Why mob killings are still rampant in Africa

One of the joys of not being a Nigerian big man is driving my 14-year-old son, Ogonna Nwokem, to and from school. It is a particular bonding time for us, away from everyone else. We talk about what he is looking forward to on the way in. On the way back, we review what happened at school. It has become an essential ritual with numerous opportunities for teaching moments.

Two of the things I have followed intensely were his class’ reading lists and conversations in World History and Literature. When the class read Sophocles’ Greek play, Antigone, my son read the lead character. His analysis of the tragic drama was the first that made me wonder what the authors of the syllabus had in mind for the 14-year-olds in his junior high school class. The theme of duty, following orders over applying critical thinking, was one of my son’s vivid take away. He could see from the life of Creon, the King of Thebes, the tragic consequences of doggedly insisting that what he believed was right when the reality pointed at a different spot.

As my son analyzed the play, I saw Creon as Muhammadu Buhari, who has followed his irrationality and ignored the warnings and predictions of Tiresias, the blind prophet, until it was late. Juxtaposing the play further to the Nigerian situation, I imagined that just like Buhari and his opponents, Antigone and Creon claim they…