Mummy Bridgette: A public lynching of Nigeria's Citizenship

Faces of the Alleged Kano Murderers

Last week a senior, was lynched in a market in the northern city of Kano in circumstances that are yet to be clarified. As usual, the people doing the lynching were Muslims and the person being lynched a Christian. 

The story goes that a young man in the evening of a particular market day decided to go to the front of Mummy Bridgette's shop to perform the customary washing done by Muslims before prayers. Irked by Mummy Bridgette's resistance to performing ablution in front of her shop, an argument ensued and the young man in typical fashion escalated the confrontation into a mob action by making the Muslim call on other potential murderers to come for the killing feast. Efforts by saner minds to intervene and calm things down failed and the elderly woman was eventually beaten to death right in front of her husband. 

Mob action and willingness to destroy Nigerians who profess other religions apart from Islam has been a recurring theme in Nigeria's quest for nationhood. The attitude of religious superiority is one of the clogs in the wheels of Nigeria's progress and the most ardent culprits are northern Muslims.

In 2001, a non-Muslim woman  traversing the prayer ground during Friday prayers ostensibly triggered the Jos riots that resulted in the killing of thousands from which the city has not yet recovered. Teachers and youth corpers have been lynched for carrying out official assignments without any form of justice meted out to culprits. 

The lynching of Christians or what northern mobs call "infidels" goes to the core of what the life of a citizen is worth in Nigeria. How many lives have to be sacrificed before meaningful actions are taken to forestall such occurrence, and why do organized mobs feel so confident in destroying other Nigerians at the slightest provocation? Why should other Nigerians live in fear of reprisals and death simply by acting out the rights of citizenship? Why does the average northerner think that southerners or non-Muslims are subhumans whose life can be extinguished without compunction?

When confronted with these questions, southern intellectuals and writers, especially those who think they have a stake in the Nigerian experiment bring up didactic improbabilities that suggest killing innocent people by northern Muslims is simple criminality that is similar to extrajudicial killings in other parts of the nation. They give examples of the Aluu four, the Abuja six and other nuanced occurrences to justify a clear religious and ethnic bias regarding killings involving Moslems/Hausa Fulani and others. 

No other form of deliberate genocidal behaviour in Nigeria reaches the extent and impunity of that visited by Moslems on non-Moslems. This is a country where the actions of a misguided cartoonist in Europe could result in you and your family being publicly barbecued alive on a whim, just because you are anything other than Muslim and/or Hausa/Fulani. We are gradually being forced to live according to Sharia laws and those who should know and defend the secularity of the Nigerian state are burying their heads under mounds of political correctness.

The Ramadan period appears to have brought out the worst in those bent on "dealing" with "infidels" in their midst.  A carpenter having his lunch was nearly killed recently in Kaduna by Muslim youths who felt "disrespected" that he was eating during Ramadan.  The government of Gambia has taken ridiculousness to the height of macabre by banning ceremonies, music and dancing during the "holy month of Ramadan."  This happens only in Africa, where the most self-hating species of humans on the planet abound. Not to be outdone, a Muslim body in Nigeria called MURIC (the Muslim Right Concern) has condemned this year's national youth service camp season as "unconstitutional" because the exercise happens to fall during Ramadan. Nigeria, according to these bigots should stand still for a personal proclivity such as Ramadan to pass. In the slangy west, this is truly a 'WTF' moment.

When you step back and view things from a neutral perspective, you will begin to appreciate the fact that on the average, the northerner understands his power and influence in the country. The northern oligarchy and their teeming mass of blind religious bigots act as if they own the country and therefore can do anything to anyone without consequence. For example, there are swathes of farmland and grassy areas in the north but you don't hear of Fulani men sacking villages in Kano, Sokoto, Daura, or Bauchi raping Hausa/Fulani women and children. The unwholesome tyranny is usually reserved for the "infidels" of parts of Taraba, Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, and the big prize - Southern Nigeria.

 What Mummy Bridgette said or did in Kano Market should not have mattered if the machinery of justice and equity of the Nigerian state was intact. But because Nigeria is unjust, iniquitous, and in a crucial sense, non-existent, the death of Mummy Bridgette has become another signpost on the road of our collective journey into perdition, unless something is done to change course.  Nigeria, as presently constituted, guarantees there would be many more Mummy Bridgette. Today, it is Mummy Bridgette, but tomorrow it could be you.

