The Key Hotspots and the Devil’s Stools of Nigeria’s 2nd Ember Month

 

By Abioye Tosin Lawrence | Oriontimes Online Newspaper | October 20, 2025

From the restless streets of Abuja to the blood-dusted farmlands of Benue and Zamfara, Nigeria sits once again on the edge of its own contradictions. The second ember month burns with familiar heat protest calls, economic hunger, and whispers of vengeance rising like smoke over a weary nation.

October has never been an ordinary month in Nigeria. It is the ember that glows before the fire, a time when anger ripens, when hunger meets memory, and when ghosts of past betrayals stir restlessly beneath the nation’s fragile peace. As the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow movement gathers momentum and security forces spread their nets across anxious cities, the map of the federation begins to resemble a constellation of unease. From the north-west’s bandit zones to the south-east’s secessionist shadows, and across the middle belt’s silent graves, the Devil seems to have found new stools to sit upon.

The second ember month, often romanticized by traders and preachers alike, has always carried a certain omen. It’s the month when tempers flare, when road accidents rise, and when unseen hands seem to tug at the nation’s fragile seams. Yet, beyond superstition, October also stands as a mirror — a reminder of how easily hope can curdle into despair when leadership, justice, and compassion are stretched thin.

This October is no exception. The capital, Abuja, simmers under tight security as protesters prepare to march for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. In the northwest, gunmen’s ambushes continue to claim lives; in the middle belt, farmer-herder conflicts dig deeper wounds into already scarred communities. In the southeast, separatist rhetoric and state crackdowns replay the same tragic dialogue of violence and vengeance. The Nigerian story, it seems, is being rewritten in the language of unrest.

But amid these flames of fear, one cannot ignore the embers of endurance. Nigerians, in all their diversity, continue to wake, work, and pray for peace, often finding laughter in places sorrow should have silenced. Civil groups, young professionals, and faith leaders quietly build bridges where politics builds walls. These are the unreported victories, the stubborn acts of citizenship that remind us the Devil may sit, but he does not rule.

A sensible Nigerian knows that the grief of October 20 still breathes beneath our streets. The #EndSARS movement was not only about police reform,  it was about a generation demanding dignity. Yet, five years later, its echoes remind us that the work of rebuilding has only just begun. Now is the time to retrace our steps and look beyond party lines, ethnicity, and religion. If we truly desire a greater nation, we must protect our infrastructure, our pride, and the symbols that make us boast of being Nigerian.

Nigeria is a complex country, where even in seasons of casting down, some still find lifting. But when tragedy strikes, it often erases the good that has quietly grown. Still, we must remain diplomatic, not divisive; reflective, not resentful. The younger generation must use its energy not to trade blame, but to define a better system, one built on justice, empathy, and a shared responsibility for the nation we all call home.

As the 2nd ember month burns toward its close, may Nigeria rise, not in rage, but in resolve.