Triumph of savagery

….also published in Daily Trust 

Now that in Nigeria the incidents of ethno-religiously motivated murderous rampage, lynching and other forms of mob actions against communities and individuals have become too common to trigger public shock relative to their severity, as they have also become too frequent to prompt appropriate government measures to prevent a recurrence, one wonders how on earth the country fits in with the civilized world. 

Besides, apparently due to the sheer frequency of the recurrence of such incidents in the country, they attract relatively little global media attention, which is admittedly rather understandable, because even the enthusiasm of the local media organizations to cover such incidents is determined by the ethnic identity and religious affiliations of the victims and the perpetrators as well as the region where a particular incident breaks out, which of course affects their professionalism and coverage impartiality.

Also, though such incidents often involve extremely gruesome display of barbarism against humanity, which results in avoidable loss of human lives, permanently incapacitating injuries to many survivors and, of course, extensive destruction of properties, yet many, if not most, Nigerians only show real concern when the victims are their kinsmen, whereas they seek to downplay it, or, in fact, make tacit attempts to justify it when their kinsmen are the perpetrators.

Likewise, no part of the country is too civilized for such incidents to break out. It simply takes any silly and ridiculous pretext for many of the apparently responsible and supposedly civilized people you see in the streets of Lagos, Kano or Enugu, for instance, to turn into active perpetrators of such inhumanity, or at least, cheerful spectators while such acts are perpetrated with impunity. Obviously, this particular paradox is one of the most mysterious among the many paradoxes that characterize Nigeria as a country and Nigerians as a nation. 

 

The recent mob killings of tens of Hausawa, Fulani and probably others unlucky enough to have been presumed their kinsman, in Ile-Ife, Osun State, was just a typical incident of such nature. Also, just like similar incidents that have rocked various parts of the country over the decades, Ife incident would equally soon be probed ostensibly to find and address its causes, identify and punish the culprits and perhaps compensate the victims. However, the findings would equally end up dumped in government archives like similar probe findings over similar incidents in various cities across the country, while a similar incident is probably brewing elsewhere in the country for the similar empty procedural rituals to be practiced in the aftermath again.

Incidentally, though such incidents do equally break out in a few other countries, albeit at various recurrence frequency and intensity, the fact that all such countries are underdeveloped and largely disorganized underscores the fact that leadership failure remains one of the main factors behind their persistent recurrence. Furthermore, the fact that virtually all such countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa suggests the existence of other underlying dynamics behind the relatively high tendency to perpetrate such barbarism in this part of the world more than anywhere else.

This also explains Nigeria’s particular notoriety in this regard, being the largest Sub-Saharan country in terms of population, for I for one don’t know of any other country where such acts of savagery are frequently perpetrated with impunity, as Nigeria. Likewise, the number of human casualties and amount of devastation often recorded in such incidents in Nigeria are much higher than what are recorded in, probably, all other affected countries combined. Besides, in terms of the extent of the show of sheer barbarism in such incidents, the situation in Nigeria is always the worst, for, perhaps, it’s only in Nigeria where some perpetrators of such savagery wouldn’t be satisfied by lynching their victims in the most atrocious manner e.g. even after roasting them a live, until they actually eat their flesh as well, as it happened a couple of years ago in Jos, Plateau State. 

As it has always been rightly maintained, the persistence of this savage social phenomenon in Nigeria is associated with the failure of the successive governments at all levels over the decades to adequately identify its immediate and remote causes, and indeed their failure to come up with appropriate policies and effective measures  to address it.

However, in addition to these, a critical look into this peculiar phenomenon would suggest the existence of some equally peculiar underlying socio-cultural, attitudinal and, perhaps, genetic dynamics that fuel this peculiar tendency among particularly Sub-Saharan Africans and Nigerians specifically.

Therefore, in order to succeed in checking the recurrence of these incidents, there is an urgent need to conduct comprehensive studies with particular focus on the above-mentioned dynamics, with a view to coming up with appropriate sustainable solution proposals that would not only prevent it but would actually address the underlying factors behind the tendency to embark on any of such barbaric acts, and the attitude that downplays or tacitly seeks to justify it under any pretext.