A retired Nigerian soldier has become a victim of jungle justice after he was brutally assaulted for allegedly being a wizard.
The retired soldier accused of being a wizard
A man has narrated how a retired Nigerian soldier was rescued from a mob in Lokoja after he was accused of witchcraft.
Chidozie Emmanuel shared the shocking incident on social media thus:
"...and he opened his eyes": Recession and the tears of the Nation.
"I came, I saw and felt the effects of recession in its natural
and raw state. It seems sad to behold! How did a retired soldier of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria come to this sorry sight?In many ways, the
neglect of senior citizens of the country, pensioneers, is a corporate
judgement on the nation's integrity. It is the 'holocaust' of
governmental neglect.
"In fact, at exactly 9am in the morning I took a position in
front of UBA bank at Lokoja. Somehow, I saw group of people gathered
near an old man, whose face has known decades of suffering. It seems
that his jacket is a replica of those worn in the Cowboys movies of the
70's. His shorts shared identity with the dirts on the road. His body
has not seen water for months I guess.
"I drew closer to the crowd. ..I enquired from one of the women
what was the matter. She replied " na witch...na God catch am today".
All this time, the man was suspended in between life and death...he was
uncounsciuos and was assumed to be dead. A young spirited man poured a
sachet of water on the man's head. Behold,he opened his eyes to the
admiration of the crowd. Futhermore, the youngman offered some water to
the "old man". He drank hastily and his eyes became brighter. Sooner or
later, he led us into his ordeal which began in 2013, he told the
listening crowd how he was owed pension and how matters became worst
during the course of this year.
"He has been owed over 8months. Sooner or later, some spirited
individuals bought food for him to eat. Others offered to take him to
the hospital. But then, the old man rejected all the offer. He said 'I
got my pension today'. He went further to say the joy of receiving his
pension led to his state of unconsciousness. Immediately the neglect of
pensioners came to the limelight, the men in the crowd talked randomly.
Majority blamed Buhari regime,others suggested that it was inherited
from the previous regime.
"Nonetheless, what became immediately clear was that some
strange phenomenon are at once attributed to the "occult or the workings
of the invisible hands". More so, 'poverty, hagardness' was also
captured in the image of 'oldness'. This perspective mix unevenly with
the workings of the state, hard felt recession and the dichotomies
between Jonathanians and Buharists. It further showcases most Nigerians
as caring and sympathetic.
"Recession as a phenomenal based on the perspective of the
crowd was real. It manifested in a profound way in the body of the old
man. What was however contested was 'who caused the recession '. The
Devil, Buhari and Jonathan were all implicated. However, by passing
these talk. I argue that recession is that which is imbued with
diversities of meaning, contested and more so, a political tool of
loyalists/apologists. I dare say that recession serves as a technology
through which blames are apportioned to heroes/villains and a prism
through which the cleavages of the state are chronicled."
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