- “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
Ever since a dispute arose in political circles in 2009 in the North East Borno State that led to the creation of a dangerous Islamic sect called Boko Haram and resulted in the emergence of terrorism, the killing of human beings has been more frequent than we ever imagined. In Nigeria today, human life has been so devalued to the extent that it’s no longer news that people are dying or are being killed. Tragedy is always a top priority in news judgment, but the frequency of news events, no matter how dramatic it is, reduces its impact and value.
Boko Haram has become the parent of subsequent criminal groups in Nigeria – kidnapping/abduction, banditry and unknown gunmen operating in all sections of the country.
The question directing our conversation this week is: ‘When will the senseless killings stop in Nigeria? Or How to stop killings In Nigeria. In the course of this discussion, we are going to look at the intellectual and social reasons just for academic exercise because we all know that the lack of will from political leaders is majorly responsible for the endless bloodletting in the country.
Perhaps crudely, the quickest way to end killing in Nigeria is for the killers to leave the poor and direct their target to the rich and mighty in our midst. If that happens, the killings in this country will stop abruptly. If they do that, security will sit up, and the killings will stop the next day. So long as the poor are killing the poor and the rich are in jollification with public funds, the killings will continue. Who cares about the downtrodden killing themselves, sowing seeds of discord among themselves and reducing their numbers when that is the desire of the rich for proper control?
Killings in Nigeria has become a content creation exercise not for our feelings and solutions but for social media drama and attention seeking and possibly money making.
If not, where are the human feelings of our leaders upon hearing that 614,937 Nigerians were killed in one year and over two million people abducted in one year or that about 805 people were killed in less than two months as a result of insecurity and violence? What does it matter to a President retreating in Paris, France, or Governor, Senator or Minister in Abuja hearing that around 113 people have been killed in another spate of horrific attacks in Plateau State and over 80 in Benue State or that about hundreds are being killed in Zamfara State and Uzo Uwani Local Government Area in Enugu State?
Why should they care when we are told idiomatically that the other person’s dead body is seen as a trunk of wood in the eyes of the insensitive leaders? Why should they worry when they are heavily guarded by personnel and weapons procured with the taxpayer’s money? Over 50 per cent of Police operatives and their weapons In Nigeria are channelled toward guarding the rich and their assets in this country. In other countries, police operatives are mostly found in areas with a concentration of human beings, like marketplaces, large shopping malls, schools and gardens, for the protection of human beings who flood these places, especially the ordinary people who have no means of providing security for themselves.
But In Nigeria, the reverse is the case; more security operatives and their weapons are channelled towards ensuring that the rich are protected. The colonial masters established a police force to protect them from the poor primitive Africans invading them in their exclusive Government Reservation Areas (GRAs) where they resided. But at independence, we inherited and now protect our public officers and rich men in the society the same way at the expense of the people.
In most Northern States today, virtually all rich men have relocated their families to Abuja, Lagos, and cities in the U.S., Europe and Dubai. Even former President Muhammadu Buhari who thought he could live with his people in Daura, Katsina State, despite all his special security, has moved to Kaduna and may end up in Abuja for adequate security.
His Katsina State kinsman, former Director General of NYSC, Gen Maharazu Tsiga, for trying to live with his people in Tsiga village, was abducted and taken to the bush for 56 days until a ransom was paid. He was lucky to have survived.
How can killing stop in such a distorted, unjust and wicked society like ours? What does it mean to Nigerian leaders that human rights are inherent rights belonging to every individual world over, and the right to life is universally recognized as a foundational right without which other rights cannot be implemented?
What does it mean to Nigerian leaders that the country is a signatory to various international protocols that promote the protection of human rights?
For instance, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has a right to life, liberty and security. Equally, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) Article 4, enshrines the right to life as follows, “…human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of these rights”
Does it even mean anything to Nigerian leaders that their guiding f999 federal constitution in section 33 states vividly that every Nigerian has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life unless through crime sanctioned by a court?
What does Section 14 (2b) mean to Nigerian leaders, that the welfare and security of the citizens shall be the primary purpose of government? But irrespective of all the above provisions, Nigerians continue to witness cases of gross violation of human rights. The primary purpose of government in Nigeria over time has been the sustenance of the inordinate ambition of its political operatives and their unlimited looting appetite for the commonwealth of the people.
How do you stop killing people in a society where the leaders blatantly overlook all instruments that direct them to respect human life?
This line of thought may seem anarchistic, but what is crueller than that of a leader who is living on taxpayers’ wealth and has successively refused to follow any rule or protocol that tends to protect the people? The sadistic aspect of the situation is that the root cause and fueling of most of these killings are politically motivated.
Predicting when politically motivated killings will completely stop in Nigeria is nearly impossible. This is a complex issue with deep-rooted causes, and its resolution depends on numerous factors. What are these root causes? Top among the variables causing endless killings in this country is politically motivated violence, particularly during election periods. Politicians, in their divide-and-rule method, deliberately sow the seed of discord in the society to win the election and do nothing after to cement the fractured relationship. They inject ethnic and religious sentiments to create political instability. They resurrect past conflicts and unresolved grievances to fuel violence for political gain.
They always found weak governance, ineffective law enforcement and a lack of accountability very beneficial for their selfish interest as it produces socioeconomic problems like poverty, unemployment, inequality and other social vices that lead to frustration and desperation, making individuals more susceptible to being recruited for violent activities.
Tackling the root causes of political violence requires a multifaceted approach, including strengthening democratic institutions, promoting inclusive governance, and addressing socioeconomic inequalities, ensuring accountability for past acts of violence is crucial for deterring future occurrences. Also essential is building trust between communities and law enforcement agencies for effective conflict resolution.
But what has become very glaring is that political leaders In Nigeria are not seeing the killing as a priority. The top priority now is 2027, and if shedding more blood will facilitate the realization of their ambition, why not? Empirically, it has been severally established that the more you shed blood on your way to Aso Rock, the faster you get there.
After several attempts, Buhari did not get there until his threatening declaration that ‘the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood’ and Goodluck Jonathan, who innocently declared that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian’ was shown the way out of Aso Rock.
Robust and coordinated security strategies, prioritizing intelligence gathering, rapid response, and protection of vulnerable communities can help reduce attacks on civilians, but who cares?
So it’s obvious from the foregoing that nothing gets going in this country unless and until the people or government makes extreme decisions. And where none is ready to make brutal decisions to end the bloodletting of innocent civilians because nobody cares for poor victims. Maybe the time has come for the criminals – whether as bandits, kidnappers, gunmen or terrorists to target the top who are collaterally responsible for the problems and stop killing their colleagues who are equal victims in the national malady of poor governance delivery. God help us.
