Monday, October 8

Whats Going On?

A lot going on.

And it occurred to me that a lot  has been going on since forever! Since forever! Should we stop talking about them? Dare we not talk about them? Should we get used to them? Shrug them off as being normal because they have become a daily occurrence? I say God forbid!

When you listen to songs we heard when we were young and growing up...and here I am in my (early) 40s, you would wonder what the next few years holds, not just for Nigeria, but for the rest of the world. I am reminded of Marvin Gaye's song 'What's Going On', released in 1971, 40 years ago. Also Christie Essien-Igbokwe's 'Hear the Children Crying'...to mention a few. If this was the case back then, if 40 years ago Marvin Gaye was asking 'what’s going on', then how bad would it be in the future?

Need I list the things that have been going on here in Nigeria? Should we mention the fact that the nation is being slowly swept away (literally and otherwise) by flood, with little or no emergency response? Should I mention the blatant massacre of students in Mubi, North of Nigeria? Ought I to talk about the latest: lynching of students in Port Harcourt over the weekend? I heard this went on for about 6 hours! 6 hours, people! Let us forget the debate about whether they are armed robbers or cult members, jungle justice in the 21st Century?! I didn't click on the video, I saw the photos, and my heart bled imagining the pain they went through. From one of the photos we saw a young man in the process of slamming a piece of wood one of the students, and people standing motionless, watching.

You know what I would like to know? Who were the people taking photos? Who made the videos? Who put them online?   How do you solve or get to the bottom of a case if you can’t find someone to tell you how it went down?

What a time we live in.

Still...

God Bless Nigeria...and

Be free oh.

10 comments:

  1. zouZou my sister really whats going on?!!!!

    I watched that video in horror! Watched a second time in fear, nearly threw up. Unbelievable how man can be that inhumane to a fellow human. I know the pain we suffer when robbed and killed but surely justice cant be this way all the time???.

    I ask myself, for argument sake, if the alleged robbers had come to my house and killed someone i know, even in that instance, I will still feel horror when watching the killing. It might however not feel as wicked!

    I think the biggest point is are they really guilty????? As I have heard of killings without been sure the person was guilty! Think any of the boys murdered was our family member and worse of all innocent. Like someone pointed out today in fb, politicians are robbing us daily and the crowd still rolling out red carpet and worshipping them, why haven't the poor become so angry that we lynch them at events. We line up at their offices, homes, events, under the hot sun, rain to partake in the crumbs from their table, money stolen from us.

    I weep!

    Millicent

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  2. I haven't time to be nonlinear but I saw the pix yesterday n I couldn't believe it. How could they do this n for what just laptops n phones. People who killed these boys should be held accountable. U will think that the people who killed the boys r saints. Very sad. Someone said there is wickedness in the heart of the poor I don't want to think of it like this. I think ad r becoming inhumane in naija. And then the flooding in the north hmmmm what is happening to this our county. God please bless Nigeria.
    Www.secretlilies.blogspot.com

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  3. I haven't time to be nonlinear but I saw the pix yesterday n I couldn't believe it. How could they do this n for what just laptops n phones. People who killed these boys should be held accountable. U will think that the people who killed the boys r saints. Very sad. Someone said there is wickedness in the heart of the poor I don't want to think of it like this. I think ad r becoming inhumane in naija. And then the flooding in the north hmmmm what is happening to this our county. God please bless Nigeria.
    Www.secretlilies.blogspot.com

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  4. For me, I may be stone hearted but I will say that as horrific as all of it was, I can sit calmly and say the boys met their waterloo as part of the consequences of being where they are not supposed to be. If one has never been through the terror of being attacked by robbers, one wouldn't understand the sheer fear that envelopes you when you try to sleep at home on any given night. I'm hearing different tales of their purpose in coming to the community and well, as a rule, the vigilantes usually give a timeline for when you are allowed to be outside of your location, after which you are supposed to have a credible tale to tell if you find yourself in their midst. Of course, everything in Naija is almost bigger than life, so no-one knows what must have transpired between the visit to the chief of the place and the final debacle at the village square so to speak...Let me ask those that are busy shouting for the heads of the villagers, if those boys were not well-to-do and physically attractive, will this mess have been more palatable? Jungle justice reigns in Lagos and I watched one such thing on the internet the other day, with people writing with jubilation on the guy being caught and 'dealt' with. If we had, ideally, a system that took care of criminals judiciously, we wouldn't have to resort to Do-it-yourself justice. As for taking pictures, Zee, during the Iraq war we watched, with horror, cameras moving through some pretty nasty fighting. It is not something we would want, but it is what it is. People record terrible things,(e.g. Moamar Ghaddafi/the Jews in the 2nd world war concentration camps) for posterity and for judgment. If we can take pictures of happy and good times why not for evil? That is the century we live in. May God help us all.

    cheers,

    Mary (Omo Jesu)

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    Replies
    1. Interesting perspective, Mary Omo Jesu. But we are not judging or condemning them here. Who cares whether they are rich or good.ooking, omg!! I, as a human being and child of God, condemn the act. We are rapidly, more than ever before, loosing our humanity, two wrongs can never be right. That is not God's way. I also concede that what we see and hear is nothing compared to those we do not see.
      The judicial system is what it is, as is many things in Nigeria, and the world, sadly, but jungle justice is never right. I also maintain that standing to take pictures or videos, when it is in the power of your hand to help, is wrong, and inhuman.
      No matter how bad the situation, no matter how jaded and cynical we become, in fact, not withstanding that we are victims, we must not loose our humanity.
      And don't forget, I have had the armed robbery experience too.

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    2. Zee, just before I had foot-in-the-mouth-itis, the story became clearer and once again in my hard hearted life, I was able to ask myself why i never wait to get the full picture before I say anything...lol. But, it still stands, jungle justice will be the only way to get justice for a lot of people in these parts because there is really no system to help victims. Stopping it will only make it go underground and that I believe will be worse. As for stopping to help, my dear, in the heat of the moment, when you present yourself to take a stand, you will end up being manhandled for complicity with the accused. Believe me, it won't be for trying.

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  5. You know, all I have heard about this PH matter is when a colleague mentioned and just from your posts and comments AND I am horrified. I know I will never see the photos cos I will never click to watch/open anything that I know will expose my mind to such. I am still trying to get over the photos of the Black Sunday in Jos(?) a while back where innocent people and policmen were hacked to death. Children!!!!! It reminds me of a dream I had a while back and only just reminds me that we MUST pray for our country. It is all we have. Imagine if no one was praying what will we be talking about now? I cannot even imagine.

    God have mercy please. Have mercy!

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    Replies
    1. You know, sometimes I am honestly perplexed about how else or what more to pray! The thing is, we must not stop.

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  6. I dont even know what to say.
    The situation in Nigeria makes one sad.

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    1. Twitolufunke......so bad so bad, still we can't loose sight of what is important...keep praying na ni

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