Award winning photographer TY Bello who took these photos said "We
were going to be praying against violence in Nigeria. I was itching to
pray with everything but something kept pressing to bring my camera so I
just followed the nudge.
The room was filled with women as diverse as we come, from known
celebrities like Funke Akindele and Stella Damasus
to students, market women, corporate giants and clergy women from
different denominations.
What set this prayer meeting apart was this, before the prayers were
made, a woman would mount the podium and narrate her PERSONAL story in
the violence. A woman from Jos for instance, came up and graphically
narrated how her community was burnt down with pregnant women and
children slaughtered in the process.
As she spoke, what started as one
woman wailing uncontrollably in the back became a wave that spread
across the room and Everyone (including Funke Akindele, Ufuoma Ejenobor, Tara Durotoye, Nike Adeyemi, Mary
Alibaba among others) began to cry and pour their hearts to God
for the blood that was being shed across our nation.
There really wasn't
a place to hide our emotions this wasn't the news or a blog post. This
was OUR sister.., standing before you in flesh and blood .. Uttering
truth we had mastered the art of turning a blind eye to.There were no
blind eyes in the room. There wasn't one dry eye either. Reality came
and stared us right in the face."
See more photos below
