Marthin Luther King once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Sad to know that, 52 years after his death, the meaning of these words is manifesting in us practically negatively.
For the first time, many Nigerians have shown real concern for the ever rising insecurity and ravaging rate of crimes in the country. But to say that we are all surprised at once, will be a huge pretense if not highly hypocritical. This is because we Nigerians become more concerned about the negativity of issues only when they affect us personally or when we are gripped by a very close threat. Other than that, we all either hide in the shell of politicking, religious bigotry, unnecessary cultural or tribal differences, while we leave others to suffer.
The recent weeks have seen a huge rise in the rate of insecurity and crimes in the country. Unlike the previous years where one or two particular crimes or sects, Boko Haram Insurgency and the Farmer-Herder clashes were seen as the two major insecurity issues threatening the country, today, issues of rape, kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and more are extremely claiming many lives, crippling the economy of the country, sinking the whole nation into a state of perpetual anxiety and making headlines like never before.
Many intellectuals, writers and researchers have done their best to examine and identify some of the various causes of crimes and insecurity in the country. Some of the majorly and continuously identified causes include poverty, injustice, illiteracy, tribal or ethno cultural and religious differences, lack of good governance amongst others.
However, amidst all these, one other big mistake we make is the act of politicking with issues that especially, deserve our togetherness in combating. We are always quick to politick with issues that demand for our unanimous protest. We tend to do this by remaining silent, satirical, showing lack of concern or even expressing our public delightfulness over them as long as we or our region is not affected.
Politics could be all about interest. But its essence according to many studies and many definitions is to serve as a viable platform which enables every nation to thrive and achieve their development goals through constant expression of interest, ideas and opinions that transform into such development goals by the citizens. In Nigeria however, the reverse is the case. Our politicians and leaders play with our lives and painfully, we the youths ignorantly join in doing so.
For example, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east is a national issue that deserves our togetherness to fight it. But hardly, will a politician from the Western part of the country make effort to help in combating the issue. They know election will always come and the issue will be best for them to use as a counter campaign against their Northern opponents. Therefore they remain silent about it. Niger-Delta Militant in the South-south is also a national issue that deserves our unanimous voice on how to combat it so as to leverage our resources that are sabotaged. In this, many of the Northern leaders are silent because it will be a plus for them to have an edge over their Southern opponents during campaigns. And continuously, it happens in this way with other politicians from other regions of the country.
Sadly enough, majority of the youths in the country have and are sustaining such tradition of politicking with everything and even worse than the politicians do. For instance, a Northern youth can be quick to judge a rape case from the Eastern region by the mode of dressing. A Western youth is quick to judge an attack or a massacre in the Northern region by the Almajiri system in the North. And I ask? Are all these not national issues? Do we not experience killings and rape cases in all regions of the country?
Some of these issues could be regional before, but our miscalculation and negligence in prioritising issues that really matter have made them national. We seem not to care much about rape until we now experience it behind our windows. We were negligent about killings in some parts of the country until it’s becoming an everyday something in almost all out streets. Students can no longer go to the universities they really want. Graduates are afraid to choose the state they would have loved to. Yet, we all seem to have ignorantly lost our sense of prioritizing what will be best for our dear nation. By this, the country is moving toward a state of utter hopelessness.
No society can be without challenges. That’s why there is leadership. The purpose of leadership is however, to create a system that will serve as a strong force in making and implementing policies that will mitigate such challenges there by, empowering the society with a good atmosphere that fosters development. In the same vein, the citizens especially, the youths of any nation are resourceful energies for a greater future. Youthfulness in one’s life creates a better chance to think and solve problems bedeviling the society. So, there is immediate need for our leaders and youths to desist from politicking with every situation and begin to serve in the capacity of problem solvers through one voice. Protest against ills in the society no matter what the causes are should be done unanimously to achieve quick responses or changes.
To cap it all, as a Facebook friend wrote, “Unless all of us believe, wholeheartedly, that each of us is all of us, peace will remain a mirage.”
Abdulazeeze can be reached on Facebook as Etudaye Musa Abdulazeez
