By Promise Aniele
In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, when Ogbuefi Ezeudu, a revered elder in Umuofia, visited Okonkwo to warn him against bearing a hand in the mindless murder of Ikemefuna, it was with a conviction that arose from, distilled, inscrutable, native wisdom. The warning was precise, measured, and timely. Unfortunately, it fell on Okonkwo’s deaf ears. For fear of being thought weak, Okonkwo conscripted himself into the group of bloodthirsty elders chosen to carry out the tragic instruction of the Oracle of Hills and Caves. The instruction was simple – Ikemefuna must die. And so, Okonkwo not only joined the elders selected to kill a boy who called him father, but he drew the last sword and cut him down. Ikemefuna’s last words were “My father, they have killed me!” as he ran to Okonkwo for protection. In a paradoxical twist, the supposed protective father turned out to be the fiendish killer.
The Achebe narrative represents one of the most brutal, callous decapitations of a child by a supposed parent in modern African literature. Beyond the inevitable feeling of angst and pity the incident evokes, it draws global attention to the various ways in which fathers directly or metaphorically bear ruthless, unconscionable hands in the deaths of their children and those who call them fathers. The American music legend, Marvin Gaye, was killed by his father on his 45th birthday. It was not an accident. It was deliberate, done with utmost precision and murderous intention.
A few days ago, the world stood still in celebration of all fathers worldwide. It is fitting to say that Bola Tinubu, in his capacity as the president and Commander-In-Chief of Nigeria, is the father of the entire country. Therefore, it was absolutely in place for many people to wish him a Happy Father’s Day celebration. Beyond his biological children, he has become the father of millions of people across the country. But regrettably and sadly so, children in many parts of Nigeria, especially in Benue State, were burnt and cut down by the swords of herdsmen, bandits, and terrorists while the Nigerian president, as father, was busy seeking endorsements towards the 2027 elections. Bola Tinubu, unlike Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, may not have directly drawn the sword that cut the Benue children to death, but through his negligence and failure to rise to his official responsibility, he became an accomplice in the cruel, atrocious murder of innocent children in Benue State. Nigeria is Bola Tinubu’s immediate household. The Bible, that compendium of infinite wisdom, admonishes that any man who is not capable of taking care of his household is worse than an infidel. 1 Timothy 5:8. The Bible is never wrong.
Mr. President watched as children who called him father were burned to ashes by scoundrels. While the children in Benue State were slowly burning to death, they must have shouted, like Ikemefuna, “My president, they have killed us”. Bola Tinubu’s tweet in the heels of the carnage in Benue State is not only impervious and irresponsible but also shows a leader who, like his predecessor, is not in touch with reality.
Beyond the Benue children, whose lives were cut short under the watch of an impassive leader, millions of children are groaning and dying through economic hardship and a desperate struggle for survival as a consequence of various forms of privation unleashed on their families by Bola Tinubu’s economic policies.
These children cry daily, “My president, hunger is killing us”. But their cries, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears because the president is incapable of any economic prognosis to change the fortunes of the children. Instead of bread, Mr President feeds these children stones. Instead of hope, he feeds them misery and despair. Unfortunately, the president’s propaganda machinery is in full flight to feed the populace with falsehoods of impudent dimension, which are daily accentuated by harsh economic realities in the country. Of course, millions of Nigerian children whose beings have been lacerated by hunger did not celebrate Father’s Day.
Besides Bola Tinubu, whose position as the father of millions of Nigerian children has been vigorously questioned, many state governors drink from the same trough as him. These governors, in their capacity as executive officers of their states, have failed to protect many children looking up to them for hope and inspiration. The governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Iormem Alia, a Christian Catholic cleric turned politician, could be said to be an irresponsible father to the many children in his state, whom he failed to protect as they were burned to ashes under his watch by terrorists and bandits. Although Alia is not in total command of the rank and file of all security apparatus in the state like the president, he is the chief security officer whose responsibility it is to mobilise security details to protect lives and properties in the state. Alia’s imprudent disposition to prepare a carnival-like welcome for Bola Tinubu and declare a public holiday in his state in the wake of the deaths of many children testifies to his undeserving of his classification as a father. A father who glories and celebrates after the massacre of his children is not worthy to be called a father. After Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo went into depression. But after the death of Benue’s children, Alia celebrates and rolls out the drums. There are fathers and there are fathers.
The governors of many states in Nigeria are as irresponsible as any irresponsible father because they continually bear a hand, directly or indirectly, in the deaths of many children in their states. As the world celebrated Father’s Day, many children hawked along the streets in a clear case of child abuse. How many states in Nigeria have laws that protect children? How many states in Nigeria criminalize child labour? If these laws are in place, are they enforced? Father’s Day in Nigeria was a period of mourning for many children because they had no fathers to celebrate. It is fortuitous that Children’s Day and Father’s Day are not far apart. Many children in Benue State who celebrated Children’s Day did not live to celebrate Father’s Day because their fathers could not protect them. During Children’s Day, the wife of the president and the wives of governors visit Grade A schools to celebrate with the children of the rich, while the children in the hinterland are abandoned or forgotten.
As the echoes of Father’s Day celebration gradually fade out, Bola Tinubu, the first father in the country, must rise to the occasion to protect millions of people and children from both economic harm and physical onslaught, especially by terrorists, bandits and herdsmen. Recently, I watched a video on social media showing the military, with their trademark vehicle, in what looked like a friendly, conciliatory fraternizing with bandits and terrorists. Perhaps, there is something we do not know.
There is no justifiable excuse for Nigerians to be murdered like cockroaches in their country while the Commander–in–Chief is busy preparing for the 2027 elections. Bola Tinubu vehemently criticized Goodluck Jonathan and, in fact, asked him to resign as a result of the intractable Boko Haram activities in Nigeria. While some people have called for Tinubu’s resignation as a corollary of his failure to protect Nigerians, he must immediately rejig his security architecture to ensure that children who call him father are not continually dismembered by the hour. His visit to Benue State must be fruitful with proven results. It must not be turned into a political procession where shameless, soulless politicians will attend to endorse him for 2027.
From the Okonkwo and Ikemefuna narrative above, depression is the inescapable comeuppance for fathers who directly or indirectly bear a hand in the death of their children. The comeuppance could come in various forms. While Okonkwo suffered from depression, other fathers in diverse ways could suffer other consequences. Tinubu, as the father of Nigeria and all the governors as fathers of their respective states, must understand that having a hand in the death of children under their care has severe consequences. The death of over 200 people, among them children and women in Benue State, should not be swept under the carpet. It is more disgusting because Nigeria’s army chiefs recently relocated to Benue State. So it means that their relocation was a mere jamboree since, after days of their arrival, bandits invaded a community and wiped out generations. They operated for many hours without molestation from anyone. It is insensitive for the federal government under Tinubu to continue to fail in its primary responsibility of protecting Nigerians while the engine of the 2027 elections is lubricated daily. Tinubu, as the first father in Nigeria, must rise to the occasion.
Promise Adiele PhD
Mountain Top University
X: @drpee4
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