Linda J. Mustafa
“Nigeria jaga jaga, every bodi scatter scatter…
-Eedris Abdulkarim
When Eedris Abdulkarim sang this song, the then president Olusegun Obasanjo was so disappointed that he replied Abdulkarim by saying “na him papa jagajaga…” Eventually, the song was banned on all government radio stations. But Nigerians loved the song so much that every where you went then, “Nigeria Jagajaga, everibodi scatter scatter…” became more enamoured than the national anthem. Yet after fifteen years of uninterrupted democratic leadership, Eedris’ words seem to be coming true.
In the North, Nigerians are running away from the menace of Boko Haram, while in the South, people are running away from Ebola. When we go to the South West, you don’t need to be told that ritualists are on the prowl, especially at night. And when it comes to sacrificial killings no one does it better than westerners. The East is also not exempted from this trend of running. Armed robbery and horrendous occult practices have led to scores of people being killed and at the middle of Nigeria, Fulani herds men are not at peace with farmers while inter-tribal clashes are also never quelled.
It is also not a rosy story at the borders; for scores and scores of people are being killed by armed militias, smugglers, aliens or illegal immigrants and those who suffer the most are women! In fact, there is so much chaos now than when Obasanjo became the first long serving Nigerian head of state which has prompted Nigerians to ask, is democracy really worth its salt? Indeed, Nigerians no longer feel secure because of the breach of security. It is therefore not surprising that sleeping with one eye open is a trend most Nigerians have had to adopt as a survival instinct. Nowhere is safe, nowhere is exempted from unexpected disasters, no geo-political zone in Nigeria can be said to be a peaceful haven. So where is safe?
Recently this fact came to play when armed men came calling at New Bussa, Niger state. I had thought my hometown was totally safe from any form of chaos: no threat from any militia group, no natural disaster, no ritual killings and no robbery attacks. I used to brag about how safe New Bussa is not until recently; when I had to run for my life as armed men came to town. Shooting aimlessly at the sky, about ten robbers went into the supermarket where I was shopping demanding for the money realized for the day. As we all heard Gbam! Gbam!! Gbam!!! Everyone within that vicinity “scattered!” I dashed out aimlessly not knowing which direction to go. As I ran, others were also running and screaming hoping that they would not be hit by stray bullets. My first thought was “Shall I die without the slightest inkling of what would finally kill me? Is this how the writer of Feminine Thoughts would end? Poor me I thought, oh poor me!”
As I thought of so many things while running, I suddenly came to the realization that all the men who were with me when we were buying things at the supermarket had all disappeared leaving me to hop and trot on my high heeled shoes for almost a kilometer! I ran and ran and by the time I could stop to take a snappy rest, I had run almost a kilometer away from the robbery site, through narrow streets and turns which I knew the robbers would not take. So when I came up to a major road in town, I flagged down the first car that shone its headlights at me but the driver simply drove past me as fast as he can. Several other cars equally evaded me and hence I was left all alone on the now deserted street. This is the life of a woman: abandonment in times of perils? Now I had a firsthand knowledge of how it feels to be abandoned in a dire situation- it was a very scary experience!
After walking another one kilometer towards my house, I couldn’t help but be annoyed at all the men in Nigeria. When trouble is being hatched and performed, the men are at the fore front: stealing, power tussles and political thievery/thuggery-the men are number one; drunk driving and “James Bond” driving antics that ends in fatal accidents-men take the lead, but when it comes to saving a life, men would simply vanish! What cowardice I thought, what a shame to have men who demand the ultimate worship from women, while they become mere children at the hands of other men. Indeed fear was the order of the day when one youngman ran into the hands of armed men while on his way to Lagos. According to the man, armed robbers accosted their vehicle and several others along Kaduna-Lagos road and they were asked to stand according to their sex. But this man, almost frozen with fear and dancing like a wilting leaf on a dead branch stood behind the line created for women. As the leader of the armed gang was taking what he got from the women, he saw the man and he shouted:
“Hey didn’t I tell you to line up according to your sex?
“Yes, yes” he replied.
“Then what are you doing behind the women?”
Still frightened and shaken, the man replied:
“You people with the gun are the men; I am on the other hand not a man.”
The Leader of the gang could not help but laugh but the disgust on the faces of the women was unimaginable.
This same reaction was what I got when I later asked a man why he suddenly leaped and ran as fast as a hare when the robbery occurred, he simply said:
“Na who wan’ die? After all man and woman na the same thing, abi no be so una women dey talk?”
So when it comes to running away from problems, there is no male, no female? There is also no one rich enough or poor enough to avoid instability and insecurity neither is there anybody strong enough nor wicked enough to discourage promoting peace among all tribes and religious groups in Nigeria irrespective of sex. The question Nigerians should therefore ask themselves is: how do we stop running away from ourselves in order to save our lives?