WHEN THE PRESIDENT QUIVERS
Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
deduced from the political anarchy of his time that “man is a wolf to man” (L’homme est un loup pour l’homme). He
believed that from anarchy people would be driven by self-preservation and the
fear of death to band together to form a state. He believed that without
government, we would end in a conflict of “war of all against all,” [1] Aristotle called people who lived without
government uncivilized and lawless folk.
The domestic government of any nation is the family where children are
nurtured for the future generation. Good home training enables the democratic
government of a nation lead the citizens to a promised land that flows with
“milk and honey”. To this end, some parents are willing to do anything to
ensure that the children are well formed to contribute to nation building.
Every parent desires the safety and health of the children in a secure
environment. It is a serious agony for any parent to bury the children
especially when they are innocently slaughtered by unknown people for whatever
reason.
On September 29, 2013 some print
and electronic media reported that some students of College of Agriculture,
Gujba, Yobe State were killed by gunmen in the early hours of Sunday September
29, 2013. When the Yobe State governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, visited the
hospital to inspect the wounded victims and the corpses of students deposited
at the mortuary, he could not control his tears that flowed like the drizzling
rain during his speech. The state deputy governor, Abubakar Aliyu; provost of
the college, Mulima Mato and other dignitaries also shed tears at the mortuary
when they saw the corpses of the innocent students. It is normal that these
attacks on schools in Damaturu, Mamudo and Gujba will definitely scare parents
from sending children to these schools.
This murderous act is a national
tragedy. I was one of the officiating ministers in the National Christian
Centre on Sunday September 29, 2013 when the Christians celebrated the 53rd
anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. I could see the passion of a bereaved
father in the facial expression of the President of Nigeria. The voice of our
President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan echoed in a lyrical dirge for the slain
students during his brief speech: “Today, you will agree with me that if you
were in my shoes, you will lack words. We had this programme in mind, we all
went to bed last night so that by this time as we are here today, we would all
gather here to thank God for what he has done for this great country. But then, only few minutes after 12 midnight
last night, about 21 students were murdered in Yobe State by a group that
described themselves as Boko Haram. If
you are wearing my shoes, what courage would you have to stand here before
Nigerians? What message will you send to Nigerians, to the parents of these
young people, our future leaders and students in College of Agriculture? Do you
say that the killing of these students is political? I ask, why did they kill
them? Did they kill students in Yobe because they do not like my face? Those students belong to which of the
political parties? People killed them, they don’t even know them. Do you see it
as ethnic cleansing? These students belong to which ethnic group in Nigeria? Do
you say it is religious belief or what? These students, are they Christians or
Muslims or what? This is the situation
we face almost on a daily basis. It is quite depressing. But having listened to
the CAN President, you will agree with me that all of us have hopes. By God’s
grace, we will get to where we want to go as a nation. The journey of a nation
is just like the journey of individuals. You must have obstacles. Sometimes,
they say, it is even darker when you are getting to the dawn period of the day.
The challenges we are seeing now are very transient. We will surely get over
it. No Boko Haram or any group can frustrate this country. In the words of
Jesus Christ, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Our President
concluded by saying that we may suffer pains at this critical moment but we
shall do our best to overcome.
The expression of the emotional
pain of our President can be compared to that of King David when a great number
of the Israelite died of the pestilence that God sent to them as punishment for
the census that was ordered by King David (2 Samuel 24, 15). David said to the Lord when he saw the angel
that smote the people, it is I who have sinned, but these other people, what
have they done? Let your hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my
father's house instead of the innocent people (2 Samuel 24, 17). The big question however is,
“what is the crime of our President that calls for these killings by the
gunmen? From the traditional view point, Africans value the sacredness and
dignity of the human person. Which religion teaches these reckless killings?
The story of creation in the Holy Bible affirms the dignity of the human person
above every other creature. The Holy Qur’an places the value of humanity (Adam)
above the angels. “And (remember) when we said to the angels: ‘prostrate
yourselves before Adam,’ and they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused
and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allah)” (Qur’an
2: 34). If the angels prostrated before Adam, then there is a seal on a human
being that must prevent him from being slaughtered like an animal. The above
verse also shows that Iblis (Satan) refused to bow to Adam. Can we not
therefore conclude that those who violate human dignity are agents of Iblis who
have no respect and value for human life? The book of Revelation narrated how
Satan was expelled from heaven and driven to the earth. “Therefore rejoice O heavens, and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to
you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation
12, 12).
The puzzle of Mr. President may
have an answer in the fact that what is happening in some parts of Nigeria is
not a battle with flesh and blood. It appears like a spiritual warfare. The
Federal government has offered amnesty to protect the lives of the citizens.
This offer was not accepted and the effort apparently failed. The declaration
of the state of emergency in the areas that are facing security challenges is
currently under severe trial. Christians and Muslims have been enjoined to pray
for the nation. What next do we advise the government to do? Do we just fold
our hands and cry that government should do something? Can the Christians and
Muslims not actually come together and spiritually attend to this challenge? It
appears that the sponsors of this “insecurity outfit” did not envisage that a
time would come when they would not be able to control the situation. Hearts
are wounded and memories are injured. Sometimes you do not know what to say
that would hurt the victims of violence deeper. The hatred of some adherents of
one religion against the other religion is getting deeper and deeper everyday.
The concept “dialogue” is becoming offensive to those who are so hurt that they
feel that there is nothing to talk about yet the Church’s hierarchy insists
that dialogue is not an option. When the President quivers, may the citizens
rise to his support even by those who are not yet affected in their comfort
zones! Nobody has the capacity to predict the rage of a little spark of fire if
it is not put off early enough. Let us
build Nigeria together.
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu
Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat
of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor of the Commission for Religious Relations with
Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City
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