Fayose's Simple Logic

Recently, there were coordinated attacks in parts of Ekiti state with fatalities and the governor of the state, while addressing the affected communities vowed to protect the community. In addition to monetary help, Fayose referred to the fact that since the federal government of Nigeria was failing in its duties to protect lives and property it was time for self-help.

Without any equivocation, the governor banned the herding of animals in the state and sent a bill to the legislature to give the ban legal teeth. He also went ahead to convene a meeting of local hunters to constitute a vigilante group with authority to hunt down and kill herdsmen who might try to cause destruction in any guise. 

While his Benue and South Eastern counterparts were wringing their fingers watching hundreds of their citizens killed by faceless goons, Fayose decided to make provision for giving the bastards a dose of their medicine. Some called the governor's action crude, terrible and some even threatened to take him to court for denying the constitutional rights of Nigerians to live anywhere in the country. The constitution guarantees (on paper), that all Nigerians can live freely anywhere but it surely does not allow for killing innocent lives anywhere. 

If the governor is the chief security officer of a state then Fayose's actions is within the ambit of his duties, especially considering the fact that PMB appears flippant about addressing the murderous actions of Fulani herdsmen in the country. For example, the president acted as if nothing was happening in Benue State when herdsmen were killing hundreds of villagers while he was preparing for a trip to China sometime back. In saner countries, the incident was enough for him to cancel his trip in order to address a serious national issue. His spokesman, who sometimes puts his foot in his mouth when commenting on national issues, announced the president's reaction in a nonchalant statement. The president was going to China to solicit for a couple of billion dollars when studies have shown that the cost of Fulani herdsmen warfare within Nigeria is over 10 billion dollars yearly!

An indication that the steps taken by governor Fayose were right is that the legislature (House of Representatives) has now realized that the only nation that is lootable is the one that exists. 

In a recent move, the legislators called for investigations into the Oke-Ako Fulani attacks and directed release of relief materials to affected communities along with police deployment. The legislator who moved the motion stated that, "...The attacks if not curbed, would lead to reprisal attacks and imminent guerrilla warfare." Well, maybe that is what the country needs right now in order to curb the arrogance of the ruling political class. 

The legislator (Agboola) further stated that, "…The ‘back to farm’ slogan of the current administration to diversify the economy may not see the light of day, as farms were being destroyed by “uncoordinated grazing” in the country. Lives are randomly lost in these incessant attacks and sometimes in a dimension that is similar to genocide…"

                                                                                                                                    

The federal government obviously has a slogan, but it is not "back to farm", it is "die in farm." The government has been more concerned and active in dealing with cattle rustlers than securing the livelihood of farmers. 

Fayose, love him or hate him, has drawn a line in the sand and other affected states have no excuse for not dealing with their unwanted marauders. When a group determines that other lives do not matter in Nigeria and the federal government maintains a passive approach, then doing whatever is necessary to protect yourself is an intelligent approach to the perfidy.  It is one way of curbing the excesses of federal incoherence and perhaps save a failing nation.

Saving the "Witch-Children" of Eastern Nigeria

An abandoned "witch child" fed by an NGO

 

It is a sad tale of irresponsibility that in this century and after the work of Mary Slessor more than a century ago, children in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria are being systematically destroyed in the name of witchcraft. It is a degenerate and conscious form of paedocide that is encouraged by a psychotic "clergy", mentally depressed parents and nonchalant state governments. 

A society that is unable or unwilling to protect and nurture its minors is doomed. What is going on in the two states of Nigeria (which is more or less a banana republic) borders on insanity.  We pride ourselves for having some of the most popular churches on the planet; with jet-age "men and women of God" traversing world capitals with Christ-laced platitudes, but become beasts when it comes to compassion for our kind at home.

Jesus never advocated torture in dealing with any "sinner" or "demon possessed" person according to the bible; instead, he sought them out and healed them.  But there is a particular woman located in the Akwa Ibom/Cross River axis whose "ministry" is devoted to encouraging the demonization of children, torturing them and keeping them under inhuman conditions until they perish. Apart from this strange woman, other "prophets" appear to have taken this "witching doctrine" to ridiculous levels. This is going on in a country that prides itself for having institutions of higher learning, world-class learned men and women and an assumed religious consciousness bordering on theocracy. These Christ-laced hypocrites are not ashamed to go along with traditional anachronisms by the local populace who believe strongly in the ancient practice of witch hunting.

