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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Okija shrine and internal security
THIS is the time that as a nation, we are desperate for international trust, cooperation and participation. It is a time we are most hopeful that other nations will willingly come into our land to help out as we search for ways out of our socio-economic and political decadence.
It is a time that the world is strongly focused on the Nigerian man and is wondering if he is a responsible gentleman who deserves a voice and strong recognition in international affairs. But the news over the past couple of weeks, informing the entire world, that over eighty corpses have been found at particular shrines in Ihiala Local government area of Anambra state, has come as a bad omen. It has come in very strong terms suggesting to the outside world that ours is still very much of a brutish society and cannot be trusted.
The news has shocked the whole world, much as it was heartache to many Nigerians at home and abroad. That in the 21st century, human beings are being slaughtered in their hundreds as sacrifice at particular shrines in Igboland is not only a monumental national disgrace but highly scandalous. Incidence of senseless killings in Nigeria in the hands of political hoodlums, armed robbers and religious fanatics is common knowledge in Europe and America. This knowledge has forced a duty on many foreign governments and their representatives to advice their citizens to keep off Nigeria as an unsafe place for holiday or business prospecting. With incidents such as that of Okija shrine fatality, it is worrying that Nigeria is surely set as a very far distant place to visit. The implication of this, in terms of loss of business opportunities and foreign capital, is monumental. In addition to the growing apprehension; pain and agony spreading round the country over the sad news, there is no doubt that the Okija episode is a great tragedy of our time.
Safety is a paramount prerequisite of a decent society. Thus keeping watch over human lives and properties is a universal and prime essence of all progressive human governments across the world. That duty lies in the heart of the social contract that establishes peaceful and stable human communities, where lives are meant to be valued, respected and protected. Nigeria, purporting to be a modernised political entity with commonly accepted civil ethics, consequently pledges to protect lives and properties of her people and visitors on her land. Speeches of past and present leaders are not complete without the reiteration of this pledge. Yet, today's shameful reality betrays our leaders' affirmation. The loss of lives, by way of ritual killings and nefarious activities at Okija shrines, question the quality of our governments' commitment to safety and protection of lives. It challenges those vested with the responsibility of governance to defend their perception and the understanding of the worth of the Nigerian man.
Local and international observers of our political scenery and culture say that the art of governance in Nigeria is heavily plagued with the spirit of lies and deception. Hence generations of rulers, whether in khaki or flowing gowns, continuously under-developed societal values and structures. They circumvent their own promises or pledges. Fallout of this betrayal is our weak internal security management system and over exposure of lives and properties to senseless destruction. If it were not so, our police system would not remain impotent while heinous crimes, such as Okija shrine massacre, repeats round the country. The police force has been hard knocked, but it is high time we accepted that the failures of our police force today are sharp reflections of the ineptitude of our governments in matters of our national security.
Impoverished and undervalued by powers that be, the hard working Nigerian Police remained grossly ill equipped, untrained, corrupt and disenchanted.
A well-developed Nigerian Police will have the agility to detect and prevent crime. It will have high-class rangers, with respectable land and air surveillance over our forests. With proactive policing in our land, Okija shrine evil enterprise would not have a long reign, claiming so many lives at its beck and call. Were a modern professional police force to stand on our land today, Nigerians would be fully persuaded that the real powers behind the despicable activity in Igboland would be caught and brought to justice, their socio-political and economic clout notwithstanding.
We have heard that some "chief priests" of the Okija shrines have been caught and their faces paraded before the camera. But where are the evil "worshippers" who probably donated the lives of fellow Nigerians to their gods? Only a dynamic and incorrigible police force will provide an answer. Its forensic unit will raise hope in the fact that those killed would be identified, if only to help put a stop to the agony of those still waiting for their loved ones to be found. But sadly, Okija episode may end with many questions unanswered.
Safety is not just for the low and down trodden alone in a civil society. That our own high and mighty dwell behind fortified walls, surround themselves with army of thugs, and ride in bulletproof cars, suggests that they too are victims of our unsafe environment. And when we recall the demise of Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane, Bola Ige and many other 'VIPs", who really is then safe in modern day Nigeria, except those that God preserves. Here lies the paradox: the underdevelopment of the Nigerian internal security by respective governing classes has remained their own nightmare on all fronts. It is therefore an emergency demand on any true leader at different helms of political affairs in Nigeria today to address the security of their people with renewed vigour, commitment, and in absolute truth. It will involve upholding the rule of law, equity and justice by everybody concerned.
Nonetheless, the Nigerian citizenry cannot be excused from building and enhancing our internal security system. Security is a social responsibility and Nigerians cannot and must not trust the federal or the state governments alone with that responsibility. Total prevention of nefarious activities, like that of Okija shrine massacre, lies in the hands of every Nigerian. The take off point is to remain vigilant and expose the machinery of human waste like that of Okija shrine and its demonic agents.
This is where the courage and patriotism of the man that tipped off the police about the Okija Shrine is commendable and should be emulated. We must seek to pull down every altar that wastes human lives. Silence in the face of obnoxious activity is a deadly fuel that energises wickedness against human value. Those who knew about the goings-on at the Okija shrine but kept quiet while many lives were being slaughtered stand to be condemned. Their silence was not only most wicked and vicious, but highly conspiratorial with evil. We could only assume that they have learnt their lesson.
Today the world's fear regarding safety of lives in Nigeria has increased and we cannot defend that ours is not a precarious society where a man can be abducted, driven to a jungle and butchered in a matter of hours. The Okija shrine panorama stands as a national disgrace and another cog towards international hatred. Yet again, the heart of the nation bleeds for those who have been killed and their relations who suffer the agony of having lost their loved ones.
It is a triumph of evil over good that has reared its head in many areas of our affairs. But we can re-write this record, not by mere wishes and pledges, in political speeches and debates; but by concerted work and dedication by all. Pulling out our society from its present degenerate state holds the aces to our economic recovery and political stability.
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