Sunday, 19 May 2013
Ekwe And The Raging Army Of God’s Protectors By Ogaga Ifowodo
Columnist:
Ogaga Ifowodo The omens remain frightful regarding what awaits us this year in the moral conscience arena of our ever more degenerate social landscape. On Monday, 14 January, a holy mob in Ekwe, a village in Isu Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State, arrested three men suspected of having consensual sex, beat them up, stripped them bare to their dangling nuts, tied them together and paraded them through the streets.
The photo image of this latest evidence of our headlong descent into a sadistic barbarism joins the shameful gallery of others in the past year yet to fade from the world’s memory: the lynching of the Port Harcourt Four, the Mubi student massacre, scenes of the unending bloodbaths in Plateau State and of Boko Haram’s exploded bombs.
Let us examine the image in all of its rustic innocence. An unpaved path with bush and trees on either side, no house or sign of a dwelling in sight; certainly no indication that it would lead to a police station, the physical symbol of law and order, or to an elder’s house, where wisdom, moral counsel and counsel may reside. In the forefront, the three naked men, tied together at the waist with a yellow rope long enough to round them securely and still trail out of the frame; enough for a leash and I suspect that the more righteous and eager ones in the mob took turns to drag the already “judged” men to their assured condemnation. As one might drag a rabid dog to the slaughter. Then there is the mob behind them, mostly of young men and women. The one that appears the most indignant is a man dressed in a predominantly red tee-shirt with an image difficult to make but the top of which resembles the head of a dragon, and in a mostly orange pair of long shorts. He is right between two of the older-looking naked men, one of whose arms are folded across his chest in seeming surrender to his humiliation.
This “leader” of the holy mob is close enough to slap, shove and knock around the men being shamed in rope-chains, and to shout obscenities directly into their ears. Most of the others are content to spit out their outrage and curses and a few to record the scene with their mobile phones by way of photos, videos and text messages — as two young men in the right foreground of the photo are visibly doing. To his or her credit, one person in the left foreground, perhaps a woman (not completely shown), appears to be walking away from the shameful carnival. Perhaps out of respect for the viewer’s sensibility, the publishers of one version of the image covered up each of the naked men’s genitalia with bushes of hair so dark and thick that their good intention has the unintended effect of a desire to hide something sinister and evil. After all, the prevailing unscientific and so grossly uninformed view of the righteous majority of our countrymen and women is that homosexuality is unnatural and a sin against God. It is only proper then that anyone who was not there in Ekwe be spared the trauma of seeing the offending organs with which this greatest of sins was committed. Yes, far more than murder, kidnapping, massive and systemic corruption in government, rape, the rigging of elections, child abuse, wife battering, etc., the emerging consensus of our rabidly religious country, across tribe and creed, seems to be that same sex intercourse is the greatest sin and a threat to human existence.
No African belief espouses the fire-and-brimstone condemnation of sexual difference that the Abrahamic religions exult in. Homosexuals did not drop from the sky into our corner of the earth yesterday. But until quite recently when the fire of Pentecostalism, finding inexhaustible fuel in the unprecedented poverty and misery of the people, began to lay waste to our land, homosexuals were not demonised and persecuted. Mocked and teased, perhaps, but not condemned to second class citizen status, stripped of their basic human dignity and subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment for consensual sex behind closed doors.
In a three part essay on the rising tide of homophobia in our country — see “Homosexuality and Nigeria’s Enochs and Josephs,” “Homosexuality, Biology and the Bible” and “Sex and the Church’s Missionary Position” in The Guardian of 19 and 28 December 2011 and 9 January 2012 respectively, also available online at SaharaReporters (http://saharareporters.com/columnist/ogaga-ifowodo) — I addressed the dangerous fallacies spewed from the nation’s bankrupt pulpits and parliament that drive the orgy of hate against our fellow citizens. I am concerned here with what I see as the gradual coarsening effect of the self-righteous mob on the moral soul of the nation as shown by the Ekwe show of shame. The majority of those in support of the criminalisation of what at best is a sin would protest if told that they belong to the same camp as the Islamic fundamentalists of Boko Haram; that they have common cause with those who will stone to death a woman who commits adultery and cut off the hand of a man who steals a goat. Yet from inter-tribal wars to the oppression of woman (as the primal Other of history) on to slavery and colonialism, every morality of the majority deemed to be the law of God/nature, becomes a sanction for mindless cruelty to the minority or the weak. And, invariably, the result is that victim and victimiser are brutalised simultaneously.
