A COUNTRY’S DESCENT INTO COLLECTIVE NUMBNESS

Nigerians must never lose the sense of being shocked, writes Monday Philips Ekpe

I owe the inspiration for this piece to the late Mr Godwin Agbroko, former Chairman of THISDAY Editorial Board. In December 2006 during a board meeting, the issue of rising insecurity was hot on the table, as usual. He made the point strongly and repeatedly that his major worry was that Nigerians appeared to be getting too used to stories of death and bloodshed. He saw that as the real tragedy emanating from the actual physical calamities that were being registered across the nation. That particular editorial was assigned to me. Late afternoon on Friday of that week, the board’s main production day, I received a call from Agbroko. News had just broken that some policemen were gunned down at a bank in Ibadan and he wanted that weaved into our viewpoint. As it turned out, that corporate opinion was among the last he edited on earth. He succumbed to bullets on his way home that night. Such cruel irony!

So, then, what exactly has changed? Nothing much, if any at all, I fear. The easiest thing to do now is to bash the government of the day for incompetence and ineptitude but that would be beside my main concern here. There is hardly any problem that exists in the country today that is new. Equally apparent is the rising intensity of these challenges. I have watched different administrations in Nigeria, both civilian and military, resume office with baskets of excuses and self-righteous accusations against their predecessors. That has become an embarrassing national pastime. We can only hope and work towards bringing this drama of pain to an end.

How much is the life of a Nigerian worth? What kinds of mental and emotional reactions do stories of people’s demise elicit? Are we, as compatriots, experiencing a rapid evaporation of empathy? And how far have we gone on that inglorious path? Last week’s bombing of the Abuja-Kaduna rail track and the subsequent killings, maiming, wounding and kidnappings make a sound case study. Bombs are certainly not strange anymore to the country. Remember the one that silenced Dele Giwa in October 1986; the one that hit the convoy of the then Military Administrator of Lagos State, Col. Buba Marwa; the one that disrupted the nation’s 50th Independence anniversary celebrations at Eagle Square, Abuja and the numerous others used by terrorists to terminate the lives of thousands of innocent citizens?

The train attack, however, stood out being the first on railway, a mode of transportation that had enjoyed relative safety. If that gruesome assault had happened elsewhere, there would have been more responsive and symbolic actions by the government and generality of the people. More concerted hunt for the perpetrators would have kicked off immediately. Better care for dying, dead, injured and traumatised passengers would have taken place in full force.  Flags would have flown at half-mast. Time of national mourning would have been declared. If we are too weak to promptly and appropriately recognise these situations for what they are, then we have reached a dangerous bend.

The timing of the rail disaster further exposed our growing poor priorities and judgement as a people. The passion of Nigerians for football is legendary. The match in Abuja between Nigeria and Ghana just a day after the train invasion was a test for the host country which it failed in one key respect. Why did the players not wear black arm bands to signify mourning mood? In most other parts of the world, that moment would have been seized to showcase the humanity, togetherness and spirituality of the bereaved country. An organisation like the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) would have directed all matches played throughout the continent that week to observe relevant formalities in honour of the departed. It unsettles us that we are often disrespected and abused abroad but how have we so far positioned ourselves anytime opportunities come our way to earn optimal regard from other nations and nationalities?

We should not give ourselves away as people who are quick to forget the memories of fellow citizens whose only offence, by the way, was to lead normal lives and pursue legitimate goals. The morbid roll-call of the Kaduna catastrophe, like the ones before, is heart-wrenching indeed; despite the fact that other callous fatalities have been recorded after that. Chinelo Megafu Nwando, a young medical practitioner, died moments after she tweeted in desperation and asked for prayers. The cynical responses from some of her respondents demonstrate a society in dire need of moral rejuvenation. Nwando had even concluded plans to travel to Canada for social and economic salvation. Farida Sule Mohammed, a 29-year-old lawyer, Barrister Musa Lawal Ozigi, Secretary-General of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Akin Akinsola, Kwara State Chairman of TUC, Abdu Isa Kofarmata, Director of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and others were also reportedly murdered gruesomely that night.

Of what use is a chain of lamentations, one may wonder. Having a good grasp of individual and communal identity is a critical step towards the full actualisation of life itself. That also enhances one’s capacity to value existence and forcefully reject any move to abruptly and criminally terminate same. 

My search for expert explanations for what seems to be our deliberate attempt to react feebly or nonchalantly to otherwise shocking, fatal experiences yielded fruits. An article, “Collective Amnesia and Epistemic Injustice,” published in a journal titled, Socially Extended Epistemology, and edited by J. Adam Carter and company describes this condition: “All shared memories are the result of mechanisms that transform initially divergent recollections of the past into an agreed account. Those memories which do not survive this process so that they are excluded from the shared version become forgotten through neglect.

“Sometimes, collective mnemonic silence or forgetfulness is not a mere by-product of the formation of memory. Instead, cognitive effort is specifically directed towards bringing about ignorance. Ignorance, in these instances, is a perverse kind of success… The final aim is to demonstrate that collective forgetfulness is harmful.” Aptly put. In the long run, what do the people stand to gain by not showing the right dose of anger or resistance to the forces that seek to dehumanise them? Subdued, internalised nightmare with all the consequences.

The normalisation of violent, life-ending crimes in the psyche of the people is a huge incentive for more audacity and ferocity on the part of the perpetrators. With that comes a gradual erosion of the readiness of law enforcement agencies to confront them frontally. The result is the enthronement of anarchy and the collapse of whatever is left of the cultural fabrics of the community.     

As a people, we tend to display selfishness, cowardice and misplaced stoicism to our own detriment. We might even have become conquered already, defeated by the illogical state called resignation. If we are compelled to permanently live with public enemies like Boko Haram, bandits, unknown gunmen, killer herdsmen, armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists and other merchants of death, we are finished. We must never completely lose our sense of being shocked. Regaining our ability to feel would make us human and would also be a desirable starting point, a sure step towards lasting victory.   

Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board