By Prof. Terhemba Shija
The robust young man who had only two hours to live, had emerged at the stadium in Katsina-Ala to receive his last tumultuous applause for a lifetime as guerrilla fighter.
The very people he had put under perpetual morbid fear with his deadly games were falling over one another to catch a glimpse of him.
His pictures sent on social media were those of a dreadlocked, thoroughly bearded, thickly set figure striking a personality bargain between the legendary Kenyan Dedan Kimathi and a Jamaican drug warlord.
His flashes of smiles at the cheering crowd and at his chief host, the Tor Sankera Chief Abu King Shulluwa, appeared genuine enough to belie these beastly looks. He could be a killer, but he was also a human being.
Gana had always expressed his desire to live a normal life. In two of his interviews conducted by Charles Erukaa of Channels TV and circulated in the social media he regretted that the Tiv society had misunderstood and austracized him, but pleaded to be given an opportunity to socially interact with his people.
He spoke flawlessly in Tiv and could manage a conversation in a heavily accented Tiv English. You could see his brilliance and wit.
His understanding of his environment, in spite of his limitations, was amazing. You could also read his impatience and anxiety about a society that is corrupt and inept and unable to take care of his needs and those of other people.
Every society has a Gana. Indeed, every household has one. These Ganas are invariably endowed with physical strength and, as Femi Fani-Kayode would say, have a short fuse. They are fearless and mostly extremist in their expression of emotion. They are a two edged sword, a blessing and a curse at the same time for each family.
You cannot use them at your pleasure and hope to discard them just like that. They hold society accountable in a crude manner, uttering or doing what others may consider either too indecent or too impolite to utter or do.
If you would permit me a small pun here, there was once a refrain that “Ghana must go.”
Today, it is the other way round. Nigerians now go to Ghana to learn new tricks of sustainable electricity generation, anti-corruption drive, private ownership of universities and so on.
We have also developed a love-hate relationship with our local Gana, a man whose blood was spilled a few days ago in a mock messianic mission.
George Floyd was certainly not the most saintly black man in America. He was even a man with criminal records like Gana. His death however taught America several lessons of life, one of which is that black lives matter.
Gana had refused to view the world from the same perspective like some other youths. He insisted on his right to gain his share by force.
Other youths have developed themselves in various schools but are denied their share of jobs and good living on account of official corruption and maladministration.
“When I shall see the blood, I shall pass over,” so said Jehovah to the house of Jacob during their captivity in Egypt. The sight of blood should definitely cause a rethink.
It behooves on all in leadership at all tiers of government to restore the humanity of our people by using the instrumentality of government to improve their socioeconomic wellbeing. Granting amnesty is merely an ad hoc arrangement. It cannot guarantee that enduring fulfillment of social interaction Gana and other youths spill their blood daily for. Our leadership has a duty to create a society that has a place for all to live and enjoy themselves.
