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It is never easy to know the truth about why romantic partners quarrel, whether the partners are a legally married couple or consorts. Partners who live to tell the tale after each quarrel often offer widely dissimilar versions of what triggered the bloody confrontation that led to a deformed limb (from a physical weapon attack), a charred body (from a chemical weapon attack) or a bloated face (from raw strength applied). In cases where one of the parties lives to tell the tale, we end up with what Chinua Achebe describes as The Story of the Hunt. In other cases, the hunter leaves everyone guessing as they promptly commit suicide after committing murder. In every case, those interested in the story are served half-truths or no truth at all. And, because nature abhors a vacuum, speculations and conspiracy theories quickly fill the gap.
This is what has become of the Chidimma-Ataga saga. We are unlikely to ever get the full story of what transpired between the lovers, which led to this story of a 360º turn from love to murder. For the moment, I prefer to take the position that, until the courts adjudicate on the matter, it is more profitable to interrogate the underlying causes and consequences of love gone sour. For me to succeed in the task, I have to discount the media trials and conspiracy theories mounted against the suspect, who is now in police net, for the simple reason that none of this will count as evidence in the courtroom, whenever constituted.
Anyone doing otherwise – indulging in media trials and conspiracy theories – would appear like the professional women hired to mourn the dead for the deceased’s relations. They get to the event, do their bit for a while until emotions are satiated, then start looking for food – and the next event. If not, how many times, before Chidimma, have we had lovers murder their partners? How many times have we heard tales of husbands murdering their wives? And have we not also been treated to stories of wives murdering their husbands? Chidimma’s is only one of the escalating relationship tragedies that we should take time to address from a non-combative and non-legalistic manner as we have been going. My candid view of how this can be addressed will be a subject for another day.
A proper police investigation of the murder will inevitably go beyond the media trial and conspiracy theories. What little they can extract from these will depend on one condition – if they go to the root of solving murder mysteries, which is motive. Every murder investigator knows that 85 per cent of a murder case is solved the minute they are able to establish the motive for the murder. So far, the rambling histrionics of this 21-year-old has yet to reveal anything close to motive.
The Number One motive – and cause – for spousal crimes has always been trust – or rather the lack of it. And the number one symptom that rears its ugly head is accusation of cheating. I hastily add that cheating does not begin and end with adultery allegations. It covers a wide field, including spouses that become enraged when they discover that they invested in a relationship that the other partner entered into for selfish purposes. This is emblematic of the cases of spousal murders that happen among a few of our brethren in diaspora. At home, cheating could be with a party that turns into a lord rather than an equal partner in the relationship. Rather than keep to the terms of a marital convention and oath, the other party – husband or lover – behaves as if they have captured a slave. The brutal confrontations that follow could end up resulting to bodily injuries or permanent injury. In all cases, however, the partners shot trust dead long before the violent symptoms began to manifest.
Trust would, therefore, appear to be the one element that people in relationships need more than most. It is equally needed in almost all aspects of our economic, political and social life. Lack of trust has continued to destroy great partnerships and terminate affectionate relationships. The absence of this virtue may have accounted for why a 21-year old would allegedly see a dead body and the only thing that comes to her head was to collect on his past promises. All the promises made in the heat of passion ended with the efforts she put in to collect on the raincheck after sacrificing her body to satisfy a boyhood itch.
One lesson that I took away from this saga, several years ago when a boyhood friend got entangled in spousal abuse, is to constantly interrogate every potential relationship and remind myself of what could be found at the other side when instant love waned. This is because it occurred to me that, in spite of our efforts to cultivate the cool or hot swag, there is always a thin line that separates our smart mien from the dangerous consequences of a deeply invested relationship gone sour. Through our own making.
There is a Chidimma in everyone, depending on how one feels betrayed in a deeply invested relationship. And for the professional male hunter, the sweetness of the thing blurs the vision of this line.
Now that Nnamdi Kanu is in the net
I never fail to crack up whenever I read the Times of Israel and the way they describe brother Nnamdi Kanu. It goes something like this: Mr. Kanu says the Igbos are the lost tribe of Israel and he was going to lead them to the Promised Land of Biafra.
I waited a while before searching out the Times story and, sure enough, the legendary quotation was inserted into the story. I felt better after another hearty laugh at the allegory.
Still, Kanu’s interception was no laughing matter. It was like cold water was poured over the nation when news broke that the separatist leader was captured and brought back to Nigeria. Both those who hate his guts and others who love him all suddenly lost their tongues and withdrew into their shells in shock. As his lawyer, Aloy Ejimako, dramatized it, Kanu’s interception and arrest took everyone in the pro-Biafran movement by surprise. Many could not believe that this was possible until some people swore that they actually sighted him at the Abuja High Court, where the DSS returned him to trial on June 29, 2021.
Those who hate his guts began to breathe again, while a sense of angst descended among his followers and admirers. The dismay was so palpable, so thick you could slice it with a knife. The suddenness of the arrest and the demystification it occasioned appear to have temporarily (?) knocked the wind out of the sails of the Biafran ship, leaving the IPOB movement marooned in the middle of a still ocean in the middle of nowhere. Will this spell the end of trenchant abuse and threats of violence that have characterized Kanu’s struggle for the actualization of Biafra? Or will there be lone wolves from the ESN pack who will launch their own offensives? Only time, and the politics playing out in Mr. Justice Binta Nyako’s court, will tell.
There are, however, many lessons that one could take away from watching this spectacle snatch. One: Mr. Kanu’s tough talk invested him with a larger-than-life image. Which has now been demystified and has evaporated. Will this spell the death of the Biafran idea? Not likely. Most Nigerians are subscribed to the Biafran idea, and not Biafra. The Biafran idea, from the way it was articulated in 1966, was to fashion a country where everyone and every region is an equal partner, and opportunities are fairly shared.
Two: On the face of it, the easy interception has cast Kanu as a leader with plenty of foot-solders and no field commanders and no strategy. He was virtually alone; his sympathizers in the struggle apparently had no inkling that he was missing in action.
Three: Kanu turned out to be a typical Nigerian, going by the little facts bandied about by the Attorney-General. Is it true that he was caught with “Zoo” travel documents, as Mr. Malami implied? It will be a teachable moment for the comrades in the struggle. Until our dream republic is granted, we, the Dot nation, must continue to recognize that our route to the world is through the hated green passport.
Four: It will remain a matter of conjecture what cloak and dagger mission he was pursuing that left him wide open for this federal sucker punch! It must have been so personal that, so far, none of his commanders on the ground has been able to offer a public explanation of his Mission to Nairobi.
Five: Will the capture of the lone general give President Buhari the breather he needs to govern Nigeria in peace and justice? That would be nice if this happens, but don’t bet on it. Sometimes, it seems General Buhari is not in a hurry to genuinely buy a breathing space to govern in peace. There will always be other Kanus, as long as Nigeria continues to promote injustice as state policy.
