Pains are in my heart. My mood is foul. I am sad. My state of mind is consequential to the happenings in the country. I love Nigeria, I will forever cherish my citizenship, not for me the restless spirit of emigration. We cannot all leave our country to her fate believing a miracle would one day happen.
If we all decide to leave the country for another clime, who now works the work of salvaging the nation. If you decided not to participate in the affairs of the country, you leave it to charlatans, never do wells and the idiots to run. Even at that, I feel the occasional sadness as I daily ruminate over the state of our States. I am especially concerned about the killings, the display of inhumanity and most especially the shedding of innocent blood.
It is at times like this that I wonder where the Almighty placed us as a nation, considering how we constantly shed blood on a daily basis. Will a nation that sheds innocent bloods ever know peace? Will it ever get to the promise land? How much really is the worth of the life of an average Nigerian?
The Holy books tells us that no sin will go unpunished because we have betrayed innocent blood. (Matthew 27:4, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood”). If that is the case, we then assume that our country is under punishment and our salvation would not be anytime soon, unless we purge ourselves and embark on the path of restitution. Today, we are a nation in dire strait, we need national redemption.
There several other verses in the Holy Bible that speaks about the implication of shedding innocent blood. Isaiah 59: 7, says; “Their feet run to evil. And they hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, devastation and destruction are in their highways”. Similarly, Jeremiah 22:17 says further, “But your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, and on shedding innocent blood and on practicing oppression and extortion.”
The Holy Quoran is equally emphatic in its tolerance for others and condemnation of the spilling of innocent blood especially those of non-muslims. Quoran 5: 32, says, “Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption (done) in the land- it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one-it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” Another verse 6: 151 says, “And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden (to be killed) except by (legal) right”.
There are about 10 hadiths (Hadiths are the teachings of Prophet Mohammed) that also speaks against shedding innocent blood. Hadith 49: “Whoever killed a Mu’ahid (someone granted the pledge of protection by muslims) shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise though its fragrance can be smelt at a distance of forty years (of travelling) while Hadith 3167 says, “the protection granted by Muslims is one and must be respected by the humblest of them. And he who broke the covenant made by a muslim, there is a curse of Allah, his angels and of the whole people upon him and neither an obligatory act would be accepted from him as a recompense on the day of resurrection.”
I have gone through the holy books to drive home the fact that punishment awaits a nation that places little worth on life as it is in our country. Only yesterday about 250 people were said to have been killed by the police in Kaduna. They are believed to be members of the Ansaru Islamic sect, that attacked the Emir of Potiskum’s convoy which led to the death of three of the Emir’s aides while several others sustained injuries. The sect was also believed to have been responsible for the February 2013 attacks that led to the kidnap of seven foreign nationals in Kano.
When I heard the statement by the Police through my friend Frank Mbah, the Spokesman, that 250 members of the sect had been neutralized, I had to consult the dictionary/google which described it as, “make something ineffective by applying an opposite force or effect”. It then dawned on me that they had been killed. 250 lives in one fell swoop. Though the Sect had committed a crime, they are terrorist, it still shocked that life could be so quickly wiped off. I closed my eyes and I imagined the killing field. Dead bodies strewn all over the place. How many wives and children were there when the attack took place? We will never know. Is that the way it happens in other countries? However, it could also be argued that they brought the misfortune on their head, but…
Blood-letting continues. Late last month in Plateau State, about 22 people were killed in Barikin Ladi Local Government by unknown gunmen. The justification for the killings is yet to be established. The other day, the deadly Boko Haram sect had beheaded Rev. Lawan Andimi, the Adamawa State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) who was said to have refused to be converted to Islam in the sect’s den.
Similarly, a student of the University of Maiduguri, Daciya Dalep was allegedly abducted and killed in cold blood by Boko Haram. A seminarian, 18-year old Michael Nnadi was equally abducted by kidnappers. Also abducted was a doctor’s wife. Their abductors had no compunction in killing them. So much bloodletting in the land.
It is thus heartwarming that the National Assembly has expressed serious concerns about the State of insecurity in the land. It is just a tad late. However, doing something is better than doing nothing, one hopes that our service chiefs would live up to their responsibilities. Many have accused them of thriving in the present adversity, I would however disbelieve that. One should not toy with treason.
