Victor Ehikhamenor is a visual artist, photographer and writer. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, AGNI, and Premium Times. He is the author of the non-fiction book on Nigeria, "Excuse Me!" and is a resident of Nigeria and the U.S. Twitter: @victorsozaboy
(CNN) -- The corpse of another man's mother always looks like firewood from afar, so says an African proverb. Until recently, terrorism, war and the accompanying human carnage in far-away countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and many other troubled countries meant just more news of the crazy world out there. Not because of my lack of empathy, but distance can be a ready-made palliative for pain.
Now, that distant and macabre dance of death that once seemed so far away on TV has come upon my country, Nigeria, with a big bang.
Victor Ehikhamenor
Suicide bombing, towns and villages getting blown up, allegations of extra-judicial killings by the police and the military, kidnappings, terrorist attacks on government establishments -- total confusion and a lack of solutions to the violence is no longer just news, but a terrifying daily reality show.
In the current wave of violence, especially in the northern and middle belt of the country, which has culminated in President Goodluck Jonathan declaring a state of emergency in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, one is at a loss as to where the country is headed in its near future.
