By Nuruddeen Lemu
The wolves came out of the forest and attacked the sheep in the pasture. The sheep, rams, ewes and lambs scattered in every direction, their cries of fear and pain filling the air. By the time the wolves retreated into the forest, some sheep were dead, some seriously injured and others missing dragged into the forest. Others were badly frightened and traumatized.
The attacks are common now. Each attack leaves sheep dead, injured, missing or terribly frightened.
The fate of the missing, alive or dead is often unknown.
The sheep turn to one another, wondering why this is happening. Their shepherd seems oblivious to what’s going on, and is often nowhere to be found. Soon, they notice that most of the wolves are black. Some of the sheep turn to the black sheep in the pasture and begin to insinuate and indirectly accuse them of being wolves in sheep’s clothing, or somehow connected with, or conspiring with the wolves. Some suggest that maybe even the shepherd is somehow involved.
In return, the black sheep show the number of black sheep killed by the same pack of wolves. They begin to count and showcase their numbers to prove that they are also victims, not perpetrators.
The sheep of other colours also begin to count their dead to prove that they are the real victims and everyone else is a suspected perpetrator.
While the sheep engage in accusations and counter-accusations, the wolves attack again, leaving more dead, injured or missing.
Sheep on both sides now count even harder, the injured, the dead and the missing. Inter-sheep relations are getting messier, and trust within the flock is rapidly eroding away. Some black sheep accuse the brown sheep of exaggerating their numbers. Some brown sheep accuse the black sheep of doing the same.
As accusations and counter-accusations fly, the wolves strike again and again, plucking sheep off the edges of the pasture, making raids further into the pasture, breaking up clusters of sheep.
While all this is going on, where are the shepherds? Where are those who vowed to protect the sheep while they are out in the pasture?
The wolves keep attacking, unchecked. The dead, injured and missing increase in number as do the fear, mistrust and confusion. Empathy disappears as tensions continue to rise – each community of sheep to themselves. No more their brothers’ keepers.
In the eyes of the wolves, the difference between a brown, white or black sheep is irrelevant. The sheep are food. Period!
How long will it take us, Nigerians, to realise that, to those who perpetrate violence, our religious, ethnic, and gender identities mean nothing? If your abduction, injury, or death will give them more power, money, or control, then you are a potential victim.
If you think being a Muslim or Christian protects you, just look at the body count on both sides.
Criminals and terrorists do not care what you claim to be. They don’t discriminate; and their bombs and bullets do not discriminate.
Tragically, many sheep of one colour believe that proving that they have suffered more will secure them a better future. Those who insinuated that the sheep who shared the same colour as some of the wolves, only seem to have provoked more anger and division within the flock. The accused sheep respond by displaying their dead and their most gory wounds, counter-claiming to have suffered as much, if not more, than their accusers.
Without intending to, the sheep, irrespective of colour, scramble to prove greater victimhood. This is a tragic contest, an “Olympics of victimhood”. As sheep accuse one another of conspiracies and of being wolves in disguise or wolf-sympathizers, they spend precious time and resources pointing hooves at one another instead of demanding that the shepherds do their primary duty: the security and welfare of the flock.
This infighting is a gift to the wolves. The more the sheep attack one another, the weaker their relationships and the harder it becomes for them to unite and pressure the shepherds to act. For every action in the “Olympics of victimhood” by one sheep, there is an equal and opposite reaction from the other sheep.
When will we learn to empathise across our coloured identities and recognise that disunity deepens our collective vulnerability? If we fail to uphold the principle of our mantra, that “though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand,” then the wolves never the sheep will be the ultimate winners of the Olympics of victimhood.
If we do not rouse the shepherds now, then when?
If not us, then who?
If not here, then where?
Wake the shepherds up, get their attention, and let them deal with the wolves, for though
abattoirs have appeared in our fields, united effort can still reclaim these pastures as places
where peace and justice shall reign.
So help us God! Meanwhile, please go and find those sleeping or distracted shepherds!
Aluta continua! And peace be with me and you! Yes, YOU, my dear comrade!
