Reflections Without Mirror: The Liberation of The Zombies of Nigeria: A Task That Must Be Done
The Zombies.
An elderly friend of mine sent a rejoinder in connection to my last article on ‘ Eda’, he then asked me whether ‘ Eda’ is synonymous with ‘ Zombie’. I saluted his observation and confirmed they are in fact, synonymous.
I remind myself of late Fela Anikulapo Kuti songs on Zombie, where he classified our military officers as zombies. The song was released in 1976. It was an album that criticised the Nigerian government then, particularly the military.
I checked Zombie again in the dictionary, and here is what I found. ” A frightening creature, a dead person who has been brought back to life, but without human qualities. Another definition states, ” a corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, especially in certain Africa and Carribeans region.
Zombies are not able to think, and they are often shown as attacking and eating human beings.
Zombies can be divided into three categories: 1. Biological, i.e., parasites modify the host creature’s behaviour. 2. Supernatural Zombies: These are zombies that are created in a supernatural way
3. Chemical Zombies : Strange chemicals are discovered and are meant to bring back the dead to life.
One of the attributes of human beings is the ability to think and reason. There is a standard that is expected of normal human beings. However, Zombies has lost that potential because they have been manipulated by external force, which has altered their essence.
Just like the ‘Edas’ that we treated last week , zombies are created by manipulations, whether spiritual or scientific. They are to obey their masters without questioning. They have no independent thoughts or opinion of their own other than to sheepisly follow the directions of their master.
There are many zombies in Nigeria. The introduction and use of thuggery into our politics is an example of turning people into zombies. The introduction and use of assassins in our politics, a situation where a political godfather is sending assassins after a political opponents is an example of using a manipulated person to go and kill. Paying INEC officials money to manipulate election results is an example of turning people into zombies. Anyone who allowed himself to be manipulated by money is a zombie, and that is why many youths and some elderly people engaged in money rituals. How can you describe some one that killed his girlfriend for rituals so that he can become rich. He had allowed inordinate love of money to turn him to Zombie. He has lost his human feelings and lost his reasonings. Many judges in Nigeria are zombies, they have dispensed away with the rule of law and justice; they have allowed themselves to be manipulated by money and no longer able to act independently anymore other than to pervert the course of justice.Justice is rarely served in our land anymore. Many people have allowed themselves to be manipulated by greedy politicians to commit atrocities in the land. Our country is what it is today because the majority of the people have been turned to zombies through the god of mammon
There is therefore, a need for a change and genuine repentance by those who are responsible for turning people into zombies. It is a great wickedness in our land by those who are ruling over us. They have failed to allow people to breathe.
There may be necessity for a revolution to liberate those who have been manipulated into becoming Zombies, those who their souls have been caged must be freed. Revolution does not necessarily mean violent change. It may be a systemic positive change to overhaul the obnoxious existing decadence system that has reduced our country to big for nothing.
Since it is only the deep that can call into the deep, it is only the people who have not soiled their hands or those who have repented of their evil that can participate in this kind of revolution to liberate the people of Nigeria. Changing the mindset to positivity is one of the ways to liberate people.
Niyi Aborisade is a lawyer,a Human Rights Activist and a Historian