Take the sad spectacle of Ekwe. Whereas the three men engaged in a private act, the holy mob broke in upon them, stripped them naked and paraded them before the eyes of the world. But none in the mob could claim to have been hurt by the men’s alleged act. So coarse and hardened of heart do holy warriors become that they will not see the inhumanity of their actions. They forget that it was God himself, and not Lot, who meted out the justice of fire and brimstone on Sodom in the seminal Judeo-Christian tale of homophobia; a tale that established the idea of homosexuality as the unpardonable sin. Which is why Lot would offer his two daughters who “have not known man” to the Sodomites and watch them raped rather than witness the sin of “sodomy.” Indeed, by the end of Chapter 19 of Genesis, when Lot’s virgin daughters “lie with him,” the Judeo-Christian God has no problem with incest.
But what would Jesus have done had he come as the Messiah not to the Jews but to the Igbo and happened on the Ekwe scene? Would he, perhaps, have said to his (God-the-son’s) holy protectors what he told the men set to hurl stones at the woman accused of adultery: “He that is without sin among you, let him tie the first knot and lead the shame parade?” Our righteous warriors will do well to heed the injunction of loving one’s (sinful) neighbours as oneself, and to let God, as Baal, fight for himself. They should be consoled that none shall escape judgement — unless of course they do not believe their holy books.
omoliho@gmail.com
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wahala, wahala, where have you been???
Submitted by forbidden pleasure!!! (not verified) on January 28, 2013 - 21:34.
the rain stopped falling; the sun is shining...perfect weather for play. wahala, wahala...where have you been? i wonder where you could be. i hope the cat haven't cut your tongue. wahala, wahala, where have you been? it is almost dark and the moon light is intoxicating. wahala, wahala where have you been? i hope you haven't been to london to see the queen.
gutter language for you and tunde4k!!! THE FIRE STAYS...
Submitted by forbidden pleasure!!! (not verified) on January 24, 2013 - 15:45.
gutter language for gutter vermins like you and tunde4k. you are quick to cast aspersions on others in your analysis of political issues. you even go as far as paint-brushing ethnic groups. your favorite word been 'aborigines'. NOW YOU ARE BEGGING FOR THE FIRE TO STOP!!! go back home and call your father and grandfather Dumbo!!! the fire stays...you unleashed the dragon and the only present you get is the fire. you are a decrepit and despicable fuck. absolutely no moral compass and you want to 'teach"??? go fuck yourself you useless fuck...the CERTIFIED FAGGOT that you are. my rantings are a forbidden pleasure and i know it takes your breath away. fuck you!!!
GREAT COURAGE.
Submitted by Jerry Edo (not verified) on January 24, 2013 - 01:40.
Ogaga Ifowodo, Courage art thou name and I urge you to soldier on. You are like an Abolitionist in the heydays of slave trade; a heliocentric Galileo in a geocentric world. History relates that majority is not always right and crusaders like you are often vindicated and deified at the end of the day. It is worthy of note that the same Holy Books that fuel homophobia today were once relied on to justify slavery, wars and even genocide. And for crying out loud, what threat does consensual sex whether between same sex or otherwise pose to the society? How is it my business who my neighbour sleeps with? What harm does it cause to me or society if MR A AND MR B decides to have sex? I pray we all consider these queries before we proceed to violate the human rights of our neighbours in the name of morality.
@ forbidden faggot !!! : while at it ...
Submitted by Wähala (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 23:52.
...research the "okorosha dance" and "itu anya dance". The "itu anya" is corrective while the "okorosha" is more like Fela's Yabis Nite. Then, there's the "Ijele Masq'rade" and "itor Efi" challenge. I can play the "egbe oku" drums that spit fire! If you doubt, I will post the video of Ibolites drumming at the Lion King show. Ndigbo have more Christians than any race in unholy Naija, but, we've also preserved our cultural heritage for posterity. If you modify your language, I could be persuaded to tell you more about things that could improve your miserable life. Only condition is, you must climb out of the gutter!
@ forbidden faggot !!! : Give to Ceaser...
Submitted by Wähala (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 23:17.
@ forbidden pleasure!!!
By their names, we shall know them. I'm sure you're a sissy. Fool, I read and respect Rudolf Okonkwo for being an Atheist, I knock him for mocking Christianity. Traditionalists must be allowed to practice their tradition and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. All faiths to their alter! I will not degenerate into gutter lingo with you, but, I want you to understand that those faggots didn't have to do the Oriko Dance. They know the consequences (of not dancing the oriko) far outweigh their crime of lewd conduct . Like Ogaga, I refer you to my original comments so you can enrich your knowledge of Igbo culture instead of throwing manic tantrums at your mentor.
