There is something fundamentally wrong with us as a people.
Three Fulani individuals were stopped and kllled; in retaliation, their own people went to a beer parlor and kllled 10 Berom people.
Following this, a group of Berom youths blocked a federal road, stopped a car, and klled three people who were not Fulani, but Hausa Muslims traveling to Pankshin for business.
I condemn, in its entirety, the actions of all parties involved. But most importantly, what was the fault of the individuals simply going about their business?
On the other hand, 34 people were kllled in Kebbi, 50 in Zamfara, about 12 in Bauchi, villages were ransacked, 70 were kĺlled in Kwara, and more than 300 people across the Northern region were kidnapped.
Yet, the most talked-about and aired issue is the one from Plateau. Do you know why? We only value life based on the religion attached to the person involved.
People are not even angry because of the Fulani who were the first victims, nor are they primarily worried about the 10 Berom men; people are angry because of the Muslims kĺlled.
That tells a different story. When people die in other parts of the country where there is less religious tension, we act as if their lives do not matter. In contrast, in a religiously tense axis, people react as if they will burn down the country.
The central fueling factor is the manipulation of religion around politics and conflict. When lives are lost without a religious coloration, many lose their sense of humanity and often do nothing or quickly let it go. But the moment religion is attached, all hell breaks loose.
If we were truly human—quantitatively speaking, the number of people lost in Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Bauchi, Kwara, and Niger should trigger us more than those from Plateau State.
But because the Plateau incident has more tension and religious coloration, we are more interested in it.
That tells us exactly who we are as a people: we place the division of beliefs above the loss of human lives.
While loss of live is totally not acceptable regardless of whose life is taken, our reactions tell a silently different story.
Ultimately, this selective outrage reveals a grim of truth: we have replaced Universal Humanity with Tribal Solidarity. We do not mourn the 'Self' in the 'Other'; we only mourn the 'Other' when they look or pray like the 'Self.'
When we weight the value of a life by the name of a belief or the dialect of a tongue, we commit a second murder against the victims—we strip them of their personhood and turn them into political tokens.
Until we reach a stage where the blood of a stranger in Zamfara is as heavy in our hearts as the blood of a brother in Plateau, our "morality" is nothing but a mask for our prejudices. We are not yet a nation of humans; we are a collection of mirrors, only capable of reflecting our own biases.
#insecurity: A man who lives in Taraba State was kidnapped.
The kidnappers demanded ₦50 million as ransom. After his family sold his properties and car, they were only able to raise ₦30 million.
They pleaded with the kidnappers, who later agreed to accept the ₦30 million. They instructed that the money should be delivered to a local government area called Karim Lamido. They also demanded that only one person should bring the money, warning that any slight mistake would cost the man his life.
When it was time to take the money, every family member said they could not afford to take such a risk.
The man's son was willing to take the money, but he was still a small boy and not yet 20 years old.
After a few days without hearing from the family, the kidnappers threatened to kill the man.
His mechanic, who had recently worked on his car and lived in the same area, heard about the situation. He visited the family and was informed about what was happening.
The mechanic accepted to deliver the ransom to the kidnappers.
Early the next morning, he left for Karim Lamido. When he got there, no commercial motorcycle rider was willing to take him to the location described by the kidnappers, so he had to trek for almost two hours.
Throughout the journey, the kidnappers stayed on the phone, directing him at every turn. The route was mainly cattle paths rather than roads people normally used.
When he reached the second forest, he saw two men waiting on a motorcycle. They called him over and told him to follow them.
According to him, one of the men was carrying an AK-47 rifle. He sat between them on the motorcycle, and at that moment, he said his final prayer.
The journey took another two hours before they arrived at another location, where four more men were waiting. They confirmed the money.
He did not see the kidnapped man there, but the kidnappers assured him that the man was alive and would be released immediately after the money was confirmed.
After confirming the ransom, the kidnappers released the victim in Gombe State. In fact, they put him inside a vehicle heading towards Taraba State, gave him his phone back, and allowed him to call his family to confirm that he had been released.
The kidnappers then instructed him to turn around and never look back. They gave him directions, and in less than ten minutes he was already back in Karim Lamido town.
It turned out that the kidnappers had deliberately given the mechanic a long and stressful route while bringing the money in order to confuse him. However, they later showed him the shortest route back to town, which took less than ten minutes.
The most remarkable part of the story was that the mechanic's wife was heavily pregnant and almost due to give birth during that period. Despite the risk, he chose to help a customer who had always brought his vehicles to his workshop.
-Richard Elisha
@endAmanl The reason why Mbappe is yet to win UCL is because he was supporting Arsenal while growing up. He left PSG to win UCL with Madrid and PSG won back to back while Madrid couldn’t make it through the finals. Hes not the problem but the Arsenal blood in him
Yesterday I passed an old man pushing his motorcycle around Tarauni market. He was sweating inside the hot sun and looked very tired. I parked my car and went to him. My suspicion was right, he ran out of fuel and had no money with him. There was a Conoil filling station meters away. I told him to give me his account number, but he said he had none. So I asked him to meet me at the filling station. I told the attendant to give him 10lts and also N5k to put in the pocket.
I transferred 19k to the attendant. The man knelt down crying. I consoled him and left.
Why do I always like helping people in genuine distress?
Because I am a beneficiary of people's kindness and generosity.
There was a time I was traveling with Alhassan Mudi from port Harcourt to Abuja. We fell inside a crater and the car broke shock absorbers that became impossible for the car to carry me, his pregnant wife and the huge load. A reverend father that just passed us reversed back with his driver and offered to carry us to Abuja, while Alhassan drove his car empty.
That act was a life saving kindness in a bush populated with armed robbers and other dangerous criminals. IPOB were active around the area also.
I will never forget that goodwill. The man didn't even bother to tell us his name. I don't know whether he is still alive and May Almighty Allah reward his uncommon kindness and generosity. His kindness was even more pronounced because he was an Igbo and not a Muslim, helping Hausa of different faith. This the reason why when the need to assist comes, I am blind to religion and tribe.
I believe authorities will have their way for that. She’s not guilty until proven otherwise and once proven guilty, I pray our law makers pass a law that kidnappers, bandits and their associates are sentenced to death by hanging or firing squads but hell no some of them are deeply involved behind th scene
@ChiomaAfc1 Playing in that competition is entirely different from winning. Chelsea played and won just as they won UCL while other club might play and got eliminated without having a feeling of the cup.
@offiah_ike88158@callmeoscar_1 Arsenal went unbeaten but were eventually beaten in the end Chelsea went unbeaten and lost 1 match against Porto. Both Chelsea and Arsenal lost a single match but Chelsea’s lost didn’t stop them from winning. Go and cry more
@SadiqMaunde You don’t like the temporary peace you are seeing right? In a country where bandits dictate and kidnap people at will for ransom you want to have an outdoor camp?