Deborah Yakubu: Popular beliefs and self-preservation, By Yemi Adewoyin

Adherents of the Christian faith, particularly Catholics, would be familiar with the Gloria Patri (adapted in the title of this essay) as a doxology. It speaks to God’s glory and adoration as unchanging across time, and forever. In the prevailing context, however, it is about how certain things, notwithstanding the dynamism of cultures and times, won’t probably ever change. These certain things are usually popular beliefs among the population and have nothing to do with being educated. They represent the unofficial stand of those in power, broadly conceived. In other words, even if those in government have a contrary view on the subject of interest, those views are subsumed by those of their financiers, electors and other stakeholders behind the elected officials’ ascendance. When these certain things are triggered from their state of inertia like a dormant volcano, the reactions are largely predictably same. Let me illustrate with some examples.

White sup-remacy in the West and extrajudicial keeling (forgive some deliberate spelling twists consequent on Facebook’s safety standards) of people of colour is one certain thing that is not going anywhere. We all remember the disposition and speeches of the United States’ President regarding George Floyd. He represented (directly or indirectly) the popular belief that George and others like him got what they deserved. A white Police would most likely draw his wea-pon while stopping an individual of colour than he would a group of white rowdy males. Before going further, let me state that my intention isn’t to paint everybody in my examples with the same brush. Beneath the popular beliefs are contrary unpopular but more tolerant and humane beliefs held by some individuals and groups.

In South Africa, foreigners, especially Nigerians and Zimbabweans, are mostly targeted for vio+lent attacks whenever it suits the locals. Xen-ophobia in the rainbow country has been on the increase since the end of apartheid in 1994. Only recently, a group of locals launched Operation Dudula to flush out those they claimed are illegal migrants. They destroy businesses of selected foreigners, loot their properties, and in a case, set ali-ght a Zimbabwean. As with previous xen-ophobic attacks, the government hasn’t clamped down on the attackers. Rather, it advices that locals should not take the laws into their hands. It is the popular belief in South Africa, even in government, in spite of scientific and scholarly findings to the contrary, that foreigners are responsible for cri-me and high unemployment among the locals.

Coming home, the Indigenous People of Bia+fra (IP+OB) and its militant wing have been most violent in pushing for the state of Biafra, and more recently, for the release of their leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. They shut down economic and social activities in the South-East region of Nigeria on certain days of the week. They brut-alize, maim or keel perceived and actual enemies of their agitation and are becoming synonymous with terror. Quite interestingly, no religious or political leaders in the region has publicly condemned their negative actions. Not even the ones aspiring to lead the country in the forthcoming general elections. The quietude speaks of the acceptance of the agitation as a popular belief that they mustn’t go against.

In Sokoto, a city I once spent a week in 2004 while headhunting for the then proposed branch of Equitorial Trust Bank where I was a Human Resources Officer, Miss Deborah Samuel has been brut-ally keeled for ins-ulting the Holy Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). Defending the faith is second nature in Northern Nigeria because Islam is a way of life. Before Deborah, there had been other cases. Nothing justifies taking another person’s life. The Holy Book itself preaches peace. Yet the odds of expecting a different reaction to a similar situation in the future are very low. It is a popular belief. The state government is currently under fire for daring to arrest some of the perpetrators and a Presidential hopeful, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who tweeted to condemn the hei-nous act, was forced to delete his post over threats to his electoral chances in the State and the entire Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria.

Are these beliefs justified? That is akin to calling for a debate on matters where even Pontius Pilate would rather wash his hands in withdrawal. Yes, African-Americans in the United States are more implicated in cases of homicides than Whites (arguably due to rac+ial profiling); the same way Nigerians are more implicated in drug deals in South Africa. Zimbabweans are willing to work for amounts below the South Africa’s minimum wage and are preferred for being more hardworking (an euphemism for not complaining or citing labour laws against their employers like the locals). The Igbo people of South-East Nigeria are discriminated upon when it concerns leading the country on account of their style of politics, relatively lesser voting power, and history of secession. Religion is worse. Not only is there a constant battle on which of the foreign religions is a surer path to a blissful afterlife with a Supreme Being, the battles of sects and denomination within each religion are even more vociferous. To add to the tension, there are verses in the religious books (mostly taken out of contexts) to back whatever actions the believers choose to take. And to ‘please’ the Supreme Being or for a promise of some heavenly rewards, believers are willing to do the extreme.

Essentially, beliefs are personal and the believers can advance reasons that range from the most mundane to the most esoteric to justify their beliefs. As going openly against these popular beliefs bears no consequences for the majority, in almost all cases – as it was in the beginning, is now, and probably, ever shall be, should individuals not learn self-preservation when in the minority? Self-preservation is not weakness or stupidity but about choosing one’s battles intelligently. In my classroom and among colleague Professors, I can discuss my reservations against xen-ophobia or the methods of IPOB with facts and logic because I am sure people are listening. Self-preservation is not daring to do same in Soweto or in Onitsha Main Market. Self-preservation is not walking in a large noisy group with hands in my pocket in Detroit or walking arm in arm with my wife through a praying congregation as we almost did in Sabongari, Kano, in 1999. We were returning from visiting a friend in Ningi, Bauchi State on a Friday. In Kano, we needed to walk some distance to catch a bus to our destination and only discovered that the entire road stretch (around the central mosque) was filled with people observing their Jumat prayer. We were, innocently, ready to navigate through the praying crowd to get to the bus terminus before a female Igbo trader pulled my curvy and light-skinned wife, in her tight-fitting jeans, into her shop to stop our advance. Such a distraction would have been the height of blasphemy as Deborah was accused of. May the soul of Deborah and those of others who were unlucky to have lost their lives to unpopular beliefs, rest in peace. Amen.

Adewoyin PhD, a post Doctoral Fellow writes from South Africa