Detain the smarties

Such fools should be arrested. They are heartless and insensitive.’ I said to Maryam on phone. ‘Yes you are right Bint and even more than that…..’ But the line cut off before she could finish her sentence. I raised my phone to call her back when I heard Tahir from behind me saying: ‘Whose arrest […]

Such fools should be arrested. They are heartless and insensitive.’ I said to Maryam on phone.

‘Yes you are right Bint and even more than that…..’ But the line cut off before she could finish her sentence. I raised my phone to call her back when I heard Tahir from behind me saying:

‘Whose arrest are you campaigning for?’ He asked.

‘Oh, I didnt know you were here.’ I replied, looking up at him from my bedroom chair.

‘I just came in really. The only part I heard was the part about some fools needing to be arrested. And now I want to hear the whole thing, the raw, unedited gist.’ He requested, smiling.

‘Well, I was talking to Maryam about the WhatsApp audio she sent me this morning…’ I began.

‘I should have known it’s all about WhatsApp.’ he interrupted.

‘Yes, but this is not something you can afford to dismiss. Anyone can fall victim to such an occurrence, yet the people who should act to avert tragedies are usually so inactive, till sometimes the worst happens in their very presence.’ I explained.

‘I see, well now I am truly curious. Just what are you talking about?’ He moved over to sit on my bed.

‘I think it’s better for you to hear it yourself, you’ll understand what I mean.’ I answered, handing him my mobile phone and pressing the play button on that audio file.

‘No, no need for me to hear it directly. I can see that it’s over 22 minutes long and I don’t have that much time to spare, so just briefly tell me what it’s all about.’ He said.

‘I thought you wanted the raw, unedited gist’ I joked, quoting him back.

‘No, I’d rather have the edited version since I have other things to do with my time as well.’ He replied.

‘Ok, apparently a few days ago, the young mother who recorded this audio was driving in town, her baby’s car seat strapped to a seat belt next to her. She was stopped by three men in Nigerian Navy uniform. Luckily for her, she was the observant type, so before she wound down her glass to talk to them, she noticed that all three of them had no name tags on their uniform and the vehicle they were using was an ordinary civilian car, not a military one.

Seeing this she suspected danger and decided to drive on. The three men quickly jumped into their car and gave her a chase around town. In order to draw attention to her plight, she began to criss-cross on the main road so motorists could see how the fake soldiers were trying to block her but no one acted like they had seen anything unusual. Imagine, it was in the middle of the afternoon, in broad daylight but other drivers just drove on.

 When she grew desperate at a crowded intersection, the lady wound down her glass and began to scream out for help. She kept saying that the men behind her were kidnappers, that someone should help her and her baby before they succeed in trapping them. But the most amazing thing happened when she said this. Passersby just brought out their smart phones and began recording her shouting for help, with the three fake mitary men walking towards her car. She could not believe what she saw.’ I declared.

‘Of course she couldn’t, that’s only natural.’ Tahir responded angrily. ‘How can anyone expect fellow humans to see nothing in another’s misfortune but the need to record it and pass on? Nigerians have become so hardhearted that they are totally insensitive to the suffering of others. Do you remember the boy who was burnt to death with a tyre because he was an alleged thief? Do you think the people who took that video and made it go viral weren’t in a position to help? I’m almost certain they were but they were more interested in getting their prize videos. Then that renown pilot who died while racing to the airport one morning, he was also subjected to the same fate. Apparently when he had the accident and they couldnt open the car door to save him, the eyewitnesses didn’t think of alternatives like smashing his wind screen or side glasses, they simply resorted to their smart phone cameras and took pictures of a dying man trapped in flames in his car. I just can’t understand our people’s morbid fascination with tragedies.’ Tahir observed with disgust.

To be continued.