The unfortunate assumption is that these children are the "spiritual cause" of the problems the parents might be going through. This is a ridiculous notion at best. It does not matter what problems the parents are facing; whether economic, mental or general unhappiness, the theory is that the most vulnerable members of society are to blame!

While kids undergo Auschwitz-like treatment, those in position of power pay token attention to the crimes. They sit in air-conditioned insular chambers, whether in offices, cars, gated mansions or private jets, forgetting that the very base of society is gradually slipping away with the plaintive wail of tortured souls of children. These aloof leaders sometimes hurriedly put together laws that appear on the surface to show their concern for the evil going on, but deep down, they are not bothered. It is easier to dwell on the birthday party in France at the end of the month than think of some poor child being tortured to death.

More than a century ago, a Scottish woman; Mary Slessor, came to southeastern (Calabar) Nigeria and managed to convince the people to stop the killing of twins. It appears we need another Mary to come and rescue the "witch children" since indigenous Marys appear scarce. 

Why do we always look outside for help when we can easily solve our problems with some effort on our part? Why do we have to involve the United Nations or some foreign NGO from Sweden, Denmark or Germany, to come and teach us that our children are irreplaceable treasures? There is a serious problem when authority figures in the community such as the clergy and parents conspire to destroy young lives while the machinery of justice hardly takes notice. The two governors of the two aforementioned states should indict themselves because this wanton destruction of children is happening under their watch. The denial of rights, justice and humanity at the highest echelons of governance in Nigeria is a common disease and these traits flow down to the family level until they empty on the most vulnerable - children. 

If political office holders fight for the rights of the people to common decency the way they fight and kill for elections, maybe things would be better. But the majority of them are self-seeking, who usually seek to destroy the few statesmen in their midst. 

Most of the "witch kids" end up in the streets trying to survive while little ones, if lucky, are rescued by NGOs. The government should investigate the origin of these children and inquire as to why they have been neglected. If the parents admit witchcraft as reason for abandoning their ward then they should be indicted on the spot and hauled away to face justice. There should be a national and statewide awareness of the problem as a serious emergency. The so-called "ministries" that are contributing to these miseries should be sanctioned immediately and if investigations lead to any of them as having contributed to particular cases, the money for the rehabilitation of the child should be billed to them.

Public or private exorcisms related to witchcraft and condemnation of children should be banned. The real witches causing health, economic, natural, and unnatural problems in Nigeria are in government houses and other positions of power. They are comfortable with what is happening because as real culprits destroying the society, they can hide behind high walls and state security while vulnerable and defenceless children become scapegoats. 

Governors Udom Emmanuel and Benedict Ayede; please, solve the problem of "witch children" before you leave office, in order to truly be blessed. I am not talking of the blessings promised by your canting clerics, who want a bit of the pie you are currently eating but a true blessedness from the hearts of these dear young souls whose only offense was to be born in the wrong country.

"Prophetess" Akpabio: Encourages the stigmatization of "witch children"

Nigerians Fantastically Corrupt: Who Taught Them?

The Nigerian-British Union

 

There is an assumed finality, truthiness, and acceptability of opinions the white world expresses about those they deem inferior to themselves. Anything spewed out of their thin lips must be correct since they are psychologically close to deity. This is because they control the narrative and have modified or obscured history in order to fit a whitened planet where Oyinbos have become the reference point for everything that is perfect. From slavery days to the so-called Panama papers, it has been an unending foolery.

Looking at the people present when the Prime Minster of Britain made a rather patronizing statement about Nigeria and one other country being fantastically corrupt; the triumvirate of the imperial, the religious and the political, were represented by the Queen, the Archbishop and the Prime (crime?) Minister. They represent deadly weapons that were unleashed centuries ago to accomplish world domination and institute the concept their supremacy.

The current division of the people of the world into extremes of riches and poverty is the deliberate idea of western powers and their cohorts. The way the system currently works guarantees in perpetuity that there would always be exploitable resources and labor for the satisfaction of corporate and imperial powers whose bastion lies westwards. In fact, in today's world, what seems to be democracy is simply a thinly veiled form of imperial fascism that is championed by the mercantilist class (corporations) for the benefit of unseen and untouchable imperial class. 

