THE AGONY OF SILENCE

THE AGONY OF SILENCE

By: Olugbenga Adejayan

The recent Fulani criminalities brought into the spotlight the dangers of remaining silent in the face of injustice.

Some of the so called leaders of the Yoruba people have chosen to remain silent because of their inordinate political ambitions and personal aggrandisement! They dont want to rock the boat of their political aspirations.

Chief Sunday Adeyemo(aka Sunday Igboho) openly came out to condemn the nefarious activities of the Fulani herdsmen and stood in the defence of the Yoruba people.

How many men and women  that could have been spared from death, rapes, kidnappings and maiming if only our so called Yoruba leaders have spoken up and condemned these wanton acts?

Its therefore time to re-examine our views on silence and raise our voices in unison. We need to be more aware of just how dangerous being silent can be. The saying ” they suffer in silence ” should be enough motivation to do something and to eradicate the saying for good. We should not be afraid to raise our voices when we can bring attention to injustices around us.

Our own  professor Wole Soyinka said in his book THE MAN DIED  that ” the man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny “Nadezhda Maldestan once said” I decided it is better to scream. Silence is the real crime against humanity “.

The real pains and disappointment that arises from our leaders’s  silence and their lack of support  can cut deep into our emotional souls and manifest into more far reaching dire consequences and can cause hurt feelings of let down and democratisation.

I will end this with the words of Martin Luther King Jr who said ” in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”.

Olugbenga Adejayan Esq is a lawyer and lives in Ibadan, Nigeria. He is a guest writer with Text and Publishing.