By Daily Sports on January 3, 2017

Have you ever been referred to as a Jew? Yes, ‘Jew’. If you are a male youth and not a member of any clandestine organisation in Nigeria, chances are that you must have heard the term and it must have rankled you.

The word ‘Jew’ (I wonder whether it has any anti-Semitic origins here in Nigeria) is used to refer to guys who are not members of cult groups. It is a term often used derogatorily and connotes weakness, lack of ‘orientation’ on how to best live life and a certain lack of identity.

The opposite term to Jew is called ‘injus man’. The ‘injus man’ is the cultist who is considered in the streets the hard man. He is the one with the right orientation for living life. So the narrative goes. The ‘injus men’ are the fine boys, the deadly guys too. And with just a few days to the new year in the city of Benin in Edo state, the ‘injus men’ reportedly struck, shooting to death a promising and very talented footballer, Douglas Uzama.

The killing of Uzama has sent shock waves around Edo State and beyond. Underneath this current of shock and grief is a suspicion that the Nigerian junior international was a victim of inter-cult battle in Benin and that he himself was a cultist who was targeted by a rival group looking to score some huge psychological and vengeful points.

Was Uzama a Jew or an ‘injus man’ himself? I honestly don’t have enough information to confirm that. But here’s what I do know: The prevalence of cultism amongst Nigerian youths is a reality. It’s become something of a subculture in the streets. The rarity now is for a young healthy man to choose to remain a ‘Jew’.

I also know that many of these cult boys are usually everyday guys, working hard to make ends meet. Many are thoughtful and generally nice young men, despite their sometimes misguided utterances and actions. Many just want to get by and be of help to their families and people around them. Most are not blood-thirsty murderers. Most, like the rest of us, would prefer an ideal world where they would not want to fear walking through the streets.

Why am I saying all of these? We shouldn’t allow the senseless slaying of Uzama to make us give up on our youths. In every group, in every society and in every age, there are those so filled with hate and of a murderous bent. You will find them in and out of cult groups. They shouldn’t be allowed to win by our sinking into ceaseless despair. The police most do their job and fish out those who have killed this promising star. We don’t need the ranting and demonisation of ‘injus men’. All we need is to be reassured that we can be safe around our youths because the security agencies are up and doing.

The Douglas Uzama that I know was a humble lad. I saw him rise from grassroots football in the playing fields of Benin City to the national team and Nigerian Premier League football. His professional attitude on and off the pitch was impressive. I remember how enthusiastic he was to talk about his experience with the Under-21 team when we last chatted on Facebook some months ago. He will always remain in our thoughts.

Source Daily Sports

Posted January 3, 2017

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