By Abiola Ayankunbi
Life is a precious gift from the Almighty God. No one came into this world themselves, and everyone has someone that they can call a member of their families. Since each person has only one life, each life is infinitely valuable. Life is our only opportunity to work towards fulfillment and to experience the world. A human life is however important because each person only has one. It can never be recovered after death. When something is in short supply, it becomes more valuable going by the law of supply and demand.
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Today, right now, in fact, at this very moment, there are people enduring tremendous amount of strife. Not just afar in places like Syria, North Korea, Afganistan or Pakistan, but in our own backyards! When one stops to think about it for a moment, there is an enormous amount of pain and suffering happening everywhere in Nigeria. The sheer enormity of it all can certainly feel overwhelming.
One hears all the time on the news about peoples’ lives being cut short as a result of terrorism, rituals, banditry, kidnappings, unknown gunmen, Boko Haram activities, pirates’ activities, farmers/herders clashes, cultism, armed robbery, militancy, ethno-religious, communal clashes, accidental discharge by security operatives, etc. Whether it happens in a major catastrophic experience that affects hundreds of thousands of others, resulting in countless deaths, or it happens silently at night during sleep, life remains being wasted unnecessarily. Nigeria has literally become a killing field. Regrettably, there is no reliable data to buttress the number of persons that have been killed or being killed on a daily basis but one thing is clear: the figure is in thousands.
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There are many laws in our constitution that deal with different kinds of killings but they are not being made use of promptly and judiciously. Once culpability is established against anyone, the state takes over the case and charges the suspect to court. Judiciary plays major role in determining the complicity or otherwise of a suspect.
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There are almost 3,000 inmates across all the correctional centres that have been condemned to death having being tried up to Supreme Court. Records indicated that enormous resources were committed before justices were obtained. The present days’ killers are being treated with kid gloves because they are not even being taken to courts promptly on the ground that investigations are still on-going. Also, due to shabby investigations, suspects that were taken to courts were freed and backed to their nefarious activities. Some were even granted armesty and placed on monthly stipends.
What is worrisome is that the government who spearheaded the court process and obtained the judgments has failed to comply with the obtained judgments; various state governors have refused to sign death warrants of the convicted ones. Arguably, apart from Comrade Adams Oshiomole, ex Governor of Edo state who signed one while in the office, no one else has done!
For example, Rev. King was charged to court for killing; he was found guilty and sentenced to death by the High Court. He appealed the judgment up till Supreme Court; the highest court in the land affirmed the sentence. The case lasted for ten years (2006 – 2016); and six years after the judgment, the Lagos state government has refused to implement the judgment. If it was known right from the beginning that the case will be like this, why the humongous waste of the state resources? Many examples like this are abound in virtually all the states. No one will be surprised if these condemned criminals are granted state pardon on account of good behaviour.
We all need to put ourselves in the positions of the victims’ relations. Killing the culprits will definitely not bring back the dead ones but it will assuage feelings and bring a sort of relief. It has been established that some immediate relations of the victims had died of depression, social isolation and loneliness.
The state governments should summon courage and sign all the outstanding death warrants without further delay. This will surely lead to the decongestion of the correctional centres, send a strong signal to those that are presently engaging in killings and serve as deterrent to others who might be contemplating committing such a crime. Those who are presently involved in killings across the states will continue in their acts because of the belief that they will only end up in jail if not killed at the scene.
Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that anyone caught with AK 47 should be killed instantly but this has not yet manifested fully because criminals caught in the act are being paraded with AK 47 on display.
It must be noted that all religions are in support killing person who might have deliberately killed another person. The preaching of removal of all negativity and hate from one’s life and forgiveness should not come to the forefront at all.
In conclusion, life is precious because it was given to us as a gift. We are here for a purpose. And, as long as we are six feet above ground, we have the opportunity to make the most of the life that was given to us. People are dying every moment, and someone is losing a loved one or friend. This must stop.
Abiola Ayankunbi is MD/CEO at AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy.
0802 305 1315
abiolaayankunbi@yahoo.com
