Monday 8 October 2012

Jungle Justice: I am with Aluu Community. by Desola Ade-Unuigbe




After seeing only two of the pictures that were being circulated about the 4 “innocent” boys murdered by the Aluu community, and hearing bits and pieces of the story surrounding their deaths, I did not even bother to watch the murder video as I again got angry at my country and tweeted a couple of things about how I had lost all hope in the country, and the countrymen.
One of my brothers immediately tackled me on bbm and tried to get me to see things differently. The truth is that I do. And my anger has simply been misinterpreted. And allow me admit here that my deep hatred towards Nigeria has been overly convincing. I do not hate Nigeria and probably never will. I will probably always carry an unlit torch of hope for her in my heart. Because I am like a mother when it comes to Nigeria; your child does something bad and you want to punish her, let her know that it is unacceptable to treat people in certain ways. But then in the next minute of a positive achievement you are proudly displaying medals and showing her off to your friends.
I am that mother.
Let me start off by pointing out two things that this situation has made me become aware of, firstly, we obviously do not know the whole story about this alleged laptop and phone theft or cultism or armed robbery resulting in the murder of these four students of University of Port Harcourt. Secondly, the Nigerian people have become so confused that they now do not know where to direct their anger. Or humanity. Or inhumanity.
Just to be clear, I do not in anyway whatsoever support that gruesome murder, I do not support the video of that murder, I do not support the people circulating it, I do not support the people who where murdered, and I do not support the community that carried out the murder. But I understand that community.
I am that community.
Humans are by nature animalistic and barbaric people. Before education and literacy, we had no clue how to live, what to eat or what to wear. The only thing that has helped us achieve some sort of civilization and sophistication is education. So all of this, is just a cover up. Because inside of me, I am an animal, and if cornered, the only defense I have of myself and my family is too attack and attack blindly. Animals do not see reason.
It is because we are animals, dressed up as humans, that we have created the law. We need some sort of regulation and guide because if we are left to wander and control ourselves, we would hurt ourselves.
So we have put our faith in people that we have chosen, people that we trust to help us hear our voice and make sane decisions to profit us as a group of people. That is why we have the government. Not to rule us, but to guide us. Somewhere along the line, the Nigerian government must have gotten the wrong message about why they were put in the positions that they are in. I think it started with the oil, but that is another anger entirely.
I’m not going to focus on the empty promises that we have gotten over the decades, or the unfairness to most Nigerians in their own country, because I don’t even know their story. What I do know is this. The Nigerian people have now reached a point where our government is pointless to us. Our ears are filled with empty promises of change, quelled corruption, discovered secrets and hidden loot. We have heard it all, and we have seen it all.
We do not have a functioning police system. The legal system is flawed. The media is tilted in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend. And the government is king. So let me ask this, if there is a crime, a crime so painful and hurtful, one that personally affects you, one that there’s every possibility that the prepertartors will go free. And if you could, if you were given the opportunity to take matters into your own hands, what would you do?
That’s jungle justice.
If someone walks up to me and says to me, “See this man, he is the one that killed your father. We are not totally sure yet, but we have certain reasons to believe he is the one. And if we let him go now he will get away. So take him”. I will take him. I will hurt him. I will cause him pain in all the ways that I have felt pain. That’s jungle justice.
The law says that every man is innocent until proven guilty. True. But who is doing the proving? And how long is it taking? Nigerians are tired and are having to resort to their own hands for justice. And humanity is dead because we are not human, we are animals. The law should be the human, and Nigeria has no law.
So what do we do?
With jungle justice there is usually no fairness or patience to listen to sides. But even our legal system now has no fairness. Are there no innocent people in jail? Are there no innocent men who have been hung while the guilty ones who sacrificed them sit and watch? Nigeria needs jungle justice. And that’s why I am on the side of the Aluu community. Not because I have no emotions, and not because I am completely evil, but because we have gotten to a period where our actions can be our only words. And the government must be forced to hear.
The Nigerian people do not know where to direct their anger. We are now confused people. We should be angry at the system, and not just empty anger, we should be angry such that our actions are our words. And if we can kill ourselves for minimal reasons, why can’t we fight this bloody system? Because the system is bloody. The massacre in Mubi is still fresh off our lips and again we are dealt with another atrocity that the Nigerian government will slyly push aside till a more convenient time.
A lot of people are condemning the act. A lot of people are condemning the people who acted so barbaric and evil. I will not condemn. I am the people. I have been pushed aside and waited and waited for investigations to finish so that I could have justice. For decades. I am tired of waiting. I will take justice in my hand and pull it out whenever I please. I will misuse justice. I will spit on justice like I have been spat on. I will walk all over justice like I have been walked on. I will hurt whoever I have to hurt for the government to see that Nigeria is in chaos. And that they need to make a turnaround. I will shit on justice till the Nigerian government sees me and stops investigating long enough to actually act.
They are still investigating the Mubi Massacre.
They are still investigating the ABSU gang rape.
They are still investigating Boko Haram bombings.
They are still investigating James Ibori’s theft.
They are still investigating corruption in the power sector.
They are still investigating the Dana crash, Sosoliso crash, Bell View crash.
They are still investigating the death of Rotimi Williams.
They are still investigating elections MKO Abiola should have won.
They are still investigating the fuel subsidy scam.
They are still investigating the 2013 budget.
They are still investigating offshore accounts that Abacha had and we can’t find.
They are still investigating.
While they are investigating, let us take justice in our own hands, and channel our anger towards the government. Let them see that we have had enough and won’t just mouth off for a couple of days and return to our lives. While they are investigating, let us take a moment to not reflect on the crime of Aluu community, but to reflect on what pushed them there.
That anger is also in all of us.
We are Aluu community.
Again, just to be extra clear on the matter, I do not in anyway whatsoever support that gruesome murder, I do not support the video of that murder, I do not support the people circulating it, I do not support the people who were murdered, and I do not support the community that carried out the murder. But I understand that community.
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Adesola Ade-Unuigbe tweets from @

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