FOR the umpteenth time, the Nigerian society is dealing with yet another bizzare and horrendous killing for ritual purposes. It is as if the society has become diametrically dysfunctional; the criminals and antisocial elements are having a field day. Recently, a 20-year-old man simply identified as Ridwan was arrested for allegedly killing his father for money ritual in Ogun State. Ridwan was arrested by men of the Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps, codenamed So-Safe Corps, at Oshoku village in Ijebu North Local Government Area of the state. The motivation, as usual, is to acquire wealth without breaking a sweat, but sadly, by making recourse to precipitate and criminal actions that do not even guarantee a sure-fire assurance of the attainment of the largely ignoble objectives of the criminals. For instance, no known ritualist has been recognised or admitted into the comity of wealthy persons internationally. Everyone who has been globally recognised as rich has verifiable and legitimate source(s) of his/her wealth. Thus, the craze by some unscrupulous persons to want to become Elon Musk or Bill Gates overnight by using human body parts to make ritual verges on wickedness, ignorance and laziness.
It is even benumbing that someone would be so daring and unfeeling as to liquidate a fellow human being in order to better his/her own lot economically. It is the height of self-centeredness that borders on criminality and gross moral deficit. Perhaps more disturbingly astonishing is that such inordinate ambition often underplays the significance of relationships like acquaintance, friendship or even family ties. It turns out that every victim of money ritual is just an ingredient/means for the less than certain wealth acquisition by some thoughtless and callous criminals. This is really saddening. That it is almost becoming commonplace for individuals not to care a hoot before delving into killing people, including blood relations, as part of the inordinate and senseless craze for and pursuit of money in the country speaks volumes about the appalling level of moral decadence in the society.
The currently trending incident of ritual killing, in particular, is both chilling and benumbing, involving a misguided son severing the body parts of his father for money ritual! Ridwan, following his arrest by the Ogun So-Safe Corps reportedly confessed to having killed his father, Ishau, for money ritual. He reportedly carried out the dastardly act by tying a rope to his neck while he used a knife to remove the needed parts of his body for ritual purposes. That means the father might not even have died before this wicked son commenced the mutilation of his body! He also told the officers of the corps that he only removed the private part, larynx, and just four teeth of his father as requested by a ritualist he identified as Baba Kekere. It is yet unclear what this aberrant son wanted to achieve by stressing the claim that he only removed the body parts that were needed for the ritual as if it was not abominable enough that he conceived and executed the horrible idea of using his father for money ritual in the first place.
This is a case of extraordinary wickedness. For a son to kill and mutilate his own father in pursuit of money is both criminal and morally reprehensible. The question may be asked as to what kind of money Ridwan was looking for that he was willing to and actually did procure human parts, and in particular, that of his father. This is an eloquent testament to the fact that family values have collapsed completely. It is evident that the societal fabric must have suffered some deep fractures and fissures for individuals to start resorting to inhumane and horrendous acts in order to make money. It has, therefore, become imperative for the society and its vital organs and structures to engage in soul-searching to apprehend the deplorable situation in which it has found itself at this point. The objective is to enable it to make amends about the proper values and orientation that should power and animate life and behaviour in the society. It is unequivocal that the society cannot assure itself of any plausible positive future if dastardly and reprehensible acts like this continue to burgeon, characterise and define it. It is thus crucial to intensify the campaign for change through moral rearmament and value reorientation.
This approach should be pursued vigorously and side by side with official actions to prop up the socioeconomic environment with a view to attracting more economic actors into the system and providing more alternative avenues for survival to those who would otherwise take to crime in order to achieve the same objective. Though the element of deterrence alone would appear to be proving incapable of reining in acts of criminality in the society, it remains one of the veritable ways to signal the necessary change because if those who engage in criminal and asocial actions are not punished, they and their ilk wouldn’t know that their conduct is socially unacceptable. On this score, the relevant authorities should ensure that Ridwan faces the full wrath of the law for the heinous crime he has committed and let others know that the society will not allow such without adequate sanction.
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