Editorial

The tragic Ogun landlord-tenant fight

IT is evident that the worsening socioeconomic challenges bedeviling the country are taking their toll on the citizenry, putting many on edge and causing some people to take precipitate actions at the slightest of provocations. The tragic death of a landlord in Ogun State, allegedly after being attacked by a female tenant over a minor disagreement, could be situated within the context of transferred aggression. The deceased landlord, Monday Oladele, had reportedly had a minor disagreement with his tenant, Ifeoma Ossai, a single mother, over the payment of electricity bill. And in the ensuing scuffle, the tenant allegedly grabbed Oladele’s manhood and dragged him with it. The woman’s alleged action led to Oladele’s unconsciousness and ultimately his death.

Why would an argument over the payment of utility bill lead to a fatal encounter between two adults if not because of much bigger and more daunting underlying problems causing one or both of them to overreact? This was a matter that could have been resolved amicably but the two adults allowed it to snowball into a crisis that claimed the life of one of them. It is very shameful. It is uncivilised and wicked to attack people physically, let alone in dangerous spots like manhood. Nigerians, regardless of their frustrations, should always endeavour to eschew violence. With the prolonged hardship suffered by many in the country, it is difficult to assume that everyone looking able-bodied is actually healthy. A person may be already very ill but when you hit him and he dies, the law holds you guilty of murder.

Besides, a recourse to physical combat by adults to settle scores is beastly, barbaric and clearly outside the precincts of decency. For both parties in the instant case, it is a lose-lose situation: the landlord is dead and that is an irreplaceable loss to his family and friends, while the tenant would be lucky to have her punishment limited to a long prison term. The society will also lose the contributions of both to the economy, no matter how minuscule. And unfortunately, these losses were avoidable. It is also important to mention that the breakdown of hitherto vibrant communal living in Nigerian communities when everyone was their brother’s keeper is manifesting in avoidable disorderliness in the society. Today, everyone takes care himself/herself and feels unaccountable to anyone. There are hierarchies of traditional authorities in the community, including the head of compound, Community Development Association (CDA), quarter chief and the traditional ruler, who could have intervened in this landlord-tenant disagreement and prevented a minor argument from degenerating to homicide. But the two adults jettisoned these traditional dispute resolution avenues and even refused to involve the police. Rather, they chose a most primitive method of settling scores.

Yes, the country is going through a lot of tension on account of the myriad of crises bedeviling it and this would definitely have deep effects on the people with the possibility of heightened sensitivities and mental health issues. This is why we have always called on people not to engage physically under any condition and to eschew violence in coping with inter-personal issues and disagreements. The need for restraint, and especially self-restraint in tense situations can never be overemphasised and it is our hope that Nigerians will subscribe to it in dealing with the trauma of existence in the country today. Apparently, there is the need for a paradigm shift in the orientation of many citizens about the propriety of might. It is wrong to assume that might is always right in a clime where there is rule of law. There has to be intense advocacy on value reorientation and moral rearmament to ensure that citizens stay within the ambit of decency and decorum at all times. The tendency for many Nigerians to conduct themselves in a despicable manner that suggests that they have nothing to lose just because of the hardship they have had to endure due to socioeconomic challenges has to be reversed.

It is imperative to stress that taking the laws into one’s own hands is as adversarial to the society as it is to the lawless, if not more. Nonetheless, it is important that the government fixes the socioeconomic issues in the system and be wary of introducing official policies which tend to exacerbate people’s tension and their propensity for precipitous decisions and actions. To be sure, no amount of frustration and adversity experienced by the people can explain away a recourse to self-help as the law will always take its course, but it behoves the government not to tempt its citizens, wittingly or unwittingly. It is good to know that Ifeoma Ossai, suspected of committing culpable homicide, has been arrested and detained by the police. She should be made to have her day in court and be severely punished if found guilty. For sanity to prevail in the society, culprits should always be made to pay for their egregious and fatal errors of judgment as in the instant case.

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