Fr. Richard OMOLADE

Trump sneezed and Nigeria politicians are catching cold. Yes, we may decry Trump’s attempt at saving Christians from the genocidal attacks they have suffered. We may even deny such as taking place, as the saying goes, “bidden or not bidden, God is still God.” Why are politicians catching cold?

Nigerians who have been suffering have called on their Government to save them and nothing has happened. Some have even tried to defend themselves and ended up being thrown into prison. The Lord hears the cry of the poor and another Darius has been raised to demand from Pharaoh, “let my people live in peace and freedom.” Pharaohs are all the same, drunk with power and intoxicated by their own sense of importance. But the preservation of human life is a human need that ranks higher than prestige and position. No wonder, Nigerians of various shade have in the past, called on other powers “to come over and help us.”

We cried and you did not hear us, we entreated, and you were nonchalant. We begged for life, and it meant nothing to you. We tried to fight back only to realize that the guns meant to protect us are now being wielded against us. Our houses are burnt, and farmlands destroyed, there is nothing to live for, but we still have the breathe of life and in pain and desperation we have done the only thing left – beg for life  from those who still know what human life means.

If our leaders have not normalized evil, if they had fought it the way it ought to be fought, if they have not been romancing with murderers but smoke them out of their forests and hiding places, we would not have beckoned on outsiders to come to our rescue.

No matter the name we give the problem, it is crystal clear that these problems militate against the flourishing of human life. The bestial way some people have been killed, butchered and burnt shows we are dealing with a group that does not respect human life. This is evil and it ought to be condemned and uprooted, but like many other things in Nigeria, we have normalized evil. Corrupt people rule over the land and eliminate the good people. We reward sycophancy and oppress diligent people; we speak untruth to ourselves and call it being diplomatic. We spread falsehood and criminalize free speech. We degrade competence and promote quota system such that Third Class people enjoy admission or placement, and first class are made to roam the streets. We dare not speak to our leaders because they are repository of power not wisdom and sometimes they wield that power not too kindly. They have power not fortitude, they are highly placed but lack vision to lead or guide.

This is the bane of our existence and until truth is priced higher than falsehood, and competence more than mediocrity, there will be nothing of value to treasure and all of us will continue to live in bondage with no one free even if they go about with security personnel. The normalization of evil is not just in the domain of our leaders, it has become a virulent cancer in the society and many of us have been infected with it. For instance, coming late to work is no longer frowned upon – the work place itself has established a loophole for offenders to exploit, they simply write a time within the limit, and all is well. Office stealing is no longer bad, it is part of the benefits of office that they are enjoying. Schools no longer rank their pupils, because some will feel bad, and their parents are likely to withdrawn their children. Low patronage means low income, so schools would rather create new titles so that everyone is given an award, even when the recipients are abysmal.

Pastors berate only the poor and praise to high heaven those who drop fat envelopes. Couples no longer have patience and must test everything before saying I do. Parents arrange for examination to be done for their children and then pretend they are geniuses deserving of ivy leagues when they consistently operate below their age group. Evil has pitched its tent among us and there is no where else for us to run to.

Consequently, when our leaders present there are no problems in the land, it is because they know us, that given the right incentives, we will close our eyes and pretend to see no evil. Given the right incentives, that we will hail the evil ones and condemn the guiltless ones. Our leaders know that our consciences have been hacked almost beyond repair, no wonder they feel that we are disposable and then unleash the menace of banditry and religious fanatics upon us.

Until we learn to call a spade a spade, and speak the truth with boldness, our land may not know any peace and evil we harbour and tolerate will one day consume us because that is what evil does, consume the host that treats it as normal. Is evil still normal for you?