Igho Hakeem Ohwojeheri Wrote: Few days ago, I read a report on Sahara Reporters of some Southern Kaduna indigenes protesting against what they called genocide of their people. They lemented that earlier this year, February precisely, that almost 150 of their people were killed in Kaura villages and not too long ago, another 200 were also killed in Sanga villages. Those who carried out the killings did not spare women or even children and they were not interested in the money and property of their victims, rather, they had only one goal which was to kill as many as possible. I know Nigerians are very good at throwing insults, but before you start cursing the murderers and lament how devilish they are, ask yourself if indeed this is news to you. We are all aware because these incidents were reported, but apart from people from the area, hardly do you find other Nigerians lamenting the carnage and demanding that our security agents be up and doing. Everybody just seems to ignore it or passively mentions it. Boko Haram is big news, but it is not the only news. Even a bomb blast that killed nobody made a bigger headline than the death of almost 500 harmless innocent people in Southern Kaduna. I had to use Sahara Reporters website search widget to locate the report of the protest that was published just a couple of days ago, because it has quickly fallen off the headlines. Ayisha Osori wrote in an article I read yesterday that as a society we cannot pick what injustice to fight- we must fight them all. This is so important for those of us who still claim to be Muslims today. If we remain selective of what injustice to fight, our claim to Islam will only remain a claim. We must stand up for justice for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. This is what Islam taught us, the Prophet (SAW) and his companions were embodiments of truth and justice. While we are not oblivious of the bloody history of the area like the post election violence where about a thousand Muslims were killed, and the several other acts of reprisals from both sides, we should not allow that to take away our Islam, for there is no possible justification for the killings. So, as we call on those in authority to stop the harassment of Muslim women who wear the hijab in schools and work places, and to stop the blackmailing of Muslim leaders, and as we speak against the discrimination and maltreatment of Muslims in Government establishments, as we call on our security agents to stop the unlawful arrest, torture and execution of Muslims without following due legal process, and as we sympathize with our brothers and sisters in the north east and other places who are at the receiving end of Boko Haram unholy insurgency and our Military collective punishment, we must, in addition, sympathise with Southern Kaduna people, we must stand with them and call on our security agents to bring those responsible to justice because that is the right thing to do. Silence a in matter like this is unacceptable
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 07:32:27 +0000
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