WHY DOES HUMAN LIFE MEAN NOTHING IN NIGERIA ?

Azuka Onwuka

If I were to throw my two shoes at the President of Nigeria, what do you think would happen to me? It’s most likely that I would be dead in a matter of minutes, hot lead pumped into me. Other people around me may also be killed by the bullets from the guns of the security men around the President. It does not matter who is occupying the office of the President, the reaction of his bodyguards would be similar. Most Nigerians would simply conclude that I committed suicide. “He was asking for his death when he took that foolish action.”

Compare that to this incident. On December 14, 2008, the then President of the United States of America, George Bush, was having a joint press conference with the then Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, at the prime minister’s palace in Baghdad, Iraq. Suddenly, an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, threw both of his shoes, one after the other, at President Bush. As al-Zaidi threw the first shoe at Bush, he yelled in Arabic: “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog.” Bush ducked and the shoe missed him. The man threw the second shoe and yelled: “This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq.” Bush ducked again to avoid being hit by the shoe. The host, Prime Minister Maliki, also attempted to catch one of the shoes to protect Bush.

Al-Zaidi was pulled to the floor by another journalist, before being grabbed by Prime Minister Maliki’s guards, who kicked him and rushed him out of the room.



However, and most importantly, no bullet was fired at the shoe-throwing journalist for attempting to “assassinate” the President. Nobody was shot, no blood was spilled. A good end to a tensed moment.

The man did not want to kill President Bush. He only wanted to embarrass him. He deserved to be punished, but the punishment for throwing shoes at the President is definitely not death. Maybe, except in countries like North Korea.

In the last one week, hundreds were killed in Zaria and Onitsha for blocking the road. In Zaria, some Shi’ite Muslims, while on a procession, were shot at and killed for allegedly blocking the way and refusing to budge even after the army officers pleaded with them to clear the way. The reason the army gave for killing them was that they attempted to “assassinate” the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Burutai, (with their bare hands, clubs and machetes), even though the Chief of Army Staff had many fully armed soldiers in his convoy. Later, the Army stormed the worship centre of the Shi’ite Muslims to arrest their leader, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and it was reported that some hundreds were killed.

By the middle of the week, news came that a Federal High Court in Abuja had ruled that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, be released “unconditionally.” Hundreds of his supporters trooped out in Onitsha, singing and dancing in jubilation. At least, five of them were shot at and killed by soldiers. The reason given was that they were ordered not to go beyond the River Niger Bridge but they refused. Over the weekend, the Army said that they shot at the jubilant crowd in self-defence.

Crowds should be civil and peaceful while protesting. But using live bullets on a crowd is inexplicable and repugnant. What happened to blanks or rubber bullets? What happened to water canon? What happened to teargas? Some weeks before then, live bullets had been used on the IPOB protesters in Onitsha who were protesting the continued detention of their leader in spite of his meeting the bail conditions. It was reported that some people were killed. The picture of a dead Miss Nkiru Ikeayionwu, a young student of a higher institution, lying on the road, went viral. Her light blue shirt was stained with blood. She was said to have been shot dead by the security agents. Was she violent? Was she such a huge threat to soldiers and armed policemen that resulted in being shot at and killed?

These are dangerous signals. In a democracy, civilians are not shot at as if they are hawks or antelopes. Life is sacrosanct and irreplaceable. All efforts are made to ensure that killing of a demonstrator is the last resort especially when the demonstrator becomes a threat to life, not when the demonstrator proves to be stubborn.

The freedom to protest and be listened to makes civilians to believe in the efficacy of peaceful protest and embrace it. Brute force does not kill protests or beliefs. When protesters fear that they will be shot at if they protest, they may believe that peaceful protests are useless, thereby resorting to violent means of expressing themselves. That is dangerous and must not be encouraged. The Boko Haram menace is already too much for our nation to manage that another group should not be forced to go underground and become another menace.

Brute force is not necessary in dealing with civil matters. During the 2011 and 2015 presidential campaigns, the then President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, was pelted with stones in some Northern states. None of those who did that was shot at.

He later said that those who pelted him with stones took a huge risk that could have cost them their lives. But it was good that they were not killed. Embarrassing a president is bad but it should not carry a death penalty.

Many of us have been caught up in traffic jams caused by hundreds of cattle crossing the road or taking up half of the road. Some of us have spent an hour or two in such traffic jams in frustration. But there has not been a story of cows being shot at for obstructing traffic. Usually, they are managed with patience until they are gone. If cows blocking the way are not shot at and killed, why should human beings be killed so easily? Do cows have more value than human lives?

Many of us have also been trapped in traffic jams caused by presidents, governors, political rallies, Christian processions, Muslim processions, cultural festivals, and student demonstrations among others. We complained but usually put it behind us.

The reason some people justified the killing of Shi’ite Muslims and the IPOB members is because these two groups are not in their good books. But the issue goes beyond whether we love Shi’ite members or IPOB members. It could be students of University of Lagos tomorrow or women of Jos blocking the way in protest over one thing or the other. Those who supported the killing of Shi’ite Muslims or IPOB members may then complain about such killing.


It must be about issues, not about people. Using live bullets on protesters is unacceptable. Human life is invaluable and must be respected even in times of provocation.