Could This Explain the #LekkiMassacre?
Development / Thinking

Could This Explain the #LekkiMassacre?

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Photo by Joe Ciciarelli on Unsplash

It is exactly a week today that the present Nigeria government ordered – since no government official has thought it expedient to come out and say the truth of who gave the order to shoot – the military to shoot at peaceful protesters. They sat there at the tollgate waving the Nigerian flag as they sang passionately, the National anthem.  We will never forget that they spoke with guns when all you demanded was #ENDSARS which has now gone beyond ending police brutality to demand leadership and good governance fit for the 21st century and the new Nigeria.

While reflecting on events of last week with a group of young people that will contribute positively to Nigeria, a thought flashed through my mind. Could it be that whoever gave the order to kill was putting on an outcome thinking cap? During our discussion, I came to understand that some people don’t think right or wrong but think outcomes even though these outcomes are sometimes negative.  While morality thinks in terms of wrong and right, outcome thinking on the other hand see situations as either necessary or unnecessary. 

Is it possible that the government realized that Nigerian youths have found their voice and should the peaceful protest go on, could mean the end of their stealing careers decided from an outcome point of view? I am convinced to answer in the affirmative because “they said to themselves to hell with right and wrong, let’s kill to ensure we maintain the dysfunction that we benefit from else we will lose relevance.” Sadly a lot of our current crops of politician do whatever is necessary even when it is wrong to gain power and benefit them. They have intentionally chosen to suspend morality for the sake of a specific outcome that favours them.   

In the context of the current movement in Nigeria, my fellow citizens, we can’t allow hunger to be the reason to justify the necessity to loot- yes even the palliatives. Let’s stop burning and destroying properties because it is ours and destroying them only makes our development journey longer. Violence never builds but destroys. Moving forward let’s have a better lens to look through things and with a heart of service and empathy make decisions that make Nigeria work for us all.  It is time for our generation to experience the good old days where, with a Nigerian passport you are respected globally and no red flag comes up, where our educational curriculum and institutions can compete with global standards, where politicians are driven by a service mindset and the Nigeria dream of a nation where excellences is unparalleled is achieved. We can do this but we must put on the right-thinking cap. It is clear that we have defined our own necessary as stated above and it is in the best interest of every Nigeria to align with the new Nigerian dream because with or without you, the new Nigeria is born. 

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