Victims Of Our Unkindness -By Odukoya Adeniyi

It was not the busiest of all Saturdays as I lay on my rumpled bed scrolling and surfing the internet for news and information I might have missed out on the previous day. It was the 29th day of the long-overdue January 2022. And over my WhatsApp timeline, many had chosen to cruise over the long duration of the month; it sure has been the longest January I’ve ever witnessed. Trying so hard to recall how much of the early days of this new year I’ve spent doing much more than I did in the previous, I realized there was quite a lot to do.

It didn’t take long- the brooding over tasks to complete before the month hit exhaustion. Happenstance happened, and I was in the news feed of a website where I find boys squired with a heart-wrenching headline, more excruciating as it was tipped with the image of a headless body- a girl, whose name was Rofiat, 19, the girlfriend of one of these boys that have chosen to ripe her head off her body for a bourdillon of riches.

The boys, identified as Wariz Oladeinde, Abdulgafar Lukman, and Mustakeem Balogun, confessed to having killed the girl to launch a spiritual provision of wealth, otherwise called ‘money ritual’ within the Nigeria lingo parlance. The buzz of this gory news did spread like wildfire. As expected, everyone had something derogatory to say about this incident. As I read through an array of comments on Twitter and WhatsApp, I sighed numerous times than my brain could remember.

Deservedly, these derogatory comments hold water and should not be misconstrued as mere and generic condemnations known to be the pattern of the World. Yes, this is an extremely opinionated generation; still, it does not pour a pint of rationality upon such disastrous and unbecoming acts perpetrated by boys who are supposed to do other better things to secure a bright future for their families. Before this particular incident, there has news about some older boys luring and using their girlfriends as money ritual rites.

For instance, on the 28th of December, 2021, It was reported that a tragedy occurred in Benin City on the eve of Christmas as a suspected ‘Yahoo boy,’ known as Osas, allegedly killed his lover, Elohor Oniorosa, for money ritual purposes. It was stated that he was on the run when the report was profiled. Aside from this, there are countless other unheard cases of boys ‘Yahoo or gee guys’ killing their girlfriends for money ritual purposes. Others opt for their mothers as the perfect substance for this money ritual rites.

According to World Population Review, Nigeria ranks fourth as one of the countries with the highest total number of Christians; and fifth as one of the countries with the highest total number of Christians in the World. This stat asserts that Nigeria is an extremely religious country filled with a corsage of mosques and churches. Still baffling is the recurrence of this vile some activities orchestrated by these boys.

Nigeria is a pathetic charade of hypocrisy veiled with religious dogmas and fanatics without mincing words. It is a dorm of holy people ready to desecrate a body to pursue religious acceptance and acknowledgment. Beyond this nauseating flaunt of perversity, the country, as seen in the history of humans, suffers heavily from the ordering of relevance according to the fatness of one’s pocket. Everyone talks little about materialism when a case like money ritualism is discussed. Quite thrilling, it is then that many begin to condescend effortlessly into the embodiment of life’s vanity like they dared to flinch an eye when they encounter a neighbor in dire need of their help. It is an intimidating environment filled with Christians who go to church to showcase the vanity of their luxurious wardrobes.

It is a competitive environment where nothing gets to your table without the mint aroma of wealth. In schools, the rich children are chosen and treated like angels, while the poor get ignored because wealth is the legitimacy of existence. Amongst friends, the poor have no right to drink more than the tears in their weary eyes, while the rich measure intimacy by net worth. A father loves one of his kids more because of their wealth. In our bid to reveal the differences in net worth and wealth, we go beyond logic to heap brimstones on the heads of people finding it hard to have a three-square meal.

The country has made a mess of contentment, and we, her citizens, have chosen to ride the horse of extremism. It has made ridicule of conservativeness. It has made a jest of hard work and patience. Everyone, because of intimidation, wants it faster than expected. In contrast, the haste to belong and get worthy recognition leads many into money ritualism. We are all to be blamed for the recurrence of this mishap. Perhaps, we chose to be more kind in our association, words, and several other factors, the country might record less doom and misfortune.

Odukoya Adeniyi is a Nigerian Poet, and Essayist. He is a student of Education and English, Obafemi Awolowo University. He is the author of the poetry chapbook, Preserve This Light, published by PoetsInNigeria. Reach out to him @ADENIYI STEPHEN