Wednesday

Flashback: Black lives matter; All lives matter

CC™ Breaking Bread - E.O. Eke 

The horrific suffocation of George Floyd, by the knee of Officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, has not only shocked and enraged the world it has once again brought the surface the degree of hatred, prejudice and wickedness inspired by race that still exist in the hearts of some human beings.

George Floyd is the latest addition to a gallery of victims of US police brutality, against black peoples: Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile and Freddie Gray, are examples of black men who have been murdered by American police.

In spite of outrage like the one we are witnessing today, black people continue to suffer prejudiced treatment in the hands of some white people and institutions in many white dominated countries.
The killing of Mr Floyd by a group of white American police men is a heinous and despicable crime which offends humanity.

I would like to say that it is not only blacks in America that are suffering the kind of injustice that led to the death of George Floyd . In Nigeria, police brutality of the type that claimed the life of George Floyd is routine and currently there is a Fulani knee on the neck of Nigerians.

On 7 and 8 June, 2005, six young Nigerians, 5 men and one woman of Igbo extraction, Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyin Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna and Anthony and Augustina Arebu were murdered in cold blood by members of Nigerian police led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim. Mr Danjuma is still wearing the uniform of the Nigerian police.

In July 16 2019, Mr Chinedu Obi, aka ‘Zinquest’ an Igbo was arrested by the Nigerian Police for being covered in tattoos, wearing a gold chain and in possession of an expensive I-phone.The police shot him and then watched him bleed to death. These are just two examples from many.

These crimes against humanity continue to take place because the Fulani caliphate hijacked Nigeria, through a rouge constitution after the civil war.

What else can I say, when the game keeper is the poacher? What hope has the sheep, when the Shepard is a wolf? What future has Nigeria, when the Nigerian government is on the side of Fulani terrorists?

In Nigeria it is one rule for Fulanis and another for others. Fulani terrorists masquerading as cattle rearers carry AK 47 openly in Nigeria, but the police arrests others with legal gun licence because they are from other ethnic groups. The Buhari government has pursued a policy of disarming ordinary Nigerians, while aiding Fulani terrorists to arm.

Fulani terrorists are free to operate from their bases in forests, where they are supplied with Nigerian military helicopters and the world looks on.

White police officers kills one black man, thirty cities in America erupt in violence, but Fulani terrorists wipe out villages after villages in Nigeria, and the Nigerian government, press and the world keep silent. Yes, it is right to protest against evils of the type claimed the life of George Floyd, but evil has no colour. Evil is pervasive.

I am forced to as; does black life matter, only when white People kill blacks? Does black life matter when black youth kill black youth in London? Does black matter when police from Islamic north Nigeria kill Christians southerners because of who they are? Who cares about the hundreds being killed daily in Nigeria by Fulani terrorists? Are they not black lives?

What can I say. Nigerians cry on. Maybe, one day, Nigerians will wake up from magical thinking and realise that people create their own heaven or hell and no people can progress, unless they take control and commit to change, evil will win.

I suppose Black people should also fight against tribalism, toxic ethnic nationalism, corruption, religious intolerance and terrorism. This is the way to demonstrate that indeed, Black livers matter.
The white knee on the neck of black George Floyd black neck made it impossible for him to breathe and he died while the other police men and many others stood by.

In a time like this, it is easy to forget who is a racist. A racist is not only a white police Officer with his knee on the neck of a black man.

It is any human being who restricts his goodness, justice and love to people of his race, religion, nationality and or ethnicity.

It is a person, who narrowly defines his goodness and finds good reasons to exclude others from it.

Whenever a human being finds good reason to do to others, what he or she would not want others to do him, members of his family and or ethnic and religious group, that individual is a racist, who has a suffocating knee on the neck of his victim.

A racist is a person who opposes a relationship because of tribal or ethnic and or religious differences.

A racist is a person who refuses to employ another on the basis of ethnicity, gender or religion.

A racist is a human being who discriminates on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation.

A racist is a prejudiced human being eaten up by hatred of those, who are different.

How does a man with a knee on his neck get up? While his knee was on my neck you passed by.
While his knee was on my neck, you looked away. While his knee was on my neck, you called me a criminal and a "nigger." While his knee was on my neck, what did you do? Indeed, all lives matter.

All lives matter. The colour of evil is not white. There are evil black and white peoples.

Every week in London, a black youth kills another black youth. White people spearheaded the abolition of slavery and many black peoples were involved in the slave trade. They sold blacks to whites as slaves. I have experienced evil from both whites and blacks. Evil has no colour.

It is important not to judge a race by the actions of a few people from the race. In the final analysis we are all belong to the human race and are individuals who are responsible for our actions.

If we are prepared to ascribe the evil of one individual to his race, we should also be ready to ascribe the goodness of another individual to his race.

We need to see people as individuals before the colour of their skin. We need to dig deeper. All lives matter do matter.

Freedom only comes when men reject the status quo and take control.

People overcome tyranny when they rise up to oppose evil and wrong, whenever they see it, no matter who is the victim.

It is time to demonstrate that Nigerian lives matter. It is time to end Fulani terrorism and police and, military brutality in Nigeria.

All lives matter. No one should have his knee on the neck of anther human being. End racism and ethnic nationalism, and terrorism. Embrace equality under the law and justice as fairness for all. All lives matter.