still wanno join the inferior Ukrainian forces. They don’t even give a fuck about the high probability that they may die in the war, meeeeeeen!!!

Why, why, why??? That’s the common question on the lips of many critics. This volunteer-soldiers phenomenon has got to be among the most damning indictments of the current mess that we call Nigeria. Nigerians are going to any possible length to escape from being in Nigeria, or even being Nigerian. Mind you, it’s not just Nigerians who criticize this Ukrainian phenomenon. No sir, no ma’am! In fact, the angry words of an African-American critic was the inspirator of this piece, meeeeeeen!!!

Um huh, I watched a video of an African-American dude, who had already been bitter against Africans. He’s bitter that Africans sold his forebears into slavery. The story of Nigerians joining Ukrainian forces truly pisses him off. He shows it in the video by lashing out at the volunteers. Don’t ask me how joining Ukrainian forces calls for the American dude’s anger, and his talk about slavery; ’cause, I ain’t got no doggone idea, bro/sis! But, yes, the dude is really pissed of that Africans sold his forebears into slavery, which landed him in America, in the stead of being born in Africa. He’s so pissed off, that he doesn’t want to be called “African-American. “I’m Black-American,” he emphasizes. Not to worry, I’ve got a copy of the video for ya, at the end of this piece.

So, yes, the dude’s outburst kicked off a conversation on a social media platform. My friend, Mikey Nriam, was wondering, like many Nigerians, why Nigerians want to join the Ukrainian forces. Now, to me, it’s not a surprise at all. No sir, no ma’am! What surprises me is that people are surprised, and wondering why. Well, I’ll tell you why! There are two groups of Nigerians who are scrambling to join Ukrainian forces to fight Russia. One group comprises Nigerians who lived in Ukraine before the war. They are now refugees in neighboring countries, and they see themselves with three choices. They either go back home to Nigeria, or find a way to settle in another European country, or join the Ukrainian forces. I can tell you that, for many of those people, returning to Nigeria is not attractive at all; it’s a no-no! Return to Nigeria? To do what when they arrive, huh, huh, huh??? We are talking about the same fucked-up Nigeria, where people are dying of hunger and crimes in droves, every fucking day!!!

          Why would anybody want to return to the same Nigeria, from where millions are scrambling to run out, huh? Many Nigerians die on high seas in boat accidents, in effort to escape from the hell. Indeed, many of those who were in Ukraine before the war had probably entered through such deadly boat trips. They had been quite aware of the huge risk on their lives before they embarked on it. They knew that chances were 50 percent, or more, that they would drown, but they took the risk anyway. To them, anything was better than remaining in Nigeria. And now, you want them to go back to that same hellhole called Nigeria? No fucking way, meeeeeeen!!!

The second group of Nigerians who want to join the Ukrainian forces are indigents, most likely, who live in Nigeria. Again, for them, anything is better than where they are now. Some are probably wishing that they can take the deadly boat ride, too, but just ain’t got what it takes to join the trip. I hear that the volunteers crowd Ukrainian embassy to enlist in her armed forces. I repeat that, among this group, are people who see themselves to be in hell in Nigeria. They are so hopeless in the hell, that many are probably considering suicide. Some probably actually tried suicide already and failed. Suicide does happen quite regularly in Nigeria now. It has increased significantly since the inception of the current government of President Mohammadu Buhari. Now, such candidates see a better choice of going to war in Ukraine. They are in a worse warfront of hunger in Nigeria already. At least, in Ukraine, they would be eating good food as they fight that physical war.

And, now, listen to the heavenly part of the Ukrainian option. I have not gone through the Ukrainian immigration law yet, but I’m willing to bet on it. I can bet that the Nigerian volunteers who survive the war would become Ukrainian citizens, or residents, at least. Then they have finally escaped the Nigerian shit-hole hell that they had been in, with an improved life.

Now, do you still want to question the decision of those volunteering dudes? Yeah, with my repetitions, I know that I’m beginning to sound like a broken vinyl record plate. But, if you still do question their decison, don’t forget my key issue here. Imagine that the volunteers in Nigeria (at least some) had been almost at the point of suicide before the Ukrainian opportunity showed up. Some probably had not had a decent meal in one week or more. Do you think that such persons give a fuck about dying in a war? I don’t think so. Not when they remember that they would actually be feeding well as they fight. If bullets finally kill them, then so be it; thank God that it would be quick. It’s better than hunger killing them slowly in Nigeria…got it, meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen?!!!

All this may sound insane to you if you’re not wearing the shoes of such people. You ain’t got no fucking idea where and how the shoes are pinching. Your situation may be bad, too, but you ain’t got no fucking idea how much better you are; so, you may easily judge them. Yes, the war option makes a lot of sense to a bunch of Nigerians who are completely hopeless now in Buhari’s Nigeria. They may soon die of hunger in Nigeria anyway. So, they might as well risk dying in Ukraine as their soldier. If they do not die, it becomes a great winning gamble for them. They become Ukrainian citizens. And, thenceforth, they would live a much better life than the hell that they are currently living in Nigeria. And, just as much as we know that some would die, you can also be sure that some, definitely, would survive the war. They would remain Ukrainian soldiers, if they want.

I do believe that no Nigerian who is not in the current hell called Nigeria, and not stranded in Europe, is volunteering for Ukrainian forces. Are they? I don’t think so. But, if they do, maybe they want to acquire any other citizenship than Nigerian. Before you blame them, you’d do well to ask them why. Maybe their story would soften your judgement.

As for the disgruntled “Black American” dude in the video that you’re about to watch, I know his type very well. Um huh, his type was one of the couple of physical fights that I ever had in the USA as a young college student. It was 1978, in California. Those days, many blacks were truly still bitter about being sold out as slaves by their “so-called African brothers.” And there I was, in San Francisco, trying to convince a black dude that he’s African. Little did I know that he was in that ugly mode of “I was betrayed by Africans.” He completely lost his cool, furious. Before I quite comprehended his anger, there came a fist flying into my face in a furious punch. “Who the fuck you calling “African, motherfucker?!” he yelled at me after his punch.

          Well, let’s just say that I wasn’t one to take such a punch lying down. So, a major fight did ensue, you can be sure of that! Mind you, as years went by, I had more serious similar debates in Texas, on African-American identity. Their rejection of Africa was often fierce then, but I managed to avoid more physical fights. It took consistent, sustained efforts of some black social activists, such as Reverend (Senator) Jesse Jackson, and DeLoyd Parker of Texas, to reduce the mass Africa-rejection by African-Americans. That’s story for another day. A great number were really, truly angry that their so-called African brothers sold them out into slavery. They eventually, gradually, simmered down their rage and rejection. But, of course, there still are, and may always be, extremists who refuse to let go the sad history, such as the dude in the following video. And, altogether, I ain’t bullshiting ya, meeeeeeen!!!

Here’s the video: