Six years ago in the city of Portharcourt,in the month of October like this,four healthy young guys were
beaten blue black,striped,humiliated and,without a dint of mercy,lynched by a blood-thirsty mob and set
ablaze.Their innocence was established long after their souls must have crossed to the other side. Aluu
four,that's what they headlined it in the news.
Since history,especially a bad one,has a magic wand of repeating itself in an unspeakable way,it happened again
in Lagos.In the year 2016,somewhere around Bariga,a seven year old boy was beaten to a stupor,doused in
petrol and set ablaze for stealing bread.The perpetrators of this heart-rending murder never had any encounter
with mother Justice,not to talk of facing the wrath of law.
Like Aluu four,like Bariga one,a similarly saddening scene played out in Lanlate,our sister town,two days
ago.Sola was burnt- no,I think cremated is the best word to use- to ashes for an alleged theft.Till now,no
one has been pointed to as the instigator or perpetrator of this teary tale.No matter how grave the offence,no
man is permitted to take another's life.Sadly,the crimes that we(Nigerians) commit against our kind are of a
dimension that brings memories of historic wrongs back to reality.The mass-killers should secretly ask
themselves,what if Sola had a son,when the child grew up,how happy would he feel to be associated with a
society where his father was killed without a coffin or a grave? Very sad.May God save us from us!