I have been somber for much of the week. I had a bumpy week. Beyond my personal issues, a news item I saw on Monday made me really sad. A headline in GWG, an online news platform, sent my heart racing: “First-Class UI Graduate Beaten to Death for Allegedly Stealing Bread.” I asked myself questions. Why will a graduate, not to talk of a first class graduate steal bread? Is it another case of envy? A butcher, Usman Buda, was killed in Sokoto State last month by a mob in the guise of blasphemy. It was later alleged by those who are privy that his death was instigated by those who shared the same market with him out of envy. With a sunk heart, I raced through the story. The initial story was that Opuofoni Ebimotimi Freeborn, 32, a University of Ibadan first class graduate of business administration, was killed for stealing bread. My initial reaction was why anybody should be killed for stealing bread. Stealing is wrong, but killing someone for stealing bread is killing a fly with a sledge hammer. I do not want to make excuses, but there is hunger and suffering in the land. In such cases, being right is good, but being compassionate is better.
The removal of fuel subsidy and the unified exchange rate regime have led to inflation and exacerbated an already bad economic situation. Let me quickly add that I support both policies. The old policies were not sustainable. They were riddled with fraud and a huge drain on our dwindling resources. No one had the guts to take the bull by the horns. They were not just a bulls, but bulls that a red cloth was waved at. Like cancers they spread to other parts of the body polity. Had the cancers been removed when they were still localised, the impact would not have been so devastating.
Now we are all feeling it. Rather than income growing some of us have had our income shrinking. As I was reading, I saw a story that the networth of Mike Adenuga, the owner of Glo, has reduced by over $2b. Aliko Dangote was temporarily displaced as the richest man in Africa, before he regained the spot due to a surge in his networth. As an insurance broker, for instance, my motor insurance and fire insurance portfolios have shrunk. Some clients now opt for motor (third party) insurance, to take care of third party liabilities for death, bodily injuries and property damage only, while their vehicles they invested millions to buy are without insurance protection. It does not matter to them that should the vehicle be stolen, burnt or accidentally damaged, some have no resources to repair or replace them.
Virtually everyone is feeling the negative impact of the economy. That is not to say I am comparing the impact of the economy on small me with someone who still earns the miserable minimum wage of N30,000. That will be cruel and insensitive. A friend asked me how the very low income earners survive. I told her there is no way I can know. Those who wear the shoe are in a better position to tell her where it pinches, but it is depressing to even imagine it.
It is in this light that I saw the killing of Opuofoni Ebimotimi Freeborn. So many things have been going on in my mind. One, UI became a university college in 1948 and a full-fledged university in 1962. It is a first generation university with pedigree. I am not disrespecting the newer universities, but UI has a longer history of excellence. Coming from a comparatively educationally disadvantaged state, Bayelsa, why is Freeborn not employed? It might not apply in his case, but our recruitment system sometimes puts merit aside and it is not good for a society that wants to get to its destination. Many Nigerians in diaspora are excelling today because they operate in societies where merit counts.
Two, this idea of taking laws into our hands has led to the premature death of many Nigerians. It is unacceptable and should have no place in our society. You cut a young man’s life short because he stole bread? After he was caught, some people were willing to pay for the bread he stole, but the mob chose to lynch him. Can the killers bring him back to life? I advised two weeks ago that people should refrain from taking people’s lives unjustly because we do not have the powers to create life. That is God’s exclusive preserve. So, do not take it.
Three, the incidence of jungle justice in Nigeria is rising because many Nigerians have lost fate in the police. I slept behind the police counter once even though I was the complainant. They knew what they were doing was wrong, that was why they did not have the courage to put me in the cell. Even though it was a church matter for which I became the scapegoat, the investigating police officer (IPO) still wanted to collect bribe before releasing me. When my parish priest refused to play ball, my release was delayed. Later when the injustice became very clear, the Divisional Crime Officer verbally apologized to me and my parish. When we requested him to put it in writing, he refused. The police needs to clean up its act. Only good deeds can solve the trust deficit, not publicity, propaganda or “the police is your friend” slogan.
Four, now to the family and friends of the deceased, my sincere condolences. For a poor family, according to the report I read, his death is below the belt. But excuse me even if I sound insensitive. “According to sources, he had been stealing bread from the bakery. He had successfully stolen loaves of bread that night but returned on another round when he was caught red-handed and beaten to death.” Apparently, he was not eating the stolen bread alone. If it is true, where they not seeing him with bread, especially knowing he was jobless and without income. Who else was he sharing the bread with? How come no one cautioned him? Is it possible other family members or friends were partaking in eating from the stolen bread?
Five, if the story is true, Freeborn had a major character flaw. Please spare me the excuse of the hardship in Nigeria. He could have applied and worked in the bakery as a casual worker and received legitimate bread. My in-law who owns a bakery regularly gives his staff bread. Construction work is going on in Yenogoa and other parts of Bayelsa State. Working temporarily at a building site even with a first class degree is more honourable than stealing bread.
Finally, the report said that some people have been arrested in respect of Freeborn’s killing. If after investigation, they are found culpable, the law should be applied to the letter. No one has the right to take other people’s lives. Flawed as the police is, it remains their responsibility to arrest offenders and many Nigerians have found justice via the Nigerian Police.
