TRANSITION ON POOLS OF BLOOD: NIGERIAN
WOMEN SHOULD PROTEST MASS KILLINGS
The
bloody catalogue include nearly all state capitals and is wildly
spreading into the cities and rural. It started with party primaries. In
Nasarawa State for instance, about 50 people reportedly killed when
supporters of PDP and ANPP clashed in a little village of Assakio in
Lafia East development area. The police recovered 23 bodies. Eggon and
Alago people have resorted to night attack and loathing of each other’s
properties in support of their political parties.
TRANSITION ON POOLS OF BLOOD: NIGERIAN WOMEN SHOULD PROTEST
MASS KILLINGS by Chinyere Ojide
Once upon a time, Liberia became
one of the bloodiest African countries from the era of Samuel Doe to
that of Charles Tailor. Human life became cheaper than that of chicken
and women and children were the ultimate passive victims because a
family who had the father or the able bodied men butchered out of
existence was finished. Liberian political juntas were too bloody that
even women had to protest. Liberian women mostly illiterate traders
stripped their children on their back and went on mass demonstration,
calling on the international communities to halt the wanton killings
that desecrate the land. It worked for them as America had to order
the last tyrant to leave the country. Ever after, relative peace has
reigned in that country. Nigeria is gradually becoming another Liberia
as electoral violence takes a g gruesome dimension in a country of
highly educated politicians. The place is bleeding as well as the
media. The human right Watch is appalled by the bloody state of
affairs just few days before the so called election is to start.
So far the web is filled with
expression of individual fears with regard to safety of life and
property as political parties allow their supporters to maim, kill and
loath properties of former party loyalists and other political
enemies. The nearer the date of election, the bloodier the campaigns
and deadlier the out come. “Blood, tears soak parties’ campaign trial”
is one of the leads in the Nigerian Vanguard.
The bloody catalogue include
nearly all state capitals and is wildly spreading into the cities and
rural. It started with party primaries. In Nasarawa State for
instance, about 50 people reportedly killed when supporters of PDP
and ANPP clashed in a little village of Assakio in Lafia East
development area. The police recovered 23 bodies. Eggon and Alago
people have resorted to night attack and loathing of each other’s
properties in support of their political parties.
In Ondo state, it is full blood
stained rallies as parties are armed to the tooth, in search of their
bloody victims – party opponents and their families. Akure, the state
capital had the first bloody encounter during the gubernatorial
primaries. Those who felt it was all about importation or exportation
of new candidate into the party could not take it. Thus supporters of
the governor and those of his Deputy clashed and the result was
written in blood. Akure and other parts of Ondo are turning into
cities of war and tears. All the former party loyalists who decamped
for another party were attacked and loathed. On convoys, party
campaigns have been violently interrupted and people killed and
maimed.
The names of the injured and the
killed are too long for this piece.
In Andoni, Rivers State, youths
reportedly unleashed terror on governor Ndili’s campaign crew because
they felt he has no right to come back to seek a re-election in a
place he never developed nor attracted presence of government. It was
a case of “those who failed us should not come to seek our votes”
While the governor was air picked from the troubled spot, his members
were assaulted and cars burnt. There are bloody clashes at Ibandan,
Ogbomoso, Saki and Ilero. These clashes left many people, even
passers by killed and maimed. Some politicians reportedly had gone
to a palace to solicit the support of Onilero of Ilero when the PDP
campaign train noted their parked vehicles and diverted into the
palace, demanding the release of the gubernatorial candidate to them
for torture. The candidate was hidden in the room of one of the wives
of the king. Unable to find the candidate, the hoodlum unleashed their
anger on the party members, defying police intrusion. They had
allegedly beaten up the police DPO in the area for daring to stop
them.
12 people were killed at Abeokuta
in an attempt to stop a governor from campaigning. Machetes, guns, and
cudgels were freely used and bodies fell all over the place.
The former interim Anambra State
governor, Virgy Etiaba has been sending clarion call to save her sons
as she said threat of kidnap and death keep coming to her family.
Already the international community election watch crew had indicated
that they would not watch the south –south of the Delta sate for fear
of kidnap and death. The Obasanjo-Atiku clash is a house hold story in
Nigeria and over seas, and the consequences has posed real challenge
to Nigeria legal system and human rights agencies. The courts are not
doing so badly so far but the dice is cast and the supreme court final
rulings must come on time to put the nerves at ease. Nigerians are not
cursed to be born along side greedy politicians whose shame knows no
boundary. The Rueben Abati’s Algor therapy is to apply both ways not
just one way. Any body can give up in the interest of the Nigerian
children, women and poor people who need to feel secure in their
already deprived environment.
