Funsho Williams: Another Senseless Killing

Dele Giwa. Alfred Rewane. Marshall Harry. Bola Ige. Jerry Agbeyegbe. The list goes on and on and on and on. It never stops. Will it ever stop? And now, Chief Funsho Williams, killed in the comfort of his home. Why? What is the matter with Nigerians? What’s going in the PDP? Was Professor Soyinka correct in his assessment of the PDP as a cathedral of assassins? We kill the best amongst us; we kill those with uncommon ideas and uncommon courage. Have we become a nation of killers?

At the rate at which we are going, all we would be left with would be imbeciles and sycophants and functional illiterates. By our actions, we lay waste our collective destiny. What is happening in our country is not only pitiful and painful, it defies all logic. When we are not busy chopping off people’s torso, we fan religious and ethnic violence; we foster nepotism and sectionalism. We behave as though we hate being humans, and hate being Nigerians.

How did we get to be this intolerant of dissenting opinions? How did we get to be this intolerant of humanity? Why must a man’s political aspiration be the cause of his death? Chief Funsho Williams lay waste all because of his dissenting views and political aspirations. My goodness, what a country! What a country!

When we are not busy annihilating our opponents — we engage in gutter-politics. Our national politics, as it is today, is devoid of ideas and platforms; it overflows with rage, hate, vengeance, extreme dislike and cutthroat competition. What distinguishes the AD from the PDP and others? One can hardly tell! Granted we have a few beacons amongst the current crop of politicians; overall however, what we have are schools of sharks and bands of rats and skunks, and an array of recycled politicians – “yes men and women,” engaged in a venomous struggle for money, power and influence.

Will Nigerians ever stop the lynching, and the rape and the killing of its best and brightest? Assassination is sometimes used as a tool to change the course of history. It is sparingly used when there is a just cause. You don’t assassinate people because they disagree with your policies or your aspirations. You don’t assassinate people because a business deal went sour. Political disagreements need not lead to the killing or the maiming of opponents. Criticism is healthy and should not lead to uncontrollable rage, vendetta and assassination.

Assassination should not be used as a tool to resolve conflicts; for conflicts are inherent to politics and human life. When it is all said and done nothing warrants snuffing the life out of our opponents and out fiercest critics. These killings must stop. These inordinate, senseless, and irrational killings must stop. Assassinations serve no real purpose; and nothing is gained by the gratuitous destruction of an opponent’s life.

Are they happy now? His killers, are they happy now? Those who sanctioned his killing, are you happy now? Now that Chief Funsho Williams is dead, is your life fuller and fulfilled? What did you all gain by his untimely death? From now until eternity, his blood will be on your hands, and on your conscience. May you always remember — in your dreams and in your waking moments — that you took a man’s life, that you took a life that was not yours to take; you took a life you never created. May your dreams and your conscience be forever stained.