On Friday, May 7 2010, I wrote an article, Another One Down, Who’s Next?, you may want to look at it
ANOTHER ONE DOWN... WHO'S NEXT?
Today, 11 months and 19 days after I published the story of Miss Grace Adie Ushang, who was gruesomely murdered in Borno state, I am being forced to write along the same line because we have once again suffered the price of lawlessness, disorderliness and disregard for human lives.
This is also coming after the November 28, 2008 approximately 2 years 5months short 2 days, brutal killing of 3 youth corp members in Plateau state. Leke Akande, 23; Tola Odusola, 20; and Ibukun Oluwatosin Akinjogbin, 23 were slaughtered right in front of family members. I don’t intend to bring back sad memories but it has become necessary to emphasise the extent to which our fragile unity has been threatened.
The post elections crisis recorded around the Northern part of this country has been met with so many condemnations and assertions. You obviously would have expected that; this is how it has always worked in Nigeria. Irrespective of what has being said, the bitter truths is somewhere, parents have lost their children, someone has lost a friend, and a lot of relationship severed depending on what who was murdered is to whoever is counting the loss.
For me, a nation’s pride has been dragged in the mud and the sun forcibly forced to set for young minds that have undergone the rigours of getting educated within the Nigerian terrain hoping to start a meaningful lives. Sadly, this is not to be; no thanks to the blood thirsty vampires let loose from hell.
My approach to this incident may be radically different from what has been recorded in the last one week following the gruesome murders of youth corpers in the north. This is because, I have come to realise that while mourning, it is always important to take out time critically understand the causes of such killings and join voices in finding a last solution to the problems. Hard as it may not to join the seemingly popular call for restructuring of the NYSC scheme or total abolishment, I sincerely share the pains of the crusaders of this opinions and cannot but salute the resoluteness with which these calls have been made.
I however have these to ask, is this the first time such calls have been made? To what extent do we actually classify human life? Besides lip service paid by the government, has there been any notable effort made to really address this situation.
I will go ahead to take these questions one at a time hoping to help charter a holistic demand towards finding a lasting solution to this killings. I sincerely appeal for a careful appraisal of my position considering the nature of item of discourse.
Nigerians have made calls that NYSC be scrapped having had the founding essence betrayed. I wish to soberly submit standing by the side of reality that while people’s dream have been abruptly dashed in the line of service, some have made a meaningful life out of this scheme. Weighed on a scale, the pain of losing a dear one may just represent the joy of seeing a loved one excel inside out. That might sound wrong depending on what angle it is viewed from but it is a fact that can’t be disputed that while some count blessings, some would count gains within the same scheme. That this scheme’s essence had been defeated is in no doubt but asking for total scrapping seems to me trying to kill a fly with a C4.
To what extent do we classify human lives as a nation? Is the life of a pauper worth less that of a rich man? What is the worth of the life of a police man? Or to make a general case, who really does not deserve a life, whether basic or rosy?
We all seem to have narrowed our cries to the death of youth corp members which somehow presupposes that their lives are worth more than those of others that were also killed. It is true that man is likely to push an argument from an angle he is most affected and that also is understandable but can we really afford to be disunited in pushing for a better and secured society? I would argue in the negative.
Every Nigerian, irrespective of education background, religion, ethnic group and socio-political status deserves to enjoy the right to life. Nothing short of this should be our demand from the government whose it is the responsibility to make this happen.
What has been the role of the government is securing the lives and properties of Nigerian citizens? We can’t truly make a correct judgement if we miss the details of how and where these heinous crimes were committed. One of the youth corp members last called to inform that they were being surrounded in a police station where they have gone to seek refuge. That was the last heard of him!
Now we can begin to probe into some other eye opening faults the government has tried to package as something simple. Were there no officers in the station, not even one? If none, where did they all go to? If there were, at least one, where is he now? Was he also murdered? What role did the officer(s) play? Are we so sure they also did not partake in the killing or ran for their lives leaving harmless and innocent civilians in the hands of murderers? Whichever picture you choose to paint, one thing is obvious; our police force is so weak, understaffed and incapacitated. This is just one of the very many implications. We have heard countless cases of policemen joining forces with armed robbers or giving arms to them.
Unfortunately, those officers who have a semblance of good training would have been dispatched to the houses and offices of rich men and politician, some as escorts to expatriates and the rest probably mounting illegal road blocks around looking for what to take home to support the meagre salary paid by the government. Do we blame an officer for absconding knowing that no insurance package covers his family in the event of his death while in service?
The problems are numerous; they keep pinching us from different angles overtime. The best we have received as a reaction from the government is lip service. Did we not get promises after the Suleja bomb blast where youth corp members were wounded and others killed? We got promises after the Jos mayhem, after the Abuja bombing, after the military market blast also in Abuja. We were assured we had seen the end of Boko Haram. Was there not a promise that there would be adequate security and that corp members should take part in the exercise? Who has been brought to book for the bombings, I am not talking about stage managed culprits, true arrest; what happened to the security promised?
The greatest impetus that has continuously aided this ugly trend to continue is the inability of the government to bring any of the perpetrators and their sponsors to book. Today, arsonists, murders, thieves, and drug pushers walk freely on our streets while petty criminals are victims of government ‘flash in the pan’ approach to dealing with crime. Those big men criminals who were managed to be made to face the wrath of the law were either celebrated as they returned from prison or allocated hospital beds in lieu of jail rooms.
I have written this not necessarily to represent an overall views of what the problems are or pose as the seer of a full packaged solution, no, I only intend to probe your inner thoughts and have us all talking about the problems. We can’t always afford to wait for events and then meet them with spontaneous reactions and demands.
It tells a tale of a country that has refused to stand up to her problems and face it squarely, a tale of a leadership that takes extra courage to do the right things ‘once in a while’, a tale of a nation where defaulters end up being heroes.
I sincerely mourn with the families of the deceased, corpers and non corpers, with the nation as a whole and pray that the spirits of these innocent people continue to haunt their killers until they are brought to book.
Where are the thinking caps? Let’s get back to the drawing board.
God Bless Nigeria.
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