Nigerian politicians have money
to buy guns and machetes for their loyalists to kill and maim citizens
and none to create jobs for troops of unemployed graduates. They do
not have money to construct roads and hospitals but one to use in the
destruction of humanity?
Family members of politicians are
afraid of being seen on the road by opponents’ party or loyalists.
Universities have started another round of ASUU strike creating room
for wandering youths. The army is worried and is quoted as saying, “It
is our duty to make sure that democracy is nurtured and protected.”
The police are worried as well as the human right agents. The police
seems powerless in the face of stronger armed party loyalists. The
Human Rights Watch is quoted as saying: “It seems clear that Nigerian
voters will again face treat of violence, intimidation and fraud”-
Peter Takirambudde, Africa director at human rights watch
The bloody tone is set for the
election and every body is watching with goose pimple and folded arm
what Nigerian politicians are bent on making of their fatherland.
Bola Kintola who sent a view from Atlanta wrote, “ It is time the
Nigerian women should get involved….Nigerian ministry for women
affairs should embark on organizing the women for full fledged anti
killing rally and protest because it is their children that are dying
like chicks…If Liberian women did it, Nigeria women can do it”
Ngozi Oko who said she is from
Anambra State wrote, “ I will suggest that Anambra state women get up
to the challenge of preserving the next generation…our children are
seeing all these and would be thinking that is the best way to grab
and hold onto power..mothers should not just fast and pray in
churches. They have to go to streets to protest. .This is a time to go
nude for these men and call on the Nigerian gods and ancestors to
intervene. These politicians are animals who have no respect for human
life and only in Nigeria would they get away with it”. Ruth Aboroque
from Ghana wrote:” Nigeria is too civilized for all this blood shed
and if they think America or Britain will stop them if the war starts,
they are wasting time because that is when the nations will take
advantage and bargain for cheap petroleum in exchange for war
weapons….Nigeria will soon be another Rwanda if no drastic measure is
applied now…The men are bad and can go on and on…we in Ghana do not
want any thing to happen to Nigeria because it will affect us” Rita
Sesey from Sierra Leone wrote, “Nigeria must learn something from us
because it is better not to start at all because it is going to be
gruesome and bloody and women will suffer most.. I think even
Nigerians abroad should start to organize for non bloody election
demonstration too because their families at home will surely be
affected. The youths are not happy and will take advantage to create
more chaos…Now is time to stop those shameless African politicians…the
white man will always laugh at us because our African men are not
really civilized…Do n’t we all watch elections here in the US?”
Yemi Olayiton from Akure,
resident of California wrote; “The Nigerian woman is almost a dumb
because she hardly protests anything done against her and her
children….They are too afraid and let everybody trample upon
them…something an American woman would not take, just one woman whose
child died in Iraq started a demonstration in front of white house and
before you know it, she got a crowd and that is how mass protest
against Iraq started. Right there women watch their boys killed off
and no water, no electricity and no good school or university and they
all sit down there and watch till they are all chased into bush like
in 1966 and abused and raped during civil war that will surely come
if this nonsense continue….Where are the so called empowered women,
give me a break!”
Emmanuel Uka from Bende Area of
Abia state wrote, “ It is not the women only, it is all Nigerians who
have been abused, enslaved and rubbed of good life for 47 years of
exchanging political batons by those who feels no touch of human
kindness…They are all watching quietly till the bombs start landing,
meanwhile all hotels are booked up in London and America where the
families of the politicians will be safe. Call any airway in Nigeria,
it is booked and the poor are left unprotected…Nigerians must rise
against political violence and senseless killings. Every Nigeria must
be involved as American behaves if danger threatens everybody.”
There are many opinions on the
web on what next to do to stop Nigerian politicians from extreme
disregard for human life when power criss-cross.
The fact remains that the
Nigerian woman always pay so dearly when powers or views clash in
Nigeria. Already some Igbos were found beheaded and the question is:
Is it going to be the Igbos again even when they do not get anything
but controversial position like being INEC chairman?. Please save the
Nigerian child and woman and conduct violence free election because it
is not only a home of politicians it is also a home for millions of
poor downtrodden women and children. Save the Nigerian child by saving
his father, mother, uncle and brothers.! Politicians can still rig the
elections comfortable with out shedding blood. Human blood is thicker
than voting cards!
