Events of last week are so numbing; deaths everywhere. From the bowels of one of the greatest pieces of technology created by man as it fell off the skies of Ethiopia and left families and friends gnashing their teeth; to the guns of the mad booming in Kajuru. Oh, there was also the collapsed building in Lagos housing a school which left pupils dead. There must have been more blood, violent deaths but the killing in the third largest city of “Down Under” also known as New Zealand or NZ for short, trumped everything. In one of the most peaceful countries of the world, a certain terrorist who gunned down scores of worshippers in a Mosque unleashed venom like never seen before. He didn’t stop there; he filmed his wickedness and broadcast his hatred around the world. He did another thing that scared me, after the first round of shooting, he got to his car parked outside the premises of the mosque, changed his gun and went back in to shoot already dead or half dead human. Even a movie will not evoke such imagery. This is ISIS-styled murders all over again in 2019!
Incidentally the terrorist isn’t from New Zealand, instead 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant who has become a tyrant terrorist hails from Australia. He is an immigrant who brought so much dysfunction to a country known for its peace and friendliness. Tarrant, who has promoted far right inclinations even on social media before the incident is said to have monitored the mosque where he attacked his victims prior to the day. He made his way around easily to the main bowel of the place of faith and its inner recesses. It was well timed as faithful were busy performing Salatul Jumaah. At least 49 persons were killed in two separate Mosques and their surroundings. In one of the Mosque’s, Tarrant was seen in his own video shooting into the street in front of the Mosque. A lady he had shot on the street was heard shouting for help, and then he aimed at her and shot her head to keep her silent forever. That was on the street. Another woman lost her husband, brother and dad. Yet another immigrant in his 70s was killed as he put himself in front to defend others. Incidentally, he was an Afghan refugee who left the chaos in his country for a peaceful environment only to meet his death by the same violence! In one of the mosque’s there was hero too. The man simply aimed at the harbinger of death and dealt him a blow which disorientated him. The stand-in imam in this mosque is a Nigerian who called worshippers to hide as Tarrant approached the prayer place.
Since this incident, New Zealand has come out of the initial shock to rally support for the Muslim community. Christians and non-Christians alike have come out in unison to show the commonality of human existence. An injury to one is an injury to all. Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who appeared in Muslim hijab when she went to commiserate with the grieving community has shown grit and empathy in this very tragic moment. Her candour and carriage in managing the tragedy have combined to give hope and inspiration to a broken country and a world in pain and shame. Terrorism is a function of hate and it is important for people around the world to begin to have a conscious conversation on what to do and when. This is a cancer eating deep into the fabric of our existence yet people even those in positions of authority at different levels and layers do not pay attention or do not pay enough if they do. People carry this hatred in their hearts for long. It shows in the ways they manage their own affairs, the things they tell their children and people under their influence. It shows in the mass media and in politics.
The terror in NZ was never so called in the mainstream international media for days. Some still don’t think it is terrorism. They say it is “a gun man” or “mass shooter”. This are deliberate and a systematic redirection of the narrative. They are painting a picture in the minds of the public. They are precluding white people from being termed as terrorists even when the act is so monstrous that there should be a more despicable word for it. Terrorism does not completely describe what that young man did. He did far worse. If a knife wielding Arab or African is caught on the streets of London trying to attack passers-by, such individual will be called a terrorist immediately by the media. But not Tarrant! Whereas he too has political reasons for his actions going by his thoughts as expressed in his own writings.
This type of narrative and profiling will not help in drowning terrorism or in fact hatred in a world that continues to interact at a dizzying speed. Technology has helped globalisation; globalisation has helped promote more interaction among the peoples of the world.
Consequently, it is in everyone’s interest to expel hatred occasioned by biases and prejudices of years gone by.
In Nigeria, we suffer the same fate. Our politics is toxic. Folks bring up dead issues or in fact create new ones to satisfy their longstanding biases and prejudices against whoever is of interest to them. Even religious organisations that are supposed to be the conscience of the nation spend most of their time promoting division, hating individuals on account of the language they speak or the God they worship. Religious leaders sell these phantoms for political reasons yet we see hate inspired killings here and there every time.
We do not want to claim responsibility for the deaths yet ask anyone of the killed or the killer or meet them in private discussions, they will reveal all that their community and religious leaders have pumped in them 90 percent of the time, these tales are lies. Yet our people choose leaders during elections because of these lies and kill each other because of these lies. This is why we have terrorism today in our country. Blood everywhere, while leaders call for peace they go behind to incite the people to hate each other. Enough! no one wins a hate war.
