Date Published: 09/28/09
September 29, 2009 PRESS RELEASE
THE BRUTAL MURDER OF BAYO OHU: A STARK X-RAY OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY!!!
The gruesome murder last week of Bayo Ohu, an Assistant Editor with the Guardian Newspapers is once again a sad reminder of the low and degrading road we as a people have consciously or unconsciously chosen to walk, our inability to respect the dignity and worth of the human personality and our utter disregard as a society for the sanctity of the human life.
We say consciously or unconsciously firstly, because we are not so sure if this prevailing attitude is deliberate, but more importantly, we say so, because we know fully well that all of the furore and cries of foul being raised is going to be short-lived; only for a few days and it will be business as usual! Return to normalcy.
There is something seriously wrong with us Nigerians. On the one hand, we are quick to respond with heartfelt sympathy to a fellow Nigerian suffering or death, especially when it is not an act of God and give vent to our pent-up emotions and anger. But on the other hand, we are very quick to forget what has happened, the what, why and how. The press will only talk about it for a few days and that will be it. The police will vow to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book, but after a few days, it’s all over. Nobody ever tries to follow up or see to it that the police do its job. After a while, another happens and it takes the focus off the previous one. And so goes the tragic cycle. We are just too frivolous and complacent as a people in so far as injustices are concerned. We forget too quickly.
The capacity of Nigerians to forget is unprecedented and legendary. There are probably more unsolved murders in Nigeria than in any other country of the world. We can’t ever remember any that has been solved. From the untimely death of Dele Giwa, founding Editor and Chief Executive of Newswatch Communications Ltd by a parcel bomb to the premature death of Bayo Ohu in the hands of unknown assassins, the list is endless. Journalists have mostly been victims of such callous deaths, and yet, nothing has been done. Several top politicians and high-level executives have been the unfortunate victims of politically motivated killings; still, life goes on as if all is well. Daily, voiceless and innocent Nigerians are killed prematurely in various mishaps and even in police custodies through extra-judicial means and no one remembers. Who is going to be next victim tomorrow?
Somehow, we must learn to do more and move beyond these rather difficult times. We must learn to sustain our voices for the cause of justice until we unravel the mystery surrounding such deaths as that of Ohu. The press especially must come to terms with this reality and recognise its unique role as the number one societal watchdog. it must keep his death in the front of national discuss and make it an issue by continually running it until it is resolved. And that should be not just for Bayo Ohu, but Dele Giwa, those of two or so of Thisday Newspapers that were cut down not too long and countless others. By the same token, the police must for once resolve this one. We cannot afford as a people to continue to return to things as they are for the cost will be to great and the burden so much to bear.
Bayo Ohu was the victim of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever committed against humanity; the inexpressible cruelties of man’s inhumanity to man. We strongly believe, especially in the light of the circumstances of his death, that Bayo Ohu was the victim of a blood thirsty cabal bent on stultifying the holy crusade for the freedom of information and freedom of the press.
His death therefore reminds us of the urgent need to substitute courage for caution and to be concerned not merely about who murdered him, but about the system and the conditions which produced the murderers. In the final analysis, his death urges us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realisation of a fair and equitable society anchored on justice, freedom and peace.
Eneruvie Enakoko
(CLO Chairman in Lagos)
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Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Lagos 13, Soji Adepegba Close, Off
Allen Ave, Ikeja/Lagos. Tel: 234-1-08033188864, 4939324-5, 7746694.
Fax: 01-4939324, P.O Box 53328, Ikoyi, Lagos. Email:
clolagosnigeria@gmail.com, clolagos@yahoo.com, Website: www.clo-ng.org
