Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome to the jungle: a take on the aluu lynching.

 Like most Nigerians you probably woke up on Monday morning (October 8, 2012) to the news of the young men from the University of Port-Harcourt that had been murdered by a mob that had accused them of the theft of some laptops and mobile phones. This was on the heels of the killings of scores of students at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, and rightfully, Nigerians of every stripe were horrified by the gruesome scenes played on our television and mobile screens, as four young men were bludgeoned to a mere mockery of their humanity and then set ablaze. I was in Lagos when the story broke, and the media was awash with the lurid scenes. Someone obviously had decided that the event was historic enough to deserve coverage, and felt compelled to share his/her ‘masterpiece’ with the rest of the world. Like wildfire, it spread; another reminder of the real facts of life in Nigeria, 52 years after independence. Welcome, then to the jungle.

The facets to this story are numerous as they are convoluted; some accounts claim the young men were cultists from the university; others label them mere victims of circumstance, trapped in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some say the police were alerted while the young men were still alive and their reply was the usual tardy response, conveniently arriving after the carnage. Others claim the killings had the tacit approval of the police. However, of the following we can be sure:

a.    Four young men were killed in brutal display of mob rule.

b.    The assailants were members of the local community.

As expected, the deaths provoked national outrage and revulsion, with many Nigerians clearly upset and distressed, alarmed by what seemed to be a throwback to the dark days of mindless fury and barbarism. In the days and weeks ahead there will no doubt be some soul-searching, probing and deep questioning. It is our sincere belief that Nigerians will not waste this opportunity to have a serious look at our collective psyche as a people, and offer valuable solutions to what is quickly becoming a frightening and recurrent malaise. For a nation highly adept at sweeping things under the carpets of ineffectual committees, this act is far beyond the pale, and cannot, should not; suffer the neglect of issues past.

One of the worrying subplots emerging from this unfortunate occurrence is the fact that this particular community had been plagued by armed robbers, a fact said to be made known to the local law enforcement agents. Apparently no action was taken, and in the vacuum created by the lack of proper authority, the community probably sought out ways to protect themselves. Self preservation is the right of every individual or community and where constituted authority fails to address that demand, the repercussions are there for all to see. Let me be clear though, self preservation is no excuse for cold blooded murder and there can be no reasonable justification for shedding innocent blood. But we would be remiss if we fail to even consider the reason why Nigerians have zero confidence in the organs of law enforcement, resorting to a locally manufactured brand of retribution. As I listened to the radio that Monday morning, numerous callers made their anger known, but others (while sympathetic to the deceased) lamented the state of affairs that led to the happenings, i.e. the impotence of the law in the face of violent crime. The frustration in their voices was painful to hear; one caller spoke about how robbers beat up her aged mother during a raid, another spoke about the poor response of the police during a robbery, in which a 70 year old man had run to the police station to plead for assistance, only to be told he could expect no help without providing some financial incentive. The community was forced to arm themselves and confront the criminals. In the resulting melee, the robbers fled, leaving one of their number behind. As was expected, the thief was beaten, but then left alive and conscious, awaiting the belated arrival of the authorities. Suddenly a man rushed at the thief and, in front of everyone, slit his throat. When asked why he had done so, the man pointed to a cut on his head, saying it had been inflicted by the robbers with a machete when they attacked his home. They had tried to rape his wife, and whilst intervening, (successfully) he had been injured, albeit almost fatally. How then could he allow such a creature, one who sought to molest the mother of his children (and murder him to execute the deed) live? Such is the dilemma faced by Nigerians in their millions, thus the proliferation of small arms and security personnel in our communities. Have we forgotten the reign of the Bakassi Boys in the South East, especially in the early days of our current democracy? Are we aware of the number of private armies in our country that are answerable only no one but their masters? Do you know the lengths people are willing to go to protect their loved ones?

Long have we complained about the security challenges facing our country, and part of the solution is equipping and training our security agencies, so they are armed with the necessary tools to fight crime and defend our homeland. Corrupt officers must be named and shamed, regardless of rank, religion or ethnic group. Funds meant for the police and other organs must be judiciously spent and accountability must be given pride of place. One way or the other, we are all affected; the next life lost in a security breach could be our own.