By Yusuf Adua
How sure are you that the mutton you savoured during this Eid was not from a stolen ram?
Statistically, this reporter discovered that four out of every twenty-five rams are stolen or bought from a thief. It might be difficult to stop the ram theft trend, but we can certainly curtail it.
There is an apparent disagreement between the people who have business with rams. On a religious ground, some prominent consumers of ram forbid the ignominy of ram fighting.
At the same time, business-oriented fellows feel it is becoming a thriving business that needs support in Nigeria.
Whether or not it is acceptable, stealing ram for consumption or the controversial ram sports is an aberration fast becoming a norm.
Mr Osita Nwatun, on September 6, 2017, pleaded for leniency and blamed the devil for his action after confessing at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos that he was guilty of stealing a ram valued at N65,000.
A ram valued at N65,000 in 2017 is worth 98 to N100, 000 in the current market. Although Mr. Nwatun said he was guilty as charged, it does not take away the fact that he wanted to make a living out of a sacred obligation unlawfully.
Also, On January 23, 2018, VANGUARD reported that an Osun State Magistrate Court in Osogbo sentenced one Adebayo Afeez to two years of imprisonment for stealing a ram six days to Eid.
He was arraigned on a two-count charge of unlawful housebreaking and theft of a ram he stole on August 2 the previous year, offences contrary to section 383 and punishable under section 390(b) of the criminal code Cap 34 vol. II Laws of Osun State of Nigeria 2003.
Adding a bit of sentiment to this discourse, one would imagine that for someone like Adebayo Afeez, who should understand the importance of the ram to his religious counterparts, his punishment should double any other burglars.
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As if that was not enough, Sodiq Abolore and his household would be terrified when Adetunji Alagbe and Opeyemi Ogunlokun carted away with their ram meant for this year’s Eid.
All thanks to the men of the Ogun State Police Command who apprehended them after their operation in Ogijo, in the Sagamu Local Government Area of the state.
In the same state, three teenagers (names intentionally withheld) appeared before an Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun for allegedly attempting to steal two rams belonging to Mr. Okunlade Sefiu. The rams were worth N210,000 last year.
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Why is the trend not stopping?
Controversially, ram theft is widely regarded as petty theft. Therefore, in most cases, the thieves are always set free.
In the Yoruba extraction, petty theft is sometimes overlooked and often treated domestically. Because a perpetrator got away with the act the previous year, he would be absolutely motivated to be an experienced ram thief the following year.
The kinship settlement is also another multiplier cause of the despicable act. Mr Gaarub Oreitan’s ram was stolen in Oyo town of Oyo state on the eve of this year’s Eid.
When the ram was found in a market in the town with people who wanted to sell the ram, all parties later settled for an unofficial deliberation claiming that the perpetrators were members of a familiar kindred.
The more ram thieves get pampered by keeping the name of the thieves’ family out of the media, the worse the theft aggravates.
Consequently, “professional robbery might even set in when the trade of ram, which is seasonal, is over.
The trend would not also cease because of unguarded sympathy. It is believed that more than 80% of ram theft cases are either not reported to the police or available to media consumption.
It is so because Nigerians have found a ridiculous way of sympathising with miscreants. Some people solely blame the government for their predetermined planned robbery, while others bank on the aphorism “an idle hand is the devil’s workshop.”
Rather than consider the ram owners, some Nigerians “in their church minds” sympathise with the larcenists.
Once the perpetrators appeal to the emotions of the people through the claims of unemployment, abject poverty, or family pressure, they are allowed to walk away with guilt mixed with validation.
In that case, professional thieves have, over the years, adopted the strategy as well.
Also, some Muslims are too desperate to celebrate the festivity with rams. They hardly care about where their prospective sellers got what they want to buy.
Some incorrigible buyers are even waiting on the sidelines for stolen rams or sick ones, which are religiously forbidden.
Way Forward
The buck starts and stops on the government’s table. We need a responsible and responsive government that will at least satisfy people’s basic needs.
Purposeful leadership can quash the emotional appeals of ram thieves and other burglars. It will be clear to people that some of the muggers behind this act will even steal when put as a house owner in the garden of Eden.
Someone who forgot he had a family before committing a crime they are not to be set free on the premise of family or kinship.
Muslim leaders need to enlighten their followers more on the need to kill a ram that came from the noblest source.
Such enlightenment is important because this reporter gathered that the cheapest rams are the ones acquired through dubious means.
There is no unpunishable offence. It is high time we allowed every perpetrator of evil to carry their cross without fear or favour.