It is with a heavy heart that I express my heartfelt sympathy for the families of the Students of the University of Port Harcourt who were gruesomely murdered by the Aluu community in Rivers State.I also wish to commiserate with His Excellency, Chief Rotimi Amechi as well as the Students of the University of Port Harcourt for the damage done to the state and the institution as a result of this heinous act. It is with obvious angst that I would like to state that the incident of the last five days has reached a point of National concern as we could attest to the fact that well-meaning Nigerians are sincerely worried that the human community(Nigeria) is gradually turning into an ecosystem where the higher animals feast on the lower ones.
The resentment, the hatred, the bigotry that we experience on a daily bases are unimaginable that the clock is almost ‘ticking’ against us, and I blame myself and like minds for not living up to the task of national activism. Of course, we have been on the quiet side, maybe grumbling and watching things unfold in the most absurd manner. Today, our country has been turned into a theatre of Absurd and Gorilla theatre. It baffles me to have some people in human flesh and soul descend on fellow human beings with all available weapons to sniff the life out of them in the most horrifying manner. Unsatisfied with their actions, they went ahead to set them ablaze. That was obviously a murder case, and there will be no justification for such an act of man inhumanity to man. Every right thinking Nigerian must be ready to stand against injustice such as this, even as we hope that in the case of the Aluu murder, the law will not spare those involved.
This obviously may not be what you want to hear from me at these trying times. Retribution is the only thing everybody thinks of now. “An eye for an eye” is the message we promote across the country today, but an “eye for an eye will leave everybody blind.” All we are waiting for is for someone to snap the tip of his fingers and we will join in the confrontational movement. We want to confront the killers; we want them dead the same way they squeezed breathes out of others. We want to storm the streets and violently destroy states institutions in protest. This is what I would have loved to encourage because I feel terribly hurt like everybody. However, the imperative question is, for how long are we going to continue to pay evil for evil without necessarily looking at the course of this national uproar? We must ask questions! Yes, I agree with you; but our questions must be in the most reasonable terms and approaches. Yes! We must be confrontational in our approach, yet the power, the pitch, and the echo of our voices should be our only available weapons.
We must not attack the animal kingdom with the same animalistic approach, because we will all turn cannibals. We are pissed and agitated because we feel bad that our dear friends have been killed in the most gruesome and debasing way. Of course, we are right to take up even arms against the perpetrators. However, what makes us more humans if we go in that direction?
I disagree with anybody who says we should give up the fight because our country has been overtaken by murders and evil men. I disagree with anyone who says we should join them to kill more people because the deed is done already. I disagree with anyone who says that death must be atoned by more deaths. No! I disagree with such declaration, as we can use a better and result oriented approach towards fighting this spate of killings in our country.
In this approach, we may not only underscore the killing of the four gallant students of the University of Port Harcourt, but we will be asking questions on why we now live in Hell-Nigeria where the security of the ordinary man is no longer guaranteed by his fellow man. We should be asking why the Fulani’s and the Tivs in Benue state think that retribution is the best possible solution to their territorial differences. We should ask questions on the porous security situation in some parts of the North, especially in Mubi- Adamawa State where over 40 students were killed and not much has been said or done about it. We should be asking questions on the series of justices emanating from the jungles as we have witnessed in Osodi- Lagos, Ekpoma in Edo state, Jos-Plateau state, Kaduna-Kaduna state, Niger State, Zaria, Kano, and a host of other states where killing of other people has become the order of the moment. We should be asking ourselves why we should begin to kill ourselves no matter the circumstances.
The paroxysms have escalated well beyond epic proportions as we get to meet one or two scenes of the same incidents on a daily bases; we see people talk about it on Facebook, twitter, BlogSpot and on the print and electronic media , but candidly, it is impossible to keep up with it. In the most painful way, we have realized that it will be inadequate to address each attack; we need to confront the monster in a more holistic way and set ourselves free of this barrage of repulsion.
We have reached a point where the crucible and vessel of war cannot be considered a feasible means to protect or secure our people. In fact, this is an era when war can no longer lead to security and peace. War is a conduit to further destruction of lives and property, therefore the only available means is through a peaceful rally; a campaign for peace in Nigeria.
I call on all well-meaning Nigerians who dropped their tears for the four murdered students of UniPort to join this crusade against violence in our dear country. I call on National Association of Nigerian Students to begin to approach this war declared on promising Nigerian students from a different perspective and join this crusade against violence. All market women should know that this war is their own. All peace loving religious organization owes it a duty to take part in this campaign. Journalists, bloggers, and civil societies have the most important roles to play in a campaign such as this. This campaign for Nigeria by Nigerians will rejuvenate the dying love in the country; hence, nobody should be left out.
I testify today that True Love will heal all the disunions, as we are confident that soon, we will see ourselves as a family regardless of our background. I strongly stand on that belief that such a day will mark the beginning of an epoch when the guns of war will be silenced forever and the ceaseless tears of the parents of the murdered students both in Aluu and in Mubi will be wiped completely.
I think we all can approve that this is the precise way to tactically address social relations even when some people from the school of hate believe that there must always be teeth for tat in every crime.
This senseless killing must stop! #Stopthekilling# Let’s march for peace. Enough is Enough…
We will roll out our agenda for this campaign very soon, and mind you, it’s our campaign, not Charlyboy’s Campaign.
Thank you.
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