BETWEEN POLITICS AND THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIVES BY UGWUAGBO EMMANUEL

MY DAILY PARAGRAPH



I have watched with keen interest as people heartlessly moved in to exploit the death of a young Agile Nigerian in Enugu this morning.

I was supposed to be shocked by this bizarre attitude by my people but it has since become a repetitive event that happens nearly every week in South Eastern Nigerian, my home region, where both the people and government have fallen deeply in love with home grown terrorists.

Before February 2021, IPOB was a group of pro-secessionist agitators demanding for the restoration of the defunct Sovereign State of Biafra, anchoring their agitation on the obvious maltreatment, marginalization and subjugation of the Igbo People in the Nigerian State.

By February 2021, this IPOB led by Nnamdi Kanu decided to take laws into their own hands by forming the Eastern Security Network (ESN), brandishing sophisticated fire arms and supposedly ready to go into a fierce battle against the terrorist Fulani Herdsmen. They didn’t hesitate to show videos of their actions against the herdsmen to the world.

It was at this point that my people fell deeply in love with the new non-state Actors.

But like every terrorist group, they start as agitators, then to non-state Actors Protecting the people, then to attacking state actors, then finally to attacking the people they earlier set out to protect.

From February 2021, there was indiscriminate Killing of Security Personnels across South East. My people clapped and cheered as this happened.

They ordered sit at home as a form of Civil Disobedience to press down their demands and promised everyone that disobeyed them, that they will be visited by the ghosts of dead Biafrans. Indeed, those who came out became ghosts and their properties went in flames.

July 2021, their leader Nnamdi Kanu was captured by the Nigerian Government in a very questionable manner.

IPOB responded by declaring a sit at home order every Monday until Nnamdi Kanu is released, sounding serious warning that those who disobeyed would regret it.

Since then, every Monday, somewhere in South East, an innocent Igbo man or woman is brutally murdered and properties destroyed.

My people would respond by blaming the victim, asking why he came out to go about his daily lawful business.

The surprising thing is that my people, their politicians, Legislators(even today), their apex socio-cultural organization (Ohanézè ndị Igbo), Governors and others are united in asking for the freedom of the leader of the non-state Actors who have directly or indirectly caused these hundreds of deaths.

The Government people are complaining about sit at home and want it to end, the ordinary people are complaining about Simon Ekpa, an IPOB media personnel, but together, they all love the root cause of the entire problem and desire his freedom.

While I am a believer in the rule of law, especially in a situation where a court of competent jurisdiction has granted Kanu bail, I expect that the leaders of South East should be the ones to ensure that Kanu and his boys face the full wrath of the law.

However, that is never going to happen because they love the tree but they don’t love the fruits and no one brings down a tree he loves.

Therefore, I am not shocked as I was supposed to be earlier today, I am only surprised that it has gotten to the extent of playing politics with human lives, with people arguing for and against the government and parties, while the corpse of a young man is there lifeless in a mortuary.

I just wish to ask ndị Igbo, what happened to the reverence we had for the sanctity of human lives?

Are we still human?
Where is the humanity in us?
Ndị Igbo, are we okay?