NO TO RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC CRISIS – UNWARRANTED DEATH OF DEBORAH SAMUEL
Yesterday, it was Madam Eunice Olawale who was gruesomely murdered in Kubwa, Abuja the Federal Capital of Nigeria for confessing her faith. Kubwa is a satellite town in the capital city of Nigeria with people who ordinarily should know the sacredness of life and the criminality of killing a fellow human being under any form of disguise. Since 2016, there has been other illegalities, harassment, maiming and killing of people on alleged blasphemous comments.
Today , it is Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education , Sokoto who was murdered by her colleagues who ordinarily should provide support and protection for her in the face of invasion and threat to life. Alas, she was murdered by fellow students in a most gruesome, barbaric and unimaginable circumstance. It is unthinkable that in this age of development, students who are supposed to shape the tomorrow we all yearn for will under any form of disguise or provocation be involved in killing let alone in the name of religion. If a student in a College of Education could kill his colleague because of a comment, he can kill many more with little or no provocation or enticement.
It is more appalling that the killing happened in broad daylight with other students in attendance, cheering the criminals on as if they had just won a trophy. Well, they have murdered sleep and sleep shall surely elude them. More shocking was the fact that the killing happened within the campus with little or no resistance against the criminals. I weep! Surprisingly, a lady in her hijab had the courage to join in the murder and would not be pacified that Deborah was dead but wanted her body mangled and mutilated with continuous beating. Perhaps, the beauty of Deborah was also a threat to her. Not satisfied, they lighted up her body!
Drawing a confluence from the two unwarranted murders which the assailants claimed was due to blasphemy, one would safely conclude that something is fundamentally wrong. If it could happen in Capital city it can happen anywhere. If it could happen in a campus what do we expect from the streets where Almajirins, touts and agberos rule the world. It is a big shame!
How did we get to this point that we no longer respect and value human life? The blood of innocent citizens flow freely in the land. Can we say that the Muslims in the North are different from the Muslims in the South? I remember taking refuge in a Mosque some years back in a Nigerian University. We were not aware of the environment but the Muslims there took us as their brothers and sisters. It was a period of fasting and both Christians and Muslims within the mosque enjoyed the hot Jollof rice that was brought for Sari. Perhaps the murderers of Deborah would have killed all of us Christians in our sleep even before the rice came moreso we ate their rice but did not join in the prayers.
The killers of Deborah even had the effrontery to make and share videos of their dastardly act. One of the catalysts to this decadence is the fact that many youths in the land have been brain- washed , misguided, mis-schooled by those who are expected to pilot them to civility and decorum. Wrong teaching from either a Pastor or an Imam is more toxic than Tramadol and weeds. If the likes of the Chief Imam of Abuja Mosque who is a Professor would attempt to justify the unjustifiable in the name of religion , one begins to wonder what those wandering through the streets would do or say. Truly, one can be educated and not knowledgeable.
Ordinarily, if the attempted justification is the true reflection of the position of the Chief Imam, he should not spend a day longer in that capacity. One may not need to investigate further the type of information he dishes out to his followers. How many of such Imam Maqari do we have in the land? If a well educated Imam allegedly posited that the killing was in order , what do we expect from those who are not educated. Do we need to wait till when he instigates a major crisis?
The condemnations particularly by knowledgeable Muslim brothers and sisters and the Sultanate Council, Sokoto are efforts in the right direction. Beyond this, the perpetrators of this dastardly act must be urgently brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to others. Perhaps if the prosecution of the killers of Mrs Olawale had dominated the social space, the killers of Deborah would have learnt a lesson and the beautiful soul of Deborah would still have been here with us. One can only pray that God Almighty will grant the family of Deborah Yakubu the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
If is unthinkable that some youths have mobilized and are demonstrating arising from the arrest of the key perpetrators. The way this is handled by our security agencies will go a long way in defining our seriousness or otherwise. At a time that the individuals should cover their faces in shame, they still go ahead to demonstrate.
Beyond the concerns, we must all agree that a criminal is a criminal regardless of his ethnic or religious leaning and he must be treated ass such. A criminal in Ibadan should not be treated differently from a criminal in Enugu or a criminal in Sokoto.
May all the killers of Deborah and those who may want to join to cover the evil never know peace. May the final words of Deborah continue to hunt the perpetrators.
Dr. Kayode Ogunjobi.
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