THE TRAGEDY OF ALUU

                                         

 

The speed at which news flares up and gets buried here is incredible! A few weeks ago, the whole country was agog with the news of the young men that were burnt at Aluu and as usual the boiling cauldron of outrage has simmered down to a cold pot locked up in the cupboard of our memory.

Truth is, we usually spend too many hours aggressively attacking the leaves of a situation instead of uprooting its origins. Everyone has called for the heads of the people of Aluu but is that the solution to the whole issue. If it is actually true that they had been harassed for a while by thieves while the police did nothing to alleviate the issue, would one really blame them for taking the law into their hands? Believe me if you have ever lost a loved one to armed robbers, I am sure that you would not give any quarter to any that crosses your path except you are full of divine love. As much as I don’t condone what the people of Aluu did, would you blame them or a system that failed to keep them safe? One thing I can say about the whole incident is that it confronted us with the ugliness of an age long barbarity.

Nigeria does not value human lives, blood is spilled in this nation on a regular basis and we are beginning to live with its consequences. We place more value in things than people. It shows in the kind of public vehicles used to transport our citizens, the horrendous state of public schools, the dilapidation of our teaching hospitals, the murderous traps in the form of roads, fake drugs, adulterated fuel and so on. The lack of appreciation of human lives explains why a Nigerian business owner would take money from the coffers of his company to travel for summer with his girlfriend while he hasn’t paid his staff for over four months. A member of his staff would then go ahead to lose a baby because she did not have enough money for antimalarials and give “agbo” (concoction made from herbal leaves) leading to the demise of the child. More examples like this abound. I sincerely believe that all that flood of blood is beginning to cry out.

As far back as I can remember Nigeria has been plagued by bad leadership but there are some things that happen in this country these days that we used to think only happened in places as distant as Mars and not to us. Unfortunately some of those things seem to have become a national staple. For example, bombings, air crashes, floods, terrorism, name it!

Somehow it is not a surprise that these things are harassing Nigeria like killer bees. Innocent lives are wasted in this nation every day. Ritual killings, police brutality, lack of drugs, political assassinations, bad roads, poor aviation monitoring and more contribute to this while our leaders don’t give a damn. It has become a normal part of our green, white, green landscape to see the unceremonious extirpation of the living on every front. And I believe it is beginning to haunt us now and even the so called, high and mighty are not exempt. Floods and the kinds of disasters that have infected the vital organs of this nation do not differentiate between classes.

As a nation, it is time for us to stop in our tracks and make a change. A total turnaround of our values and systems is essential to our survival. Today is the acceptable time, tomorrow would make it too late for some people! For us to progress from here to a much better kingdom, we need transformation! We need to reassess our ideals, principles, morals, ethics, etc. WE MUST REPENT!!!! This is passion that must consume us all!

 

…if my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and heal their land!