By Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili
STOP the Bloodshed in this Land. Period. What are all these silly Debates about, really? Of what use are Governments that cannot protect their own people? Of what use are “leaders” who do not value the lives of their people? Of what humanity are people in power and our society who defend such failures?
Of what Future are a people who allow such evil to become normal in their country while they sit around to “debate” about the mass killings of their fellow countrymen, women and children to determine if it is really “Genocide”?
In 2015, they came for our Chibok daughters and several others, Nigerians sat around debating “Politics” while the parents of the girls cried in anguish pleading to “even be believed that they are not “scam parents”.
Those that believed them, joined their cries, stood in empathy to ask Governments to take constitutionally mandated effective actions for the girls’ rescue. Our cries and demands fell on deaf ears and hardened hearts.
We cautioned that if Government failed to act decisively against the terrorists by allowing them to go unpunished, the inaction and absence of deterrence would embolden the organized deadly criminals.
What we cautioned against happened and in 2018, same terrorists abducted Dapchi School
girls. As predicted, Kidnappings soon escalated and morphed into an Industry with many families in this country becoming victims of the same losses, griefs and anguish that the ChibokGirls, Leah Sharibu and their parents were left to suffer.
More than 90% of the Chibok Secondary School girls that were abducted were Christians. I for example did not know this until much later in the demand for their rescue and justice. Sharibu was punished for being a Christian and not released along with her classmates when Government negotiated their freedom.
Yet, as kidnappings and killings escalated, rather than take responsibility and act effectively, Governments were more interested in unleashing all manner of assaults on innocent citizens who demanded for accountability and results.
I ask again, “Of what use are “leaders” and Governments that cannot protect their own people?”
- Stop the silly debates.
- Stop defending the indefensible.
- Stop the irresponsible deflecting.
- Stop the heartless indifference to the sufferings and injustices done to others.
There are no ifs, buts and whataboutism about the mass killings of Nigerians. Just be human by imagining what it feels like to be in the line of vulnerability that historic, courageous and incredible Reverend Ezekiel and others have been calling all of us to see.
When your fellow humans tell you they are being targeted, learn to listen with human compassion. The Death and Dearth of Empathy is the basis of some of the horrible definitional debates on “Genocide” that is going on in a Land where hundreds of our fellow citizens are killed daily with impunity
Even a Lai Mohammed called it Genocide in 2023 when he was Minister of Information. Yes, the same Lai Mohammed that Nigerians know. The Death and Dearth of Empathy is the basis of some of the horrible definitional debates on “Genocide” that is going on in a Land where hundreds of our fellow citizens are killed daily with impunity.
So what really is all the Debates about? One more Nigerian does not deserve to be killed while our governments do nothing. Period. Be Human Beings for a change and stop “majoring in the minors”.
It did not have to take the insults and threat from Trump to wake up our Government to the Duty of Care it owes EVERY CITIZEN of Nigeria. Again, Be Human Beings for Once. STOP the Bloodshed in OUR Land. Period.
Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili Senior Economic Adviser, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative (AEDPI) Former Minister of Education and Former Minister of Mineral Resources, Nigeria. Former Vice President of the World Bank, Africa Region
November 10, 2025
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