I am writing this article with a lot of
anguish and heavy heart and crying for justice. The question is, will my cry be
heard? Reading from Bible, with a quote from the book of Job, it said: “I keep
crying for help, but there is no justice”. Likewise today, many are crying out
for justice, but all too often, their cries go unheeded. Really, is it within
anyone’s power to eliminate injustice? Or is the hope that there will be a more
just tomorrow simply an ideal entertained by the naive? In order to get a
satisfactory answer, I have decided to take my case to the public domain for
one or two reasons. So that I could evaluate public opinion on this matter, it
is also imperative one uses this opportunity to help enlightening the general
public alongside people in authority on the need to be just in their dealings
with people no matter the level of poverty or wealth. This is the only way, to
engender an egalitarian and peaceful society.
It is obvious that injustice in any
form or manner will invariably bring about a breakdown of law and order,
because injustice we all know hurts! Many felons evade justice. In Nigeria,
especially my beloved Edo State, “cases of unresolved murders have doubled over
the past decade, raising fears that police and courts are unable to tackle
violent crime”.
As a matter of fact, I grew up in
Auchi, Edo North, with my grandmother, Awuta Elemah, now deceased. I had all my
formative years in this quiet Muslim dominated town from the early 50s to mid
70s. I grew up knowing Auchi to be a place where, men and women loved and
cherished one another. There have always been the tendencies by a few to love
money and wealth to an unreasonable extent; but one good thing about the
society of old, is that, the society had inbuilt mechanism for checking ugly
behaviours. However, being unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection,
not open to any agreement, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong,
puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God. All these
were never tolerated; it was unthinkable in the Auchi setting of old. We then
had, noble men and women who would stand for nothing but justice, such men were
the likes of Abiri my late oga, Mallam Garuba, the father of Momoh-Jimoh,
Mallam Abuda, Usman’s fatherland, Mallam Bawa, the tailor, Imam Abutudu and
Mallam Oboh Oseni, who took me as one of his sons due to my closeness to
Fabulous now late. Just to mention a few.
Almost all the past Otarus I knew, and
their (Igbanuso) council members were firm, resolute and unbiased in the
dispensation of justice. This to a great extent made natives and non-natives to
believe in the local justice system, even though we had courts of competent
jurisdiction in Auchi and environs. It was only in extreme cases such as murder
and rape, that the likes of late lawyer Omohodu were briefed. Justice
dispensation from the palace then was quite reliable and effective, because
punishment was commensurate with the type of crime committed. This was due to
the fair manner issues were looked upon and adjudicated upon; the ripple effect
of this was the very low level of crimes in Auchi. People generally relied on
whatever decisions reached at the palace without protest. Sadly, this I must
say is no longer the case. The declining standard of justice in Auchi must not
be allowed to continue, for the sake of our children, and for the sake of the
society at large.
I am yet to know, how anyone would
defend or sustain the action, of a certain man in Auchi whose notoriety is well
known to all, waking up one morning and brazenly taken over an old woman’s
farmland unquestioned, in the pretext that he is farming on the land he
forcefully took over. The land in question is my old mother’s only inheritance
from her late mother as an only child. I am told, his Royal Highness the
present Otaru of Auchi, without any iota of rudeness, who is the final arbiter
on this matter gave his go ahead for the land in question to be confiscated,
saying “he cannot prevent anyone from farming”. What a judgement? As loyal
subjects, we on our part cannot question his royal authority on a matter like
this, his judgement is final. We, however, can’t be denied the right to cry to
the public, and that is exactly what I am doing. What is however, curious and
unclear to most people and I, is what happens to the status of the original
owners of that land, now that his Royal Highness has given his final judgement?
This question nobody has yet given an answer to. The huge parcel of land taken
over, belong to the adopted mother of the immediate past Otaru A.G. Momoh, who
passed onto glory some years back. I have succeeded in appealing to my old
mother to remain calm and allow her only inheritance to be taken away from her by
force, since that was the wise decision of the Otaru of Auchi.
But while I grieved over the unpleasant
decision, I am somehow encouraged to continue to live my life honestly. And I
now relish with fun memories the numerous advices of my late uncles; Alhaji
Yaro Lecky and Nasiru Elemah, who told us their siblings the reasons why we
must remain clean in all our dealings with men and God. They insisted that no
matter the situation we must learn to live a responsible life. I was a great
rascal, but they made sure I never became a deviant; and deliberately ensured
that I took the right part to life. Great souls they were. For example, the
“NO” nonsense Yaro Lecky, who saw things far beyond his time, would always warn
“son, some people might tell you, greed is healthy and greed is good”, he
bellowed “they are lying”. With fire burning in his eyes, he would say “greed
hurts and it is the most unpleasant way to travel in life”. On his part, the
ever smiling Nasiru “dodo salata” a gentleman per excellence, will fight with
the last drop of his blood, even though, he was always cool and calm, you will
however, see the ugly side of this peaceful man, whenever anybody or a group of
people tries to exhibit trace of prejudice. He would tell whosoever cares to
listen, “prejudiced people judge others unfairly and even discriminate against
them on the basis of ethnicity, skin colour, sex, social status, or religion,
he would say, these attitudes never help society to grow”. Wait a minute, are
we saying, there are no longer noble men and women in Auchi? I am waiting
patiently for an answer.
Mr. Omonhinmin is a Media Consultant
based in Lagos.
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