In Nigeria Death Is Cheap

Are you tired of life wherever you are and need to think of how or where to die? Don’t worry; just be happy that the solution is at hand. Just come to Nigeria where death is on the prowl. But in case you are aspirant for long life please be warned that you may not be lucky for too long, because in Nigeria death has been the closest partner. It has been like that since the return of democracy in 1999. We heralded the return of democracy believing that the army was our problem. But we have seen clearly now, that Nigeria as a nation never really thought of being a country. Perhaps our quest for initial unity was only to help us gain independence from our colonial lords.

To deny the fact that there has always been that incurable acrimony among the regional blocs in the country would be tantamount to self-deceit.and foolery. The most glaring of such drift has been the conflict of religion between the north and south that has continually taken the wind off the nation’s sail. Until we begin to tell ourselves the gospel truth that our problem as a nation stems from our religious viewpoints and perceptions, we will keep on dwindling and crawling in circles. But let our situation be laid bare for us to  be able to honestly assess our dear country. A German-Mozambican musician plays a song I always like to sing. In that particular track he says, ‘The earth is free but man no free again…’. And that is the gospel truth.

Our country is free but Nigerians are not free again. Violence has taken over.. To assess our situation we need to assess both the quality and sincerity of our leadership since the return of democracy.. Have we ever had a leadership that considers the safety and welfare of Nigerians since then? The sincereanswer to such a simple but potent question is NO. Our government strives to build gigantic edifices that people would readily see and applaud, commend and perhaps glorify,not what keeps the citizens alive and hopeful. Nigeria was abinitio accepted as a secular country but wittingly or unwittingly the nation  slipped through to becoming a ‘one religion supreme’ country and one that constantly arrogatesthe power to lead the country ‘whether or wadant’, according Chief Zebrudaya. The same way they arrogate the monopoly of killing to themselves.

How can a region that shares the oath of allegiance be that callous with other regions in the same country? Perhaps it would amount to crass insincerity for anyone to conclude thatour present leadership has not done anything to tame the tide in the country, but can be said that he has not done the needful. He is simply human and no human is endowed with the supreme wisdom, especially in solving human needs. We have laws in Nigeria for instance, but they are laws that are rarely implemented or applied to meet our requirements. Thislack of implementation emanates from the lack of will power from our leadership to do the right thing as and when due. Nigeria is a country where anyone is free to act as lord for himself without much hindrance. Boko Haram, for instance,was declared a terrorist group by both the international group and Nigeria many years ago but the sect is still prepared to operate as a religious body that must be protected. The new entrants, the bandits group, have over time appeared to be more invincible than the Boko Haram. 

The group doubles in killing and kidnapping for ransom. The saddest chapter of our woes is that since the emergent of the group no one is known to have been prosecuted. Frequently they have taken swoop on villages where they kill, maim and abduct several Nigerians including Christian clerics. And several Christian leaders are known to have been abducted and killed in the process. What a Sodomy are we exposed to? To make matters worse, our leaders at all levels are pretending as if nothing happens. Not long ago bandits have extended their aggression and quest of making money to a costly area. They took the game to the rail road by bombing the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, killed and abducted several Nigerians. That is why the issue should concern everybody that affects one part of the country affects all. This, of course, was not the first time such ungodly and ignoble act was exhibited in the country.

Not long ago they initiated the act where Kaduna State senator, Shehu Sani. was almost cut in the train attack. I think that was the period the transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi  talked about in what colleague in this business, Fortune Archibong, described as ‘Infantile Proposal. Amaechi’s  N3Billion drone proposal was not however out of place. But why the request was delayed by Mr President until the worse came is what President, Muhammadu Buhari still owes the country some explanations. While that is yet to come Mr President hasbeen variously and roundly accused of complacency in the act which he is yet to either own up or deny the accusation. Those who make the accusation base their fact on the endemic notethat all the bandits so far arrested are from the same tribe. It can therefore be concluded that the President is quiet about these acts because he doesn’t want to offend his tribe. This isthe general hypothesis that Nigerians are trumping.

The harsh truth therefore is that as the saying goes, lighting never strikes in same place twice, it can also be concluded thatthe Fulanis do not embark on the killing mission for nothing. Like that ancient writer, Mark Twain, wrote, Adam did not eatthe apple lust for eating sake, there was something he hoped to derive from there. The Fulanis who have turned themselves into bandits are not just doing that just for nothing sake. There is something they hope to derive from so doing which the President may be innocent of That is why our leaders at all levels ought to do everything humanly possible to halt the Fulani aggression and save the President’s name from destruction. As has been established, Nigeria’s farm yields have been dwindling because bandits have taken their offensives to the farms.

We may soon become an agro-rich country that is begging for food to survive. Above all, the President must be made to know that in Nigeria death is the cheapest luck any Nigeria can “jamb” anytime, anywhere. Death lurks around as the closest partner, religion and tribe do not matter and they carrythe same motiom into the forthcoming election. We may be compelled to take a stand that is difficult to recall the steps we have taken. It is not too late to try. May God help Nigeria.