Nigerians all over the world, especially those in England, were in understandable frenzy during the week after the British media, true to type, made a song of the "Nigerian descent" of the two young British men held over the most horrific killing of a British soldier in Woolwich area of London on Tuesday, May 21.
The social media went agog as mortified Nigerians cringed and cursed at the fear of further demonisation of themselves abroad because of the mere association of the British boys with probable Nigerian parentage. That is the nature of the times we live in. It's a world of quick and irrational damnation of 'otherness,' especially those bearing sharp and visible distinction like colour, tongue, or religion; and for the sin of one, blame all! Such blame game is effectual particularly against groups who have no strong counter force like national economy or interwoven cultural linkages.
Because of this, it is a bad time to be a black or Arabian, or a Muslim, and when two or more combine in you, then it is double jeopardy. The horror of Woolwich is beyond comprehension. One Michael Mujihad Adeboloja and his friend Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, rammed their car into one Drummer Rigby, an off-duty British soldier, on a Woolwich street in broad daylight, then pounced on him and hacked him to death wielding butcher knives. The two assailants then started raining Islamist tirade to passers-by, even uncaring of being photographed, until the police arrived to shoot them down (not fatally) and arrest them.
But hardly do such psychopathic attacks under the guise of religion or politics bear understanding. How could one comprehend or find any justification for what another Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmuhtalab, did wearing a nappy-bomb in an attempt to blow up an American airliner over Detroit, US? Or can one comprehend the more recent case of Boston Marathon bomber- brothers, Dzhokbar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who are Chechens?
The common factor in all of these cases as in most of the others is the claim of being Muslims and of "defending their faith" by these clearly mentally unhinged youths. In the case of Adeboloja, he had converted from being Christian and Michael to "Islam" and Mujihad ("a Jihad warrior").
The truth is even if in all instances the culprits are of the Islamic faith, shouting "Alhakbar" as they committed their crime against humanity, it would still be very wrong to then hang it on Islam. Rather, they should be seen for what they are, mindless psychopath of the animal kind.
As Joe Hildebrand of the London Daily Telegraph said quoting portions of both the Bible and the Quran that forbid killing, "But you don't need a holy book to tell you that what happened on an otherwise unremarkable street in Woolwich was a gross abomination against any God worth worshipping."
Similarly, although it is in the general nature of journalism to provide as much background information on a subject as possible, it is mischievous of the British media (and all Western media, come to think of it) to lay emphasis on a most irrelevant trace (of "Nigerian descent") over and above the reality (of them being born British citizens) for what can serve no other purpose than to cast a slur on the trace over the substance, or the distant over the instant. So being "Nigerian" has risen to join the other categorisations as if we've not had it bad enough already!
One posting by some miffed Nigerians on Facebook stressed the double standard of the British media poignantly enough, thus:
"The beheading was done by a British citizen and not a Nigerian as speculated, his name does not confirm his nationality. This lunatic was born in the United Kingdom, never been to Nigeria, (was) issued a birth certificate in the UK and held a British passport. Suddenly he is now a Nigerian? This guy is not a Nigerian. British born Michael 'Mujahid' Adeboloja with an accomplice yesterday beheaded a British soldier on a street in Woolwich, London.
"Because he is not Gabriel Agbonlahor playing for Aston Villa and Three Lions, or Andrew Osagie, UK's reigning 800m champion, or Lawrence Okoye, British discus record holder (68.24m), or Abiodun Oyepitan, British Olympic silver and gold medallist, or Zoe Oputah, singer/songwriter superstar and Youth Christian-Aid Ambassador or Christine Ohuruogu, Beijing Olympic British gold medallist, or Eniola Aluko, British Olympic female football star, or Temi Fagbenle, British Olympic basketball queen, or several other thousands of British citizens with Nigerian connection who are making the country proud, it is being made to look like Nigeria has "shown itself again" in the action of that British boy who beheaded a soldier yesterday.
"Nigeria should just be left out of this. Please pass on to educate the ignorant ones."
The situation is not any different from the horrors and fears that Chechens in America faced over the media coloration of the Boston Marathon bombers to look as if where the brothers came from and being "Muslims" were what made them what they turned out to be. Worse, that all Chechens and/or Muslims must henceforth be suspect.
Demonising an entire people or faith simply because some deranged people of their race, ethnicity or religion committed a crime is itself demonic. It is more so consequently putting innocent people to "defend" themselves at every turn.
I read a reaction whose author or medium I cannot recall that puts it most succinctly:
"Let us (Americans) stop this facade that we are beacon of tolerance. I don't need you to 'tolerate' me. I don't want you to merely put up with my presence. All I ask, all I have ever asked, is to be treated as a human being, that bigoted jingoism is not injected into every minute facet of my life, that there remains at least the illusion of decency.
"Despite being a native English speaker who was born in New Orleans and a physician who trained at a prestigious institution, all people see is the colour of my skin. After this incident, I will no longer apologise, either for my faith or my complexion. It is not my job to convince you to distinguish me from the violent sociopaths that claim to be Muslims, whose terrorism I neither support, nor condone. It is your job. Just like when a disturbed young white man shoots up a movie theatre or a school, it is my job, as someone with a conscience, to distinguish them from others. It's not my job to plead with you to shake my hand without cringing, nor am I going to applaud you when you treat me with common decency; it's not an accomplishment. It's simply the right thing to do. Honestly, it's not that hard."
Other Nigerians must not be made to feel guilty or responsible for the action or inaction of some crazed people out there, no matter their number, simply because they share or claim to share same place of origin remotely or otherwise. Leave Nigeria out of this – we have enough of our own wahala back at home!
