The massacre in Woro and its environs is the height of the despicable and unconscionable terror that happened last week. Many Nigerians may have been desensitised and numbed to these daily depravities and atrocities but the attacks and killings in many states last week further underscore how bad things are and how worryingly we are living precariously on the edge of the precipice as a nation.
Before the coming to power of President Bola Tinubu violent attacks on villages in Kwara and large-scale killing of innocent residents of these villages by rampaging armed men, whether they are bandits or Islamic extremists, were something unheard of. They are a rarity and the state seldom made the headlines for such heinous and barbaric acts. The state to an appreciable extent was hitherto largely impervious to and unscathed by the deepening security crisis occasioned by widespread attacks and wanton killings by armed non-state actors in the middle belt and northern part of the country.
But since he assumed office as president in 2023, many parts of Kwara state have found themselves at the mercy of satanic, mindless and vicious characters who have turned many villages and towns in the state into hotbeds of violent attacks and scenes of bloodshed. The latest in the never-ending cycle of violent attacks and killings is the massacre in Kaiama Local Government Area of the state. At least 200 people were killed by suspected terrorists on Tuesday in an attack on Woro and neighbouring communities of the local government.
The carnage in Woro followed a similar pattern of attack and massacre in Oke-Ode, a small idyllic town in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State, in October last year. Over 70 people were killed in that bloody attack by terrorists who picked this hitherto serene and tranquil countryside as their new enclave of violence. At least 12 forest guards and over a dozen vigilantes, including a village head, were also abducted in the raid. Several residents were also abducted in the raid,
But the latest attack and carnage in Kwara is not a one-off unfortunate and reprehensible incident or a random act of misfortune, it is a normalised act of terror and a cheapening of human lives that has come to define Nigeria as a nation, it is a grim and troubling reflection of how the government has failed in its basic responsibility of securing the lives and properties of the people. The massacre in Woro and its environs is the height of the despicable and unconscionable terror that happened last week. Many Nigerians may have been desensitised and numbed to these daily depravities and atrocities but the attacks and killings in many states last week further underscore how bad things are and how worryingly we are living precariously on the edge of the precipice as a nation.
All through last week, Nigerian media was awash with jarring news of onslaught, death and abduction. While Nigerians were actively wrestling with the grief, despair and trepidation that the Woro onslaught and massacre engendered and also trying to come to terms with the sheer barbarity of the incident, they were inundated with other unsettling news of the spate of atrocities of these terrorists across the country. There was bloodshed in Kwara, Katsina, Benue — and Kaduna state where yesterday 3 persons were killed and a Catholic priest Rev. Fr. Nathaniel Asuwaye, and 10 others were abducted by gunmen that invaded Karku community in Kauru Local Government Area.
In all of this, the government has not deemed it worthy to tackle these attacks and killings with the conscious and decisive action it desires. It has not made a deliberate and laudable effort to confront those perpetrating these heinous and barbaric acts with the ruthlessness and viciousness they deserve.
The government’s reaction to the latest act of terror on unharmed Nigerians has appalled and mortified many Nigerians. Just a couple of days after the Woro massacre, the president and other high-ranking members of the government were seen at the Minister of Defence’s children’s wedding ceremony. The same people who could not find time to visit Woro or any areas recently attacked by terrorists had enough time to attend the wedding ceremony of a party member.
The most worrying and dispiriting aspect of the situation is that we may not get out of this destructive loop anytime soon as our leaders have not shown the guts, seriousness, ruthlessness and decisiveness needed to put an end to the menace. Until we have a group of leaders who do not treat the lives of the people with scant regard, who do not gloss over the avoidable deaths of the people and who do not reduce the horrific crimes of violent attacks, murder and destruction to mere clashes that can be explained away by terse and perfunctory statement our people will continue to be killed by satanic and evil savages whom the government has refused to confront and get rid of.