By Rev. Fr. Jude Igho, St. Michael Catholic Church Umutu, Diocese of Warri Delta State.
It is no news that people are being killed on daily basis in one way or another in Nigeria. This killing get worse every day as no day passes without a news headline of how people have been killed in one community or on the high way (Roads). This is further compounded as poverty rate has not being reduce as expected.
For many, there seem to be no concrete steps taken by the government of the day to reduce or put to an end this satanic act. Here lies the vulnerability of the common man in Nigeria.
Can Nigerians confidently say there is hope for better days to come?
Vulnerability as defined, is uncertainty, risk, or emotional exposure. Brene says that it is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy and creativity.
In truth, vulnerability is connected with poverty which could arise when people are insecure, defenceless and or/isolated in the face of stress, shock and risk. Vulnerability is also seen as a weakness or gap in security program that can be exploited by threats to gain an unauthorized access to an asset. Similarly, it is a gap in our protection effort that could be exploited by people leading to loss, damage or destruction of assets or human beings.
We respond to these challenges in different ways base on our social group, gender, age, ethnic, identity and other factors. The aforesaid is the situation we find ourselves especially the common man in Nigeria today.
Who is the common man we may ask? The commoner or masses, could be described as the ordinary people in the community or nation who lacks any significant social status. The level of peoples vulnerability is determine by physical, economic, social, religious and political factors. The strength or weakness of these factors enable people to either resist, cope or recover from the hazards.
How then can the poverty rate of our nation suspected to be the cause of by unemployment be reduce to the barest minimum for the vulnerable to have succour and heave a sigh of relief? What about the insecurity that has bedeviled and increased the fear of the populace, that to travel or step out of ones house has become challenge?.
It is against this backdrop many are now clamouring and calling on the government of the day to wake up to her responsibility of securing the life’s and properties of the people it govern.
“We are tired and sick of rhetorics by the government of being on top of the challenges faced by our nation and/or vain promises that those involve in the killings will be brought to book after innocent Nigerians have lost their lives to callus and unprovoked gruesome murder. Nigerians are overwhelmed by these to the extent that some, if not all have loose hope on the entity called Nigeria.
The failure of the government and those in charge of security matters to protect the common man and his properties, has left him despair and vulnerable. This is made worse in his little attempt to defend himself when faced with attackers who come with sophisticated weapons. Good examples of this, are the Fulani Herdsmen, kidnappers, ritualists, and armed robbers operating on the high ways and at home.
The dichotomy between different political parties, different religions, North and South has not helped the situation either, but has rather led to more fragmentation of our nation with what some called, the ‘hidden agenda’, oppression, insincerity, greed, hatred, and even corruption we seem to be fighting. This is why there is no justice and peace in our Land. Thus the fight by one pressure group or another from different parts of the country especially among the youths and women that are more vulnerable.
It is only by speaking the truth and doing the needful for our country that can save us, but not justifying our inadequacies then support wrong doing in the high and low places by anyone.
This is where no doubt we have a share of the blame directly or indirectly by our action or inaction in the vulnerability of the common man. But all hope is not lost if and only the government and the governed go on the same pace working hard with a sincere heart to follow the rule of Law for the common good. But while some advocate for devolution vis-à-vis restructuring or division of the nation for the purpose of peace, others opined that we should strengthen the structures of our government to prevent any leader from doing his own will but the will of the people.
By this, safety of life and property of the people will come first with the basic infrastructural development. This will enable the people to strive well in whatever endeavour of life they have chosen.