Happy birthday Canada

Happy birthday Canada!!

I stood in church on Sunday as we sang the Canadian national anthem in honor of Canada's birthday.

The line "Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee" brought tears to my eyes. Canada is a beautiful country I have grown to love but I do remember Nigeria a lot. Who is standing on guard for her? Could Nigeria have chased most of her own out to the streets? Do all these kids on the street really love it outside the home? Some of them have denied their passports, they've flushed it. They said they would rather stay on the street all their lives and would never teach their children their Nigerian language and culture.

As we celebrate this beautiful country today, I have a dream... where all street kids would come back to a Nigeria we can be proud of, live in unity and peace like our heroes past imagined.

That day will come, till then, peace in the world.

Jumoke Odepe
Toronto, 2015