@ Ogaga Ifowodo : Your caption just occured to me as inappropriate. That mob is not protecting God, they're protecting their god. The god of their ancestors. "Omenala" is what they're engaged in. Again, revisit my works to gain valuable insight.
@wahala...YOU ARE SO FULL OF SHIT...NOBODY WANTS...
Submitted by forbidden pleasure!!! (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 17:59.
you are so full of shit!!! what a fucking douchebag you are. you are only good for absorbing blood. monthly drainage pad for your gods. nobody wants to hear about your barbaric oriko dance!!! one minute you spew sanctimonious bullshit about your piety and love for christ and the other minute you are celebrating your oriko dance to cleanse the land and appease your fucking gods in ibo land. you are one sick bastard. do they still leave the twins in the forest to die? or bury virgins with dead kings? how about warriors chopping off the heads of virgins for protection and appeasing ndichie? do you celebrate those too? i bet you do...I BET YOU DO...ASSHOLE!!!
@ Ogaga Ifowodo : Why do you think the men were tied together?
Submitted by Wähala (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 12:27.
@ Vic : Great comment. I second your thoughts, the only difference is that I fully support the actions of those Imolites.
@ Ogaga : Seems SR have pulled the original story. I would've referred you to my comments below the article you tried to expand on. In a three-part comment I described what was going on in the picture. Briefly put, the men were doing the "Oriko Dance". It begins in the market place and ends in the evil forest, that's why you didn't see any police outpost or Igwe's palace. The "traditional justice" is to appease the gods, not man! The rope is not to keep them from bolting, it's part of the regalia. In my enclave, we cover their genitals with figs like Adam & Eve (or Aborigines garb) and blow ash on them. Others make the perpetrators walk through a bee-hive. I encourage you to research the original story and read my comments if you want to learn more it. More importantly, you need to stop lobbying for faggots, it's lewd conduct! Kapisch?
you have the right to hate i
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 09:57.
you have the right to hate i conceed but no one has the right to use violence against people because of their orientation and views in life
Lady Gaga Ifowodo, keep your
Submitted by ArdoIraima (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 06:25.
Lady Gaga Ifowodo, keep your sick and perverted homosexuality there in the West. If you come and practice such filth in Nigeria, the long arm of the law will get you. If an angry mob of outraged citizens does not get you first.
When is Ogaga Ifowodo going
Submitted by Kanu Esama (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 03:18.
When is Ogaga Ifowodo going to be bold enough to come out and declare his sexual orientation. You hold on tenciously to your own views, but you want others to trade and discard theirs for yours. It does not work that way.
While I do not support the inhuman way in which the men were beaten and humiliated, I also abhore homosexuality with all that is in me. It is against my beliefs, which I am entitled to. You label people as been homophobia, yet the homosexuals in the climes where you reside flaunt it daily in the face of others, not minding the assault that might have on their psyque. Ogaga, the truth is that we have the right to hate what we hate. If you give the homsexuals the right to express themselves, also let the others express their displeasure for the acts they find offensive, in a civilized way though, not beating them to pulp.
When is Ogaga Ifowodo going
Submitted by Kanu Esama (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 02:58.
When is Ogaga Ifowodo going to be bold enough to come out and declare his sexual orientation. You hold on tenciously to your own views, but you want others to trade and discard theirs for yours. It does not work that way.
While I do not support the inhuman way in which the men were beaten and humiliated, I also abhore homosexuality with all that is in me. It is against my beliefs, which I am entitled to. You label people as been homophobia, yet the homosexuals in the climes where you reside flaunt it daily in the face of others, not minding the assault that might have on their psyque. Ogaga, the truth is that we have the right to hate what we hate. If you give the homsexuals the right to express themselves, also let the others express their displeasure for the acts they find offensive, in a civilized way though, not beating them to pulp.
Ha, ha, I await the comments
Submitted by Isa Mohammed (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 01:00.
Ha, ha, I await the comments of our homophobic brethren.
Ekwe And The Raging Army Of God’s Protectors.
Submitted by Vic (not verified) on January 23, 2013 - 00:30.
Dear Ogaga Ifowodo,
The article assumed certain premises without providing your readers your bases for the assumption.
1. That the mob acted because of their religious belief.
2. That the mob are of Judeo-Christian persuasion.
3. That other religions in Ekwe are less intolerant of homosexuality. Homosexuality is a taboo for pagans, animists and Christians in Igbo land.
4. You Incorrectly stated that God had no problem with Lot's daughters incestuous rendezvous with their father. On the contrary, the consequences of that behavior still reverberates in middle today.
While I do not support what happened in Ekwe, you cannot blame God for man's actions unless you have a prior bone to pick with God.
