LOVEJOS : NATURAL BORN KILLERS OR GOD AND GOVERNMENT FORSAKEN BROTHERS?

On Saturday 24th September I had the privilege or perhaps misfortune of attending the Lovejos conference in London. It was an incredibly insightful but extremely traumatic experience. You read about the killing of fellow citizens in newspapers and watch people of other nations drop dead on their streets and simply turn a new page, change the channel or mentally switch off blanking the gruesome sights out of your mind. Next minute you drift off nicely and wake up not even remembering the events.

Saturday was a very different experience. The films which the organisers showed changed my world and attitude forever. The atrocities contained in those films were simply unbelievable and the level of havoc which fellow Nigerians unleashed on others was unimaginable and can only be described as genocide. I wondered whether the people who did this were human beings or animals. One of the speakers spoke about how they killed a pregnant woman, ripped open her belly, opened the womb pouch, brought out the innocent sleeping peaceful child and chopped him up. That was a very moving moment of my life and I could only but look away in sorrow and sob.

Prior to the conference I had always thought that the killers were simply religious fanatics who could be persuaded to change but the story of the pregnant woman and her unborn child, who became the victim of untold violence in a world that he never even had the chance to live in, convinced me that the killers are not human. If they are human, then they are heavily possessed people who have allowed the devil to find and build his alter of mass destruction in their brains, minds and eyes. They have no value for human life. Simply put, they are natural born killers who will kill for nothing or anything.

Today, I managed to move from sobbing and sorrow to reality and asked myself, who to blame. In light of the history of the atrocities which the organisers reckon started in 1991, I concluded that the blame lay firmly and squarely at the doors of our successive military and civilian governments, our Northern leaders, the British Government and all of us who talk the talk but do not walk the walk.

I blame our successive military and civilian governments because they have failed to impose credible, no nonsense sanctions which will make our brothers and sisters who perpetrate these heinous crimes to understand that their behaviours are intolerable and therefore unacceptable in a civilised society.

I excuse GEJ to an extent because the problem is older than him and he would require our prayers and support to deal with it in the most decisive manner. That said I still expect some serious “enough is enough” reaction from him. Many people seem to be taking his admirable humble, conciliatory and understanding nature for stupidity and weakness. He must stand up and show them the man he is. I am sure that many compatriots will be ready to help if asked. This is not the time to play politics. It is about life therefore everyone must put their prejudices and party politics aside and make joining GEJ in finding lasting solutions to this evil of self destruction our collective national responsibility and priority.

Northern leaders because although they have continued to give their rich spoilt kids the best education our money can buy from any part of the world, they have selfishly continued to tolerate the delinquency of their people many of whom they feed and use to unleash havoc on their political opponents under the guise of religious intolerance. They know that empowering them just like their children will make violence of the type I saw on the video clips unattractive to them and they will lose the people who do their dirty jobs. It is therefore not in their interest to empower them positively.

British government because they created a nation out of a multitude of nations for their own selfish interests without considering the inevitable chaos that may ensue as a result and have nonetheless  continued to fail to take responsibility for their actions.

And many of us because our sycophantic adulations of some of our leaders who are blatantly abusing their offices, have continued to feed the ignorance, arrogance and greed of criminals who see the privilege to serve Nigeria in various elective offices as opportunities to enrich themselves. These days everybody wants to be a politician without thinking of the responsibilities of the offices they are seeking elections into.  This is incredibly mind numbing when compared to what people in UK, USA etc would expect of their leaders and conducts upon which politicians will be jailed and banned from holding any public office in these countries.

I was also troubled by the fact that although the conference venue has approximately 500 or more capacity and the organisers advertised widely, just a few of us attended. Worst still, the event was championed by Baroness Cox, a foreigner who has no business protecting the lives of Nigerians or our human rights.

Our poor attendance and our usual nonchalant attitude to matters of this nature which ordinarily require our absolute interest, attention and unequivocal commitment troubled me more all the yesterday and the whole of today. I was lost in thoughts and wondered what I can do to make the difference.

Thankfully the organisers have listed a number of things anyone can do to help. I am still thinking and hope to be able to volunteer to do one or two things to help. I would like to be counted and have no doubt that many of us would like to stand up and be counted too.

On this note, I `beg’ everyone in this group to visit the website of the organisers at www.lovejos.org.uk and see what they may be able to do to make life better for the victims of this genocide and ensure that the deaths of our modern day martyrs of democracy are not in vain. I plan to ask for 5 minutes speaking opportunity in church next Sunday and ask members of my church to help in any way they can.

Remember, Nigeria is ours and things can only get better if we try. Please do the same when you go to church or community events in future.MAY

GOD BLESS US ALL.

- Jenny Okafor

Directorate of Legal and Human Right Affairs, Arisenigeria