That 7-yr-old and the value of a Nigerian life

Some gory pictures and videos of a seven-year-old boy who was beaten and burnt to death for allegedly stealing garri in Lagos went viral on Nigerian blogs and various social media platforms recently. Almost everyone has condemned the act, and many have blamed the present administration whose policies may have brought about the poor economic situation in the country, which, they say, must be the only reason a boy of that age would have to steal in order to feed. But alas, this is not the first time we are reading of – or witnessing – such wicked mob action in Lagos.

Sometime in 2010 in Agboju, Ojo local government area of the state, a 12-year-old boy was brutally murdered by his own neighbours for trying to steal a phone in a shop. The young boy was sent by his mother to buy garri across the street, as she was almost done with the soup she was making for dinner that evening. When the boy arrived at the garri shop, it was dark. The shop owner attended to him using his ‘torchlight’ Nokia phone, and when he was done packaging the garri, he dropped the phone on the table and walked into the inner room to get the boy’s balance. But on coming out to the front, he could no longer find his phone.

That was how he searched the boy’s pockets, pulled off all his clothes, but couldn’t find the phone on him. The boy picked up his packaged garri and left the shop. He hadn’t walked three minutes when he saw some men, including the garri seller, running towards him. They stopped him, collected and broke the polythene bag containing the garri he had just bought, and behold, the Nokia phone was found inside. In less than five minutes, they had pulled a crowd and all manner of instruments were used on the young chap. Before his mother could come out of the house, her son was already on fire right there on the street they live.

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The victim of the recent jungle justice that reportedly took place at the Alafiya bus stop in Orile area of Lagos State has been alleged to be a member of a notorious robbery gang in the area. And witnesses have dismissed claims that the victim was a child, but an adult in his 20’s. Well, these reactions, coming in the aftermath of the murder, are no surprise at all, as humans would naturally be quick to cook up funny excuses in an attempt to appease their guilty consciences when they’ve been involved in a wrong. Oftentimes, we quickly put the blame on the devil especially when we are caught in the act. But unfortunately, the deed has been done, a family has been bereaved, a life is lost, and perhaps above all, our image as a nation has been further tainted.

During a recent friendly conversation, someone reminded us of the woman that was reportedly murdered in her bathroom weeks after she publicly made some confessions against a popular preacher in Lagos. That case was closed up, we never heard from the Police whether or not her death was investigated, and if so, who was brought to book for the heinous crime. That’s how much the life of the average Nigerian matters!

In recent times, we have worried so much about the value of the Naira, how our billionaires have been losing their worth in global stock plus how importation of raw materials have become almost impossible, and not paying attention to the uncertainty and brevity of the life of the common man. The value of life in our society is declining to an all-time low, and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

We call for diplomatic meetings when we hear that Nigerians are being killed in other countries, but are awkwardly silent when herdsmen that are fellow citizens attack and murder residents of an entire village. We act as though we are pained when we witness military personnel manhandling poor civilians on the streets, but we spit on the floor and move on with our daily affairs. We are silent when an entire community is subjected to fear, residents running helter-scelter at night, because a local chief had just given up the ghost in that community.

In September, at a time when the entire world was celebrating the International Day of Peace, somewhere in Surulere, some blood-thirsty men were hunting for human lives. The Oni-Itire of Itire had just died and the men took to the streets that evening with matches. They placed a curfew from 6p.m-6a.m (it later took government intervention for the curfew to be shifted to 10p.m-5a.m, after about four days). The streets and boulevards on Itire road suddenly became a red zone. Churches halted most of their activities, most shops in the locality were closed even during the day, and folks working far away from home were always at top speed when leaving for – or returning from – work on a daily basis. Only heaven knows how many men, women, boys and girls were killed to escort the late Chief to the great beyond. Pathetic!

This is 2016 not 1616, the least we can expect from a ‘mega’ city like Lagos is that local Chiefs are still being buried alongside innocent heads in the name of tradition! That is something that should call for our attention. By now, these practices should have faded away. We have been able to groom a more educated society than what we had in the 60’s and have also built more religious houses than we’ve ever had, to what then can we blame this appalling attitude of ours towards human lives!

Perhaps, instead of spending so much time drafting and arguing over an anti-tribal mark bill at the Senate, our elites should think of calling our traditional rulers to order, and suggest to them that any person that loves his king so much can decide to join him in his casket. Such practices are long overdue. And instead of wasting money sponsoring impracticable Police adverts on YouTube, The Nigeria Police could organize a reorientation programme for its Rapid Response Squad department. For it is a slap on our security agencies that Crime fighters did not appear on the scene where a boy was lynched, let alone making any attempt of stopping the action.

Lives matter. Lives really matter. Security is a big deal. Those being paid for it must carry out their duties at their very best. And Nigerians must learn also to let justice reign in every situation. If anyone has committed any crime, let such a person be handed over to the authorities: that’s how it’s done in civilized societies. No one deserves to be murdered, no one is a ‘saint’ in the first place.
Every life matters!

By Benjamin Ugbana…..

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

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