Kill and Go?

I am really sorry to drag you back and rehash the unpleasant memories of the killing of a young boy by a mob in Lagos. This made the news early this month with pictures and video. Yes, it was an internet ‘video sensation’ that went viral, as they say!

Oh, did you miss it?

Well, a young boy was reportedly lynched by a mob somewhere in Lagos apparently for stealing a phone or is it Garri? Somewhere in Orile-Iganmu or is it Badagry? Who knows and who goddam cares? The major issue is that some people in Lagos took the law into their hands and without shame or remorse, without a care in the world, proceeded to kill another human being in the full glare of the law.

How is it possible?

It is possible because those who should uphold the law are ignoramuses: totally compromised. It is possible because they allow citizens to continue to be this lawless, crass and they allow the worst in us to be on display daily. The job of our law enforcement officers has also been abdicated and trumped by area boys. It is possible because there is no law.

That is what truly scares me and should bother any sane person. An innocent person could so easily fall victim to such mob action, ending up dead before anyone realises the grave injustice. This jungle we call Nigeria should have a dose of clarity! Yet, the people who should clarify right and wrong remain resoundingly silent.

Why should anyone tell you to do your job?

This is what I do not understand. We have not heard a word from the relevant authorities. The Inspector General of Police and his people down in Lagos have not said a single word about the death of the boy. There has been no public condemnation and a commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice. In truth the gory videos and pictures circulating on the internet should lead to the arrest of the killers of the young man. However, not a single kobo has been spent in showing the faces of the killers on television. In order that a strong message be sent to the rest of the population, that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

The President must not hear this!

I wonder though, if he indeed hears about it, what is he going to do? He has not reacted to many of the deaths of other Nigerians in any meaningful and decisive manner; that underscores a dynamic leadership.

Groups have called on the Governor of Lagos State as the Chief Security officer of the state and all the state security agencies to wade into action immediately and bring the perpetrators to book. The real job at hand is for the Nigerian Police. They must act to bring the killer(s) to justice and demonstrate vividly that this type of behaviour is lawless and intolerable. The Police must investigate and sort out this mess without delay. Okay, perhaps this is not the first death and they have not done anything before. But, do we have to wait till it’s your turn? Or someone you love!

The Governor, State Legislators and other well-meaning Nigerians have seemingly turned a deaf ear and blind eyes to the plight of the boy and his family. Seriously, what turned a young man like that to stealing to survive: if not the rape of our economy by these same politicians?

So, let us talk about that for a minute.

None of the multitude of people who have looted the Central Bank and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have been slapped or smacked around the head, let alone lynched. In truth, the law is like a spider web through which big flies pass and the little ones get caught. Many including our eminent judges and justices are sitting pretty while Rome burns. Rome? Is that his name?

We do not even know the name of the little man who was killed and perhaps will never know the real reason for his untimely departure. What exactly did he steal? From whom did he steal the whatever? Who first cried ‘fowl’ before turning this young man’s life to chicken feed?

It is actually quite sad.

The normal and the abnormal seem to have exchanged positions in Nigeria without losing meaning. What is totally abhorrent is now seen as normal in Nigeria to the chagrin of those who know better. It actually saddens me that no one in the medical hierarchy: the Nigeria Medical Association, the local Association of Private and General Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, the Guild of Medical Directors and even the Nigerian Bar Association saw the death of this Nigerian as something to cry out about.

Cry Nigeria! Cry!