Mob action against those perceived to have crossed societal boundaries is on the rise in the country. From the North to the South, East to the West, mob action seems to have become the order of the day. Some people just take the law into their hands, arrest, attack and set ablaze anyone fingered as being a thief or a kidnapper. Since they have been getting away with this, they have become emboldened and do not see anything wrong with the barbaric practice.
Not too long ago in Bauchi, a middle aged man accused of stealing a motorcycle was mercilessly beaten before being set ablaze by a mob in Chinade town, Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Similarly in March last year, a sound engineer, David Imoh, was lynched in Lekki, Lagos State, by an irate mob of commercial motorcyclists following a misunderstanding over N100 between him and a motorcyclist. Then, last Wednesday, a suspected robber was lynched at Apete area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, on allegation of forcefully dispossessing two ladies of their phones and money.
Why would a people take the law into their hands and be quick to kill anyone when there are provisions in the statute books prescribing punishment for such misdemeanor? Why would a people opt to set a suspect ablaze rather than hand same over to law enforcement agents? Why would a people revel in beating and maiming a human being and gladly watch him roast to death? How can anyone get a kick from burning his fellowman? How can a healthy person derive pleasure in seeing others die shamefully and painfully? How can anyone be happy seeing a man killed for an offence he might not have committed?
It has been suggested that the rising mob actions we see in the country may be a consequence of the disenchantment of the people with the country’s policing and justice system. It has also been said ad infinitum that suspects taken to police stations are often released without prosecution. It is also argued that even those taken to court are usually given a slap on the wrist by the courts either as a result of lack of diligent prosecution by the police or a compromise of the judicial system. The proponents of these theories then submitted that the people have resolved to self help to prevent justice being aborted.
But those arguments fly in the face of reason. Imoh, the sound engineer who was lynched by motorcyclists in Lagos, didn’t do anything that warranted being arrested not to talk of being killed. He was falsely accused by a motorcyclist and the motorcyclist’s comrades descended on him. There must have been many like that. So, the phenomenal rise in jungle justice incidents is not just a response to the failing policing and judicial systems, it is much deeper than that. It is a manifestation of the people’s frustration with the Nigerian state.
Frustration is ventilated in two ways. It is either internalized or externalized. When it is internalized, the frustration is directed against self, the affected individual makes himself the victim of his anger; he takes out his frustration on himself and blames himself for his situation. This is what results in depression, despondency and dejection. When it is aggravated, it can lead to a psychiatric situation.
But when frustration is externalized, it is directed against others. It is manifested in attacks against people and institutions. This is why many Nigerians are on edge, that is why they are so irritable and are ready to get violent at the slightest provocation. That is what the country witnessed during the EndSARS crisis in 2020 as angry youths went after members of the Nigeria Police Force, vandalizing and torching public facilities.
So, that Nigerians gleefully go against other Nigerians, attacking and killing them is an expression of their frustration with the Nigerian state. One thing about externalized frustration is that it first manifests in the form of diminished humanity, then grows into the loss of humanity and finally degenerating into beastliness. It is only in the jungle that a female animal would kill the male, or vice versa, without any sense of guilt. It is only animals that feast on their own dead. It is only in the jungle that instinct rather than reason reigns. It is only in the jungle that might is right. It is only in the jungle that the sanctity of life is disregarded.
In Nigeria, fatal conflicts have become a regular occurrence. Security operatives and civilians are killed almost on a daily basis without any scruple. In the same vein, churches are raided and attacked, mosques are attacked, clergymen are abducted and decapitated, traditional rulers are kidnapped and members of the political class are subjected to opprobrium. No one is spared; no institution is regarded as sacred. How did we arrive at this pass of loss of our humanity? How did it happen that we no longer have any value for either the living or the dead? What has deprived us of our humanity? Or better still, how did we degenerate into the status of lower animals? How did we become beasts?
Beastliness is the precursor of dehumanisation. When beastliness is allowed to continue without any challenge, it leads to the denigration of the other person; he is scorned and dehumanised. When the denigration of the human person is encouraged, it attracts annihilation. That is what happened in Germany that resulted in the killing of six million Jews during World War II. It happened in Rwanda and resulted in a pogrom that saw about 800,000 people killed.
Our slide into beastliness needs to be arrested. We need to reverse the trend in Nigeria and regain our humanity before it is too late. We need to put a stop to mob actions against fellow citizens. The law enforcement agencies must enforce the laws of the land. They must be up and doing in going after leaders of any mob action and let them have their rendezvous with the justice system. Unless we are very deliberate about stopping this slide into beastliness, it will lead to anarchy. And with anarchy, nobody’s safety is guaranteed.
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