On December 31, 2012,
while the world was enraptured with the prospect of ushering in the New Year,
someone in Kogi state, Nigeria was busy scooping the brains out of his four-month-old
son whom he had just murdered. Earlier in October of the same year, the nation
was shaken by the gruesome murder of four promising undergraduates who were
beaten to death and set ablaze over a minor disagreement. And just as I was contemplating
this piece, news filtered in again – a man has set his pregnant sister-in-law
ablaze for pouring water on his dog!
It’s amazing the indifference
with which we have adjusted to the torrents of abominable incidents that assault
our minds daily. News of carnage, acid
treatments (or acid baths, if you
like), ritual killings and other acts of brutish violence no longer have the sobering
effect that they used to have. We claim to be the most civilized and
technologically advanced generation of Homo
sapiens on earth, yet savagery is at an all-time high. What a paradox!
Over the years, the West
has made us believe that savagery is endemic to Africa but recent events, such
as the frequency of indiscriminate shootings in America, have proved otherwise.
According to US newspaper reports, at least sixteen mass shootings took place
in America in 2012 alone. Similar incidents have been recorded in other parts
of the Western world. Savagery then, is not limited to any geographical
location; it only puts on the garb of the dominant culture and adapts itself to
the prevailing circumstances wherever it is permitted to manifest.
A critical examination of
the current trends all over the world reveals a fundamental problem – our value
system, the set of personal principles, standards and beliefs in which we have
an emotional investment.
The gory tales recounted
above are fundamentally linked to a warped value system. The herbalist who
scooped out his baby’s brains obviously valued power, his religious beliefs or
whatever it was that prompted his action, over and above the life of his son.
We can reach similar conclusions about the other incidents; all culprits have
lost touch with a fundamental value – the sanctity of human life.
I understand that there
may be other factors such as emotional pressure, financial hardship and a host
of others that might seem to trigger such actions. The fact however remains
that these other factors are merely accessory; the real cause has to do with our
fundamental beliefs, our value system. It therefore goes without saying that if
we are serious about meaningful change and sustainable development; we must
start with a deliberate and systematic process of value reorientation.
No quick fix will get the
job done; we must start from the foundation – our individual family units. The
educational institutions, religious institutions, mass media and other agents
of socialisation are only supposed to build on the foundation that has been
laid by the family. Parents must commit themselves to a comprehensive process
of child training that will help their children imbibe sound ethical principles.
If children are trained up
in the right way, they will not become a menace as adults. This might seem farfetched
but nothing less will yield lasting results. How else do we raise a new
generation of refined, cultivated and civilized human beings if not by entrenching
a new mindset in the younger generation? We’re not giving up on the Old Guard but we’re investing more in
children and youths. This way, we can be sure that there are better days ahead
even though today may seem dark and dreary. God bless Nigeria.
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