The Sacred Descent Of Ishmael

As classical British parliamentarian once said, "the only necessary reason for evil to triumph is the laziness and lukewarmness of good men". I write this article in hopes to make truth lucid, which should buoy affected and interested persons to put a stop to institutionalized subjugation in Nigeria.

In apartheid South Africa, Umkhonto we Sizwe became the violent arm of the ANC for the purpose of violently challenging white supremacists, since the founding fathers of the revered pan-African organisation were lukewarm in the struggle for freedom. Currently in Nigeria, it is becoming apparent that there is a "tribal apartheid" and same violence is increasingly becoming normative in challenging such existing supremacy of Ishmael's descent.

May I bring to your knowledge that if Brigadier Maimalari and his accomplices had succeeded in subjugating Western Nigeria during the 1965/1966 crisis in the region, its preponderant inhabitants would have today lost their identity just like our brethren in the middle belt. May be, a good number of them would have lost ties with Isaac for Ishmael. Thanks to God for their plans being foiled by perpetuators of the 1966 coup. Regardless, they who claim kindred with Ishmael have vowed not to let these ones be. They have not only killed them and their faith based neighbours for reactionary reasons, but still do so symbolically.

Does it not baffle us that for all killings perpetuated by this descent, none by record has been made to face the law either at home or at levels of international trial. The decimation of over 300 Igbo army officers and over 3.5 million Igbo during the 1966 through 1970 counter-coup and pogrom readily brings to mind the "innocency of Brutus". Though backed by the imperialists for benefits of oil, it is pathetic that hitherto, Brutus keeps murdering Romans and seems to have endless innocency.

The resultant effect of the "counter-coup and 3-years uncivil war" is evident in the fact that the South and Middle-belt lay claim to countable kit and kin in the military and pitiably, a subconsciousness of servitude. It is no exaggeration to say that Nigeria has only succeeded in becoming a caliphate divided into three. One part of the three rules the caliphate, the other is an outright enemy of the caliphate and the last has been made an outright slave to those that rule the caliphate. The caliphate's enemy became one because he has constantly but not successfully repudiated attempts to subjugating him to slavery. Thus, he is being hated by the rulers of the caliphate who became so through the barrels of guns. Trust me, if the West and East had synergized in that time, the script would have been rewritten. Sadly, while the faith of Isaac would never encourage such abysmal killings, that of Ishmael tends to encourage it in most vivid respect. Yet, moral laws still find it difficult in rightly desecrating their acclaimed sacredness.

Recently, the descendants of Ishmael perpetuated high scale violence in Ile-Ife. A wife was badly beaten and when the husband went in defence of his wife, he too received same treatment and was feared dead. They went ahead in chopping off the head of an indigene which intensified the war. The Yoruba is one people who remain outright enemy to those who rule the caliphate. Hence, they defended themselves and their land. As expected, the caliphate lost souls on both ends of the rulers and enemies. Yet, at the intervention of significant persons, the enemies were asked to apologize to the acclaimed rulers, even when the acclaimed rulers were obviously responsible for the crisis.

The difference between Ile-Ife and similar crisis in the Middle-belt is that the latter tend to have accepted fate as slaves to the said rulers of the caliphate. While the former outrightly confronted these descendants of Ishmael, the latter would cry to Abuja in making hullabaloo protests to the kit and kin of their killers. Just as Mr. Buhari once said to his predecessor that "his people who are 'killers of people' are being killed", Nigerians should ask Mr. Buhari - "why are his murderous people being kept alive in the face of killing those who elected him President?". May I in haste remind us that the Agatu killings in Benue State have been swept under kept and those in that region are killed at will by these sacred ones with nobody saying anything. On two recent occasions in Northern Nigeria, two women were killed. On who was murdered while preaching in the early hours of the morning and the other beheaded for the reason that she blasphemed and till date, their Brutus featured killers still roam our streets innocent.

For those who feel I am being biased here, may I candidly assert that no argument on earth is bias free, since all arguments are made in defense of interests which may or may not have qualities of truth. Of course, we can never forget as scholars in human sciences that truth is never absolute. However, may our consciences in most regards become our guide toward "morally acceptable truth". It is in this vein I make reference to Achebe who once said "If you don't like my story, write yours". To those who will accuse me of sentiments, I wish to distance myself away from sentiments of affinity. Having done so before the conception of the article, logic hence became lucid. However, I am certain you understand "moral sentiments" which basically draws to our conscience the ability to distinguish good from evil, at least primarily. If I will accept being sentimental, then I go by pitching my root with "moral sentiments". Having stated these backdrops, I am certain that I have morally x-rayed truthful perspectives as regards the sacredness of Ishmael's descent and the institutionalized caliphate which seeks to protect and promote their sacredness?

Finally, it is true that the caliphate has lost its sense of humanness and moral justice. It is true that mathematically in the caliphate, the South remains a factor while the North a multiple. It is true that we are bereft of some formulae to get the equation balanced and even if we do, the existence of Brutus without a commensurate Mark Anthony has failed our hopes. Nevertheless, we must not give up in challenging the status-quo. It's time to pull down the caliphate and desecrate the sacredness of Ishmael. For this is 2017, the year of our Lord.

Thank you.
About the author: Agwu, Prince Chiemeka is an academic staff with the Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has his specialty in social policy and is the founder of The Rhetorics Project which is a pet project of The Rhetorics Consult, a firm reputed for value reorientation and communication consultancy. He is a radical social worker, public speaker and social commentator.