To them civilisation meant large urban cen-tres, full time specialist occu-pations, spiritual maturity, monumental architecture, systems for recording information, a ruling class exempt from manual labour, development of practical sciences, and the interdependence of social classes. Although this sounds ideal western civilisation concentrates power and extends inordinate human control over both nature and other human beings so there are many aspects of it which are very negative such as large scale warfare, slavery, and epidemic decease. Some anthropologists have even gone as far as to say that on the balance of evidence civilization was a mistake. In “civilised” America there have been almost two hundred shootings or discharge of a firearm in a school since 1927. The frequency of these attacks is increasing annually. Thirty six of them have occurred this year alone! All over the European nations mass killings of innocent civilians are on the increase. The American president sits in the White house and happily announces the “success” of a drone attack which kills many innocent civilians who are written off as “acceptable collateral damage”. Who determines what is barbaric? Freedom of expression is a pillar of civilized nations so they tolerate homosexuality and lesbianism. Some Africans feel these practices are barbaric yet feel female genital mutilation and domestic violence against women is acceptable. It all depends on where you stand.
A lot of social workers and activists are worried at the level of barbarism that goes on in Nigeria in the name of culture. As a supposedly civilized nation we are expected to ditch what are considered to be hideous practices in the name of culture and tradition. It would appear as if our culture and compassion are repugnant. Nigeria has all the illusions and characteristics of civilization but we don’t have the spiritual maturity to behave in a civil manner. Spiritual maturity means understanding the principles of co-existence hinged on good considerations for others. It represents an advanced state of cultural and intellectual development which we must all aspire to. It. Taking into account the public lynching of UNIPORT students, the brutish assault on a mother and child in Lagos, the habitual lynching of suspected robbers, the serial brutality and human rights abuses of our security agencies as well as the current Boko Haram assaults on innocent children we are entitled to ask whether indeed civilization has really helped us. If we pause to consider the way Africans used to behave in the past we will realize that before we became “civilized” certain things never happened.
Children were discip-lined but never victimized and slaughtered. Wars were fought but people never killed themselves because of mere ideology. Warfare was not a way of life. Women were treated with chauvinistic compassion and a lot of time was spent on enjoyment and merrymaking. We are entitled to ask ourselves how we ever became so “civilized” that mass slaughter of total strangers, women and chil-dren is now the order of the day. What the nation now faces is a human tragedy of epic proportions. The frequency of barbaric beha-viour is increasing and if a running total of those being killed and brutalized daily is kept the figures would be mindboggling. No innocent human being deserves to be treated in a barbaric way. It is un-African. To overcome our problems we need to regenerate and renew our ways towards development and progress. We need to treat each other with an overriding sense of fairness and decency. Governor Rauf Aregbesola called the recent killings of schoolchildren in Yobe a “brutal and barbaric” act that could only have been carried out by people who have lost their sanity and lack human feelings.
The President of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Nigeria Dr Mashud Fashola described the killings as “barbaric and ungodly”. He went on to say that it has nothing to do with religion and nothing to do with civilization. What could ever have driven people to carry barbaric behaviour to a new level and murder innocent school children in cold blood? Social scientists and psychologists postulate that distrust, variance of opinion, impatience, insubordination, regimental police action, fanaticism, and lack of judicial protection are the causes of barbaric behaviour. We are now so used to barbarism that we are exporting it. The British public was shocked at what they termed the “barbaric, reckless and totally unjustifiable murder” of a British soldier in full view of the general public by two Nigerian men.
It is sad fact of life that the saddest memories are the easiest to recall. They are not possible to forget because of the excruciating pain .left behind. However tragedies equally have the ability to change lives. Not only must we never lose the memory of the Yobe tragedy, we must also find a way that will make things better so that these lives would not have been sacrificed for nothing. Unfortunately as long as our leaders continue with their maladministration citizens will become increasingly barbaric. Nowadays in Nigeria a life is snuffed out at the slightest disagreement. It is to the eternal shame of all past leaders who were busy pompously celebrating their collective failure and decorating themselves with centenary medallions in the midst of all the carnage that an atmosphere has been created in which atrocities are committed with the slightest provocation, no remorse, and the confidence that there is little chance of being caught.
