By Danladi Hassan Boyis
It is like how the killings all began, the momentum has been freewheeling. Today’s story isn’t different from when the killings began, gory images still dominate the media while gory tale dominate discussions across communities. From one community to another the sound of guns abort the calm and quiet serenity of the night. The coward killers, yes cowards come in the night with a predatory nocturnal instinct or, like blood sucking vampires and drain precious blood out of sleeping communities. Day after day, we burry innocent people in Southern Kaduna (including women and babies) killed in their sleep in a breath stopping moments. And I pose to ask state authorities the pertinent question: Does Southern Kaduna Lives Matter?
With a heavy heart and deep feeling of sympathy over the calamity that has befallen Southern Kaduna, I condole the entire region over the senseless and unprovoked killings by people whose identity is no longer in doubt. The identity of those killing Southern Kaduna people are often proven by the heavily biased and injurious press statements of the Federal and Kaduna state governments each time communities in the region are bloodily attacked.
To our chagrin, instead of government to always apologize for failing the people that they took oaths to defend, they talk in such a manner that appears to be pushing the blame to the people being Killed, alluding to Southern Kaduna as being the aggressors who must be dealt with even when facts point the other way.
If not so, how can communities in Kukum Daji, Gora Gan, Kauru, Kajuru and most recently, Zikpak, come under attacks and all we hear is callous statements from the Lord of Kaduna pitching ethnic groups against another using the instrumentality of governance to sustain evil plans and intentions against a people whose sin was extending hospitality to the forebears of a stateless group of roaming pastoralists whose offsprings are now the region’s nightmare for obvious reasons?
It beats my imagination that a supposed leader and public figure like Garba Shehu and his likes would descend so low to instigate with spoken words a group whose inhuman principles of avenging any assault on them, whether perceived or real, no matter how long is barbarically legendary. Instead of effectively checking their excesses, government would rather choose to appease them but, in a dramatic twist, arrest and prosecute their peaceful hosts who are now officially been tagged as the aggressors.
My question goes thus, if you are assaulted and the barbaric principle of your upbringing insists that you MUST avenge the supposed assault or infringement, no matter how long it takes. Would you go about drawing blood indiscriminately on unconcerned persons or the very person that assaulted you?
Let it be known to supporters of these heinous crimes that, never in the history of mankind has evil prevailed over righteousness nor has darkness ever defeated light.
To the people of Southern Kaduna, the time has come for us to close our ranks. Whatever differences we have should dwell in the past as we are faced with a challenge that threatens to consume and destroy us. We must not falter in our chosen mission of surviving under the most terrifying circumstances. May God continue to protect Southern Kaduna and change the minds of those in power to see the need for a society where every life matters.
God bless Southern Kaduna !
God bless Kaduna State !!.
Comrade Danladi Boyis Hassan, FIICA.
