The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar that corresponds to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable for the Romans as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BCE, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history. This is the history of the phrase “Ides of March”.
The ongoing massacre of Igbos by the army in Obigbo in Rivers State, Nigeria believed to have been sanctioned by the governor of the State, Barr Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has further compounded the international image problems and other issues created for the country by the #ENDSARS Lekki massacre. As unfortunate, babaric and undemocratic this sad event is, it has further painted Nigeria as a lawless country where the citizens are freely slaughtered like goats and their rights trampled upon without much ado.
Presently, there are reliable feelers that the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC) is investigating the Lekki massacre with a view to bringing the culprits to justice. The Nigerian government have also set up various panels to investigate the matter. However, most Nigerians who may have lost faith in the system have refered to the government panels as diversionary and a “kangaroo” exercise geared towards exculpating the culprits. In any case, the ongoing Obigbo massacre now appears to lend credence to the popular believe the the Lekki massacre was premeditated and contrived by government to violently quell the #ENDSARS protest.
The main actor in this elegy, gov Wike by his action and inactions appears to be the catalyst to what may compound the Federal Government’s case should the ICC decide to try the culprits of the Lekki massacre. Prior to the Obigbo carnage, Wike had distinguished himself as a performer and a no nonsense governor in the right sense. However with this Obigbo carnage, it would appear that he is now a no nonsense governor in the wrong sense. This is so because being not just a governor and the chief security officer of his State, Wike too is a lawyer fully seised with the knowledge of the law and the rights of citizens. As such he doesn’t have any excuse as to the genuine reason why he should allow citizens of his State to be massacred extra judicially, especially when they are unarmed. This is ungodly, unchristian and obviously a crime against humanity.
Some believe that Wike did this unusual dramatic political volte face to curry favour from the north because of his political ambition to be a vice president. But history has a lot of stories teaching us that whatever is bought at the cost of blood shall be lost at the cost of blood and sometimes the blood of the buyer. This brings us back to the story of Ides of March. Julius Caesar who was murdered by his friend and political allies Brutus and co, also ascended the throne as emperor on a trail of blood.
It was not a surprise that he paid with his own blood at last. After all the holy book says that those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. That is why I am admonishing Gov Wike to beware of the Ides of March. For if due to his alleged political ambition, he continues to allow the massacre of citizens of his State, simply because they are Igbos and alleged members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), such ambition may suffer a set back similar to that of Julius Caesar. For as we all know, history has a way of repeating itself and only good students of history will avoid the repetition of a historical mistake.
Ekene Bob-Ekechukwu Esq
06/11/2020
Legal Practitioner and Socio-political Analyst
