ALL EYES ON OYO, BUT WHO SPEAKS FOR ASKIRA UBA?

ALL EYES ON OYO, BUT WHO SPEAKS FOR ASKIRA UBA?

The recent tragic events in Oyo State have rightly attracted national attention, public sympathy, and widespread condemnation. Across social media platforms, in newsrooms, and among political leaders, there have been urgent calls for justice, accountability, and protection of innocent lives. Such reactions are expected in any civilized society, for every Nigerian life is precious and every act of violence against innocent citizens deserves condemnation.

Yet, as the nation mourns and mobilizes around Oyo, many people from Borno State are left asking a painful question: Where is this same outrage when similar tragedies occur in our communities?

The question is not intended to diminish the suffering of victims in Oyo. Neither is it an attempt to compete over whose pain is greater. Rather, it is a call for consistency, fairness, and equal concern for all Nigerians regardless of geography, ethnicity, religion, or political significance.

For over a decade, communities across Borno State have endured some of the most devastating consequences of violence and insecurity. Entire villages have been attacked, homes destroyed, livelihoods wiped out, and thousands of innocent lives lost. Communities in Southern Borno, including Askira Uba and its surrounding areas, have repeatedly experienced attacks that have left families shattered and entire populations traumatized.

The tragedy is not only the loss of life itself but also the apparent disparity in public reaction. When violence occurs in certain parts of the country, national outrage follows almost immediately. Political leaders issue statements, activists mobilize, civil society organizations respond, and media platforms devote extensive coverage to the events. Yet when similar incidents occur in remote communities of Borno, the response is often muted, delayed, or altogether absent.

This unequal attention creates a dangerous perception that some lives matter more than others.

The recent incidents that have occurred within the same period as the tragic events in Oyo have further intensified concerns among many observers. Families who have lost loved ones are left wondering why their grief does not command the same national attention. Communities that have suffered repeated attacks ask why their tragedies rarely dominate national conversations. Young people who have grown up amid conflict question whether their lives carry the same value as those of citizens elsewhere.

These questions cannot simply be dismissed.

A nation that seeks unity must demonstrate equal compassion toward all its citizens. Justice loses its moral authority when it appears selective. Sympathy loses its meaning when it is distributed unevenly. National solidarity becomes difficult to sustain when some communities consistently feel neglected during their moments of greatest need.

The people of Askira Uba, like the people of Oyo, deserve justice. The families of victims in Borno deserve the same empathy, support, and attention extended to victims elsewhere. Their pain should not become invisible merely because it occurs far from the nation's political and media centers.

The issue before us is larger than any single incident. It concerns the fundamental principle that every Nigerian life has equal worth. Whether a victim comes from Oyo, Askira Uba, Chibok, Gwoza, Damboa, Benisheikh, Maiduguri, Jos, Kaduna, or any other part of the country, the value of that life remains the same.

As a nation, we must reject every tendency toward selective outrage. We must condemn violence wherever it occurs and against whomever it is directed. We must demand justice for every victim, not only those whose stories attract national headlines. We must ensure that the suffering of any community is never ignored simply because it lies on the margins of public attention.

Nigeria's strength lies not in how loudly it mourns some victims, but in its ability to stand equally with all victims.

As the nation focuses its attention on Oyo, it must not forget Askira Uba. It must not forget the countless communities across Borno that continue to bear the scars of conflict and violence. Their lives matter. Their voices matter. Their grief matters.

And until every Nigerian life is treated with equal dignity and concern, the quest for justice and national unity will remain incomplete.

Dr. Zanna Hassan Boguma FCIPDM FWIP 

(Zanna Boguma of Borno)