25/01/2018
Life as a slave
Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Talbot County, Maryland. The plantation was between Hillsboro[13] and Cordova; his birthplace was likely his grandmother's cabin[a] east of Tappers Corner, (38.8845ยฐN 75.958ยฐW) and west of Tuckahoe Creek.[14][15] The exact date of his birth is unknown, and he later chose to celebrate his birthday on February 14.[4] In his first autobiography, Douglass stated: "I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it."[13][16]
Douglass was of mixed race, which likely included Native American on his mother's side, as well as African and European.[17]He was given his name by his mother, Harriet Bailey. After escaping to the North years later, he took the surname Douglass, having already dropped his two middle names. He wrote of his earliest times with his mother:
The opinion was ... whispered that my master was my father; but of the correctness of this opinion I know nothing.... My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant.... It [was] common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age. โฆ I do not recollect ever seeing my mother by the light of day. ... She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone.[18]
After this early separation from his mother, young Frederick lived with his maternal grandmother, Betty Bailey. At the age of six, he was separated from his grandmother and moved to the Wye House plantation, where Aaron Anthony worked as overseer.[19] Douglass's mother died when he was about ten. After Anthony died, Douglass was given to Lucretia Auld, wife of Thomas Auld, who sent him to serve Thomas' brother Hugh Auld in Baltimore.
When Douglass was about twelve, Hugh Auld's wife Sophia started teaching him the alphabet. Douglass described her as a kind and tender-hearted woman, who treated him "as she supposed one human being ought to treat another". Hugh Auld disapproved of the tutoring, feeling that literacy would encourage slaves to desire freedom; Douglass later referred to this as the "first decidedly antislavery lecture" he had ever heard.[21]Under her husband's influence, Sophia came to believe that education and slavery were incompatible and one day snatched a newspaper away from Douglass.
Excerpt from www.wikipedia.org
These exact piece was taken from the Wikipedia website but the story of this young man as I said 2 days ago reminds me of my fellow Nigerians & I.
Frederick could not determine the family he was born into, in fact till his death he could not say the exact date he was born but he chose February 14. It was recounted that his mother was a slave and his father could have been his mother's master but he did not really know the truth surrounding his birth.
He never really got to see his mother because before he woke up every morning she had left his side to work but would lie beside him every night. He grew up with his maternal grandmother before he was taken to slavery.
By age 10 or 11, he had to go to live with Hugh & Sophia Auld who were related to his master in another town.
There the lady of the house was very nice to him as she had never really seen how a slave was treated. She taught Frederick how to read, until one day her husband came back and saw her teaching Frederick how to read, then he ordered Sophia, his wife into the room, where Frederick eavesdropped and heard his master telling his wife never to teach Frederick how to read again, stating that education makes slaves unmanageable, and that the whites maintain power over the black slaves by keeping them uneducated. It was at this time that Frederick realized that there was something powerful about learning how to read. In our own case knowing our rights and standing up for our rights. It was at that point that Frederick realized that; โPower concedes nothing without a demand, it never did and it will never!โ.
That was the beginning of Frederick's search for Freedom, he became rebellious and was determined to escape. The Auld realized this and was sent to a โslave-breakerโ called Edward Covey.
Covey was so brutal to Frederick, he whipped him severally for 6 months that every thought of escaping left Frederick Douglass. On a particular day, Frederick decides to fight back against Coveyโs brutal beatings and wrestles Covey to a standstill and that was the end of such brutality from Covey. ( We need to learn from this).
Frederick gained respect from Covey because Frederick fought him and it could never be said that the almighty, renowned slave-breaker who everyone sent stubborn slaves to, was beaten by a slave.
Covey decides to release Frederick after 6 months and sends him off to William Freeland as a slave. Freeland was relatively kinder and Frederick then starts teaching other slaves how to read and they planned their escape before his plan was revealed to his master and he was imprisoned.
Stopping the story here:
Nigerians how long have we suffered brutally in the hands of our masters/leaders whose constitutional duty is to protect us from killings, kidnappings, systems failure( no quality education, strikes in schools while the masters/leaders children are abroad studying on our account, failed medical facilities while they fly out even to treat an ear infection and our young doctors are dying in Kogi, Ebonyi and the other lassa fever and monkey pox locations) when will we rise and wrestle that master/leader and tell him enough is enough that we also have a right to quality education, good health care, security of our farms, our lands, our livestock, our cattle.
Nigeria belongs to all of us and not some of us. If we do not arise and say no to the injustice done to one, it could be our turn tomorrow.
This isnโt about tribe or religion, this is about humanity. The colour of the blood that runs through a Fulani manโs veins is not different from the colour of that of the bini man's veins .
So why do we allow these masters/leaders to show us what divides us instead of us focusing on how united and closely knitted we are. Letโs stop these nepotism, tribalism and show oneness in diversity. Letโs show empathy and fairness to all.
The secret I have discovered is that our masters/leaders do not want us to know the many things that bind us, instead they show us how different we are. Those that surround them are not allowing them to see the evil they are doing to this great nation nor the cry of the masses. This is self destroying.
I want a better Nigeria for our children and I donโt care where a man of character, competence, credibility and the fear of God comes from. We all should seek this kind of man too. There is nothing like political light weights. All those who people call heavy weights were one time feather weights.
Let us stop playing politics like the game of draughts. Let the best man rule and take us out of this dungeon.
This is my prayer.
Please say amen with me.
A concerned Nigerian.
Ikalone Udo
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