Madiba’s emotional call for action on poverty (3)

Aliyu Musa

When John Dollard and his colleagues advanced the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis (FAH) in 1939 they, probably, did not have Nigerians in mind. FAH is a theory that attempts an explanation of the predisposition of human beings to violence by arguing that interference with their desire to achieve certain goals is a major incentive. But it adds that rather than venting their frustrations on the actual source of that interference they tend to invent and focus on a weaker target and make a scapegoat of it.

In Nigeria today, there is no denying that savagery is routine and the perpetrators and victims are the downtrodden, set against each other. But those instigating this barbarism are safely shut away from its backlash. In the entire violence in the northeast the victims are mostly the ordinary people who get killed by security forces and dubbed Boko Haram insurgents (even if they are not) or by the insurgents. Truly too, the insurgents are themselves conscripts, who have been either forcibly initiated or brainwashed into believing it is a just cause. But those responsible for this sophisticated art of manipulation are never brought to justice, even when identified.

It is not just the violence in the northeast, which initially spread to much of the north that clearly brings out the beast in us. In other parts of the country it is the same situation, although the manner and magnitude differ. In recent times morality and reason have suffered a giant plunge. People unleash unimaginable cruelty on fellow humans at the slightest provocation. Armed robbery, abduction for ransom and attacks and killings on spurious allegations etc. are everyday happenings that people now hopelessly live with.

Recall the Aluu community massacre of four young men, supposedly cult members. What still beats me is that no one in whole time that cruelty happened had a rethink, and there was no intervention from anywhere, not even from the police who reportedly sanctioned lynching the men. And today, although there were reports of arrests and prosecution, nothing has been heard any more.

There was also a case of a woman who was gang raped and the perpetrators uploaded video of the vile act on YouTube. It was thought the rapists were university undergraduates but it later emerged they were members of a community whose action was allegedly sanctioned by powerful members of the community, in order to humiliate the woman and her husband. Despite claims of investigations, nothing has come out of that.

Very recently too, two women were subjected to serious act of sexual assault for by thugs who accused them of stealing. Again, like previous cases the perpetrators gladly uploaded on YouTube a video clip of the gory act. Also, just like it happened in the past, no one will be made to defray the cost of this infraction.

Add these cases to several unreported ones, plus extrajudicial killings security operatives quietly carry out, one is left in no doubt that our society is progressively becoming endangered. Morality and reason have suffered a massive trouncing and poverty plays major role in all this. And we are exorcising our anger on those who have played no part in causing our suffering.

If the case of a Tunisian street vendor, Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself ablaze in protest of his mistreatment by municipal (council) officials could electrify the whole Arab world into revolting against their sit-tight, imperial leaders why are Nigerians diffidently accepting worse conditions? Why are we so tolerant of injustice from people in positions of authority but we find minor and, sometimes, inadvertent wrongdoings by our fellow oppressed unacceptable? Why have we suddenly transformed into a society of noxious savages baring our fangs on the wrong targets while we make excuses for those responsible for our miseries?

Our problems are not ones to be easily wished away. We have a choice to make between transforming our situation and allowing things to continue to drift; between fighting for life and justice and be worthy of them and turning a blind to every infraction of rights; between embracing civility and wandering back to total anarchy; to either answer Mandela’s call to, in our way make our plight a thing of the past, or live with it forever.

(Concluded)