“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” — Albert Einstein
In affirmation with Einstein’s thought-provoking assertion, the dignity and humanity of man begins to erode, when we fail to raise voice of opposition against brutality and cruelty of rampaging tyrannical forces – whose mission is to suppress peoples’ democratic views and total emancipation of their mortgaged freedom via deterring instruments of autocracy. Life plunges into valley of meaninglessness and descends into bottomless pit of delusions, when people lose their connectivity touch of humanity, by turning blind eye when crimes against humanity are being perpetrated by cold-blooded beasts masked in military uniforms.
On 30th of May, 2016, the rivers of blood flowed into Niger, garments of sorrow fell on us and despicable acts of genocide were committed brazenly unprovoked, on the ancestral soil of Igbo nation. Over 40 unarmed pro-Biafran members of IPOB, MASSOB and BIM were brutally massacred, maimed, gunned down and drowned in pools of blood by murderous security agents of callousness and sadistic tendencies. The only offence of these Igbo youths was daring to raise Biafran flag in remembrance of our fallen heroes, who paid the ultimate price of death 49 years ago, to liberate their politically enslaved people from the shackles and hackles of this contraption called Nigeria.
After the detestable, barbaric and abominable acts of viciousness and extreme actions of man inhumanity to his fellow man done to Igbo Youths in Eastern region, I expected to see overwhelming torrents and myriads of condemnations to emanate from the rank and file of political, religious, business leaders of Igbo extraction; both home and abroad but to no avail. Expect for few outstanding leaders like Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu – who boycotted Presidential dinner organized for leadership of the National Assembly at the State House on the evening of that fateful day and his subsequent motion on the floor of Red Chamber next morning, where he patriotically and intrepidly brought attention of the Senate to unprofessional and cold-hearted conducts of Nigerian security officials in handling of Biafra Day Anniversary in the East.
Ironically, as Ekweremadu was reprehending unjustifiable killing of Igbo youths in the Senate by the same guns and ammunitions, that were bought with their money paid as taxes, another conscienceless group from the South-East with the hypocritical name of ‘South-East Leaders for Change’ led by no other person but a so-called Igbo leader, Sen. Ken Nnamani went on wild goose chase cum tomfoolery at the Presidential Villa, to lobby for political appointments, when the entire Igbo nation and advocates of justice were in mourning mood. The pictures of these Igbo exploiters cloaked as leaders, exchanging pleasantries and jokes in ecstatic disposition, with a Commander-in-Chief whose foot-soldiers embarked on gratuitous mission to exterminate Igbo youths, can be best described as height of insensitivity and betrayal of collective interest and Igbo notion of “ometute onu ometute imi”, which means injury to one; is injury to all.
According to words of Bishop Desmond Tutu, “if you’re neutral in the face of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor”. The ill-timing of this unceremonious visit by Nnamani-led group of political jobbers from South-East, has portrayed them not only as anti-Igbo but as crop of opportunists whose illogical action has insulted sensibilities of every living and dead Igbo person. The inability of these ideologically-bankrupt and philosophically-bereft turncoats, to soothe agitated nerves of families of slaughtered and injured Igbos, by openly condemning the unwarranted bloodbath in the East, via golden opportunity presented by inquisitive State House Press – who rushed towards them for interview immediately after their highly deceitful meeting with President Buhari, has shown them as being on the side of oppressors.
The insufferable graveyard silence and chronic hypocrisy of weak-willed South-East governors, is too conspicuous to be negligible. It took again, brotherly and heroic reaction of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State to scandalise the spineless make up of these weaklings parading themselves as governors in Igbo land. Of much nauseating, is Wille Obiano of Anambra, whose state has been converted to abattoir – where unarmed pro-Biafran civilians are mowed down at any slightest provocation. I’m quite sure, that the spirit of Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, who was remembered and celebrated on that fateful, will forever remain irritated with Obiano for conniving with bloody-thirsty soldiers to kill his people in order to remain politically correct in the jaundiced eyes of his Hausa/Fulani masters in Abuja.
At the end of gruesome massacre of Igbo Youths in Anambra State, Governor Obiano through his disjointed press release added acidic salt to exacerbating injury, via his tactless and cowardice stroke, by referring to the ill-fated rally as “illegal” – in a supposedly democratic dispensation, instead of apologising to Ndigbo for not proactively calling crude security officials to order before the horrible incident, which consumed lives of promising Igbo Youths.
In the light of this context, Obiano has entered wrong side of history as the most brutal and heartless governor ever documented in the political annals of Igbo nation. His baseless and chicken-hearted description of hitherto peaceful pro-Biafran rally as “illegal”, contradicts the following quote from Thomas Jefferson, “If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so”.
The greatest tragedy of monumental proportion is not the brutality and cruelty of evil people as exhibited via unprofessionalism of Nigerian army, but rather the dead silence cum connivance of Igbo leaders like Obiano in decimating our people. It is now obvious that Obiano has sacrificed his constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and properties of Igbos to his slavish voyage in Aso Rock; just to secure his second term, which is fast eluding him already going by his anti-people’s cum Igbo activities.
One million-dollar question raging in the minds of Igbos world over, since the killing of Igbo in the East is: where is Fr. Ejike Mbaka? It is utterly incomprehensible and grossly reprehensible that the ever brusque and loquacious cleric has gone mute in the face of this tragic; mindboggling development. Fr. Mbaka, a known supporter of this administration has decided to play ostrich when his people are being slain like worthless animals. He has absconded from his religious role of being the voice of the oppressed, in the face of injustice just to remain a friend of President Buhari. When the dust of this massacre and killings dies down, he crawls out of his hole to insult the sensibilities of Igbo nation again.
Over 40 people were slain in Nimbo community of Uzo Uwani LGA by rampaging Fulani herdsmen, Fr. Mbaka pretended as if nothing happened. He was not heard criticizing this atrocious destruction of lives and properties in Igbo land, because he does not want to lose his unlimited access to State House. All worthy sons and daughters of Ndigbo should rise up to condemn and questions brutal murder of our youths in our land, because genocide begins with killing of one – not for what he has done, but because of who he is – apology to Kofi Annan.
- Nwobodo can be reached at chidieberenwobodo@yahoo.com
