We Are All Bullies: Reflections From Sylvester's Death

 

Recently, there have been a outcry over the unfortunate death of Sylvester Oromoni. A young man, cut short in his prime in his pursuit of the golden fleece of knowledge. The circumstances surrounding the death of Sylvester is replete in public domain, and to rehash it here will be to somewhat relive the harrowing experience twice. No child, heck, no one should be subjected to such perilous experience, and the story of his demise is begging for more answers than questions. But before we go on a tangent of how Dowen College is the guinea pig here, one cannot help but wonder if we are not all accomplice as a society. That Sylvester went through such horror is one thing, but that there was an enabling environment that made the horror possible is another thing. Simply put, we all failed Sylvester. We are indeed a society of bullies.

In many workplaces today, many are subjected to all sorts of inhumane treatment in their quest for a better life. Bosses parade themselves as demi gods who must be feared, worshipped and adored. These bullies take advantage of the decayed economy and the overbloated vault of unemployed Nigerians. Employees are at the mercy of employers with our porous labour laws hardly providing succour. They are harassed, assaulted and bullied. Some of these bullies will be the first to have their nose in the air and heave in contempt of the bullies in Sylvester's story. Hypocrisy at its finest.

Nigeria ranks high in the list of countries with great degree of domestic violence. There are bullies in many homes. Husbands who pound their wives, physically and emotionally. Wives who do the same. Domestic helps who are treated as sub-humans and the list is endless. Yet, some of these people will be acolytes in the Sylvester Oromoni justice procession. Some of them will take front row in the discourse. Who is fooling who? 

We are a nation of bullies. Everyday, in our streets we see people trying so vehemently to take advantage of others. The places of worship and business enterprises are not spared. When stories such as that of Sylvester manifests, many try to pretend that there are no parallels with their bullying lifestyles in their own little world. We fane empathy, we dawn the toga of concern, we tweet and post heartbroken emojis, we write epistles on Facebook. It is a just thing to speak up in the face of injustice but the table of justice is one that we must come to with clean hands. We all failed Sylvester by contributing to a culture that breeds and embolden bullies. While we seek Justice for Sylvester, we should be circumspect and look inwards. Are we not really guilty of bullying in some aspects of our individual lives and interactions?