The whole gamut of so-called corruption in "developing" nations was caused by the unfortunate but deliberate distortions introduced into each country's socio-political and economic fabric in order to engender the emergence of a local parasitic class that is answerable to the master puppeteers in the corporate halls of western powers. If you look beneath the make-believe news cycle, and dig deep into each country's condition, especially "developing" ones such as in Africa, progressive forces are actively being destroyed for the satisfaction of knaves. 

In the late 50s and early 60s when most African nations became newly "independent", there were great men, and women who were ready to deal a deathblow to colonialism and its vestiges. They eagerly wanted to free African minds and compel real independence. But there were other Africans who benefited immensely from the exploitation of the land and its people during colonial rule. This second group belonged to the powerful local ruling class and their scions. It was from this group that the colonial masters chose most of the first leaders. Since they had been working together with the colonists during official colonialism, it was only natural that they continue to do so afterwards. Progressive minds were never allowed to develop the new nations of Africa after independence.

 A unique example was the personal and political destruction of Patrice Lumumba in Zaire and the subsequent imposition of Mobutu as leader for almost forty years of that nation's history. This means that an entire country's progress was mitigated for nearly four decades by the same powers that love to thumb their noses at backward Africans. The same template was used to stymie the progress of countries in South and Central America, Asia and the Middle East by eliminating statesmen and imposing controllable imps. 

Western leaders should know better than call out other nations as corrupt when they were, and still are, responsible for encouraging corruption worldwide. Nigeria, for example, has been fighting to get monies stolen by past leaders back from the clutches of western banks for more than a couple of decades. These western nations would not tolerate a cabinet minister spending more than a few hundred dollars or pounds over budget, and in fact, some ministers have resigned for not retiring in full, their state sponsored expenses! But these same criminals condone the deposit of billions of dollars and pounds of third world wealth in their banks without question.  They encourage buying fantastic real estate by their puppets without asking how such wealth came about. This is mainly because the transfer of wealth from the third world to the criminal world is used to shore up the economy of the recipient. For example, Abacha's loot has probably generated enough interest in high yielding stocks over the past two decades that has made financial speculators rich.

It is therefore pathetic that the first people we run to when faced with problems are these same criminals who are the basis of most of our problems. This is the reason why they have a good laugh at us when we turn our backs and discuss us as if we are trained zoo animals instead of humans.

Britain and the rest of the western world are hypocritical when they stand afar and point fingers at the vileness they helped in creating. They act as if Africa and other parts of the underdeveloped world are the way they are because of internally generated problems instead of acknowledging their part in the whole mess.

Our educational, military and political systems are direct grafting from the west and that is why these systems would never work for the benefit of Africans. At inception, these systems were not designed to be constructive but at best extractive and at worst destructive. The men in uniform, for example, see anyone but their principal as a piece of kickable matter to be oppressed and destroyed when given the order - just like colonial henchmen. Policemen carry shopping bags for the wives of the rich but would not hesitate to shoot ordinary Nigerians dead at the slightest, or no provocation.

After graduation, most Nigerians are unlikely to be engaged in any meaningful nation-building endeavour, and since western controlled media mostly shape their worldview, they edify whatever is white.  They would do anything to leave what they consider as a backward country and rush towards the lights of Europe, even if it means certain destruction in the Mediterranean Sea. We have even been convinced, or compelled, to stop teaching history in our schools because the only history that matters is white - and what they say about others. But when the history of a people does not matter it is a clear indication that the people themselves do not matter.

Someone said, "…The mother is the first teacher of the child and whatever the mother gives to that child, the child gives to the world."  Britain is the "mother" of Nigeria and other unfortunate countries, and what we have here is that their fantastic corrupting influence has come of age.

Cameron: just zip it; it is your unmitigated corruption and subjugation (from the days of overt slavery to date) of other parts of the world that has made you, the Bishop and the Queen rich and carefree. 

What is termed corruption in Nigeria is actually a desperate cry for help from a people without leadership, whose birthright has been sold and paid for.  Nigerians are content to be treated like animals in a pen because that is the only thing they know. Generally uneducated, they are content to be strung along the tramlines of ethnic and religious perfidy. Unable to fulfill the basic needs of a human being, desperation becomes the order of the day. The only regret in all of this is that our leaders are still children and the Camerons of this world have the whip.