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By Lola Fabowale

Social justice has always been central to the intention of God for mankind. In Proverbs 31: 8-10, the wise mother of King Lemuel exhorts him:  “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

That very call cuts across religious communities!
Yet, the atrocities that are being committed against Christians and moderate Muslims by extreme Islamist fundamentalists are nothing short of unconscionable! It blows the mind how mainstream Christian organizations themselves could be so inured to the egregious violence that they have been way too reticent to name it for what it is—genocide! And any Nigerian or social thinker anywhere who fails to speak out against this monstrosity should take heed of Niyi Osundarés warnings in his iprophetic poem  “Not My Business”.

NOT MY BUSINESS

They picked Akanni up one morning
Beat him soft like clay
And stuffed him down the belly
Of a waiting jeep.

What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?

They came one night
Booted the whole house awake
And dragged Danladi out,
Then off to a lengthy absence.

What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?

Chinwe went to work one day
Only to find her job was gone:
No query, no warning, no probe –
Just one neat sack for a stainless record.

What business of mine is it
So long they don’t take the yam
From my savouring mouth?

And then one evening
As I sat down to eat my yam
A knock on the door froze my hungry hand.

The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn
Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.

President Bola Ahmed Tunubu needs to assure Nigerians that his government is serious about serving justice to the miscreants of Boko Haram. Otherwise he is proving to everyone long suspicious of the non federal character of his Muslim-Muslim ticket that he has no interest in preserving Nigeria as a secular state but belies an Islamization agenda for the country.

So far, Tinubu’s inaction has turned Nigeria into a laughing stock as a failed state that cannot guarantee the security of her citizens against kidnapping and terrorism. We know he inherited the problem from Buhari in particular and from others yet before him. Still one of his most central campaign promises was to restore order, not just for a select few but for every Nigerian irrespective of religious affiliation.

Posterity will not exonerate Tinubu if he continues to fail to deliver on national security and if, instead, he gives to international actors—well-intentioned or no—cause to march in and turn Nigeria into another Afghanistan! Oba ti ilu ba tu lori re, ebora a bo l’aso!