[ThursdayRapAround] Bola Ige: 20 Years After

By Michael Ayotunde
detuns04@gmail.com

It’s unbelievable that two decades have gone by since the gruesome murder of one of Nigeria’s foremost Icons, erudite scholar and a true nationalist, Chief Bola Ige.

The sad events leading to, and aftermath of his demise left sour taste on the lips of millions of Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike.

The unfortunate situation was also compounded by the gross inaction and or deliberate abandonment of the case file by the government to unravel those behind the dastardly act – with a view to bring them to justice – to serve as deterrent to purveyors of devilish acts in the society.

Needless to say that government’s apparent incapacitation to unravel those behind it may have emboldened other criminal elements in the country.

Today, the situation has degenerated into all sorts of heinous crimes being perpetrated against humanity – in Nigeria – with little or nothing, as usual, to halt the derailment.

No region, as of today, is safe in the country. It is not uncommon to see reports from foreign missions advising their respective nationals to be mindful of their movements, where they visit while in Nigeria.
It, however, remains to be seen how Nigeria authorities receive news of such directives from foreign embassies.

In the Nigeria of today, questions have been asked times without numbers about the real worth of human life? It appears the value has gone down totally – because hardly would a day pass by without a soul being dropped dead, not only by non-state actors; even state actors are not exempted.

Kidnappers, killer herders, armed robbers, ritualists and the now reformed bandits are having field day across the length and breadth of the country. No section is immune or isolated. They now occupy vantage position in the scheme of things – of course, they dictate government’s moves and actions.

Since the government appears overwhelm and unable to proactively address salient issues and come up with decisive actions and road maps to really turn things around, the opportunists have taken over. Their heinous actions, moves now serve as rudder which government is watching keenly so as to be able to respond mostly belatedly to issues that naturally requires speedlight attention.

The murder of Chief Bola Ige, as the then Nigeria’s Minister of Justice, ought not to have been handled with levity. The government is duty bound to ensure that judgement is served.

The broken lines of justice in Nigeria requires urgent and immediate attention. We must never relent in demanding an explanation for his brutal murder, expose the perpetrators, identify all conspirators and ensure that they are made to face the consequences of their actions.

Life they say, is all about choices. But no one should be made to escape the consequence(s) of whatever choice we made in our day to day activities.

Sure, the case of Chief Bola Ige was not the only one. There were several others in that order – all of which are still begging for attention till date.

On what basis is the government preaching peace and peaceful coexistence when injustice has really eaten deep into the fabrics of our society?

Certainly, peace will remain elusive; automatically it becomes a very scarce commodity in an area where abuse of power, human rights abuses, injustice are the order of the day.

These indices are a true reflection of a derailed, corrupted society. Nigeria is practically begging to find her footings in the scheme of things: the economy is in a comatose; living standard of typical Nigeria is at best described as pathetic; corruption is now being celebrated everywhere. Indeed, there was a country.

The 2021 global report on Fragile States Index only recently ranked Nigeria as the 12th most fragile state in the world. This is characterized by weak state capacity and or near lack of visionary leadership.

The foundation the likes of Bola Ige laid for the betterment of the country has been eroded.

Indeed, Bola Ige was reputed for being a man who fought for peace and justice as a student activist, lawyer, Commissioner, Governor, Minister of the Federal Republic and Attorney-General of the Federation.

His gruesome murder was brutal, senseless and barbaric, hurting and hurtful. The mere fact that 20 years down the line, no known state actor(s), government agency both at the state and federal level have been able to come up with watertight report or findings on the dastardly act, makes a mockery of Nigeria as a nation and its crop of self-acclaimed leaders.

We certainly cannot forget in a hurry.