Olu Allen
The killing of Charlie Kirk in the United States is more than the tragic end of one man’s life; it is the terrifying product of a society where political discourse has been poisoned by anger and division.
Kirk was shot and killed at a public event, a planned act of violence that has shocked the nation.
Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of the crime, did not act in isolation. He acted in an environment shaped by years of intolerance and vitriol.
Robinson reportedly believed Kirk was “full of hate and spreading hate”, a chilling reflection of what happens when debate gives way to demonization.
Differences of opinion are no longer managed; they are inflamed until violence becomes, in the minds of the unstable, a twisted form of justice.
This climate of hate has consequences. Words, when drenched in venom, do not remain harmless. They travel, they infect, and ultimately, they manifest in real-world violence. America is discovering this truth at a painful and bloody cost.
Nigeria must take urgent notice. Our own public space is increasingly defined by the same sharp rhetoric and dangerous ethnic undertones.
What we see in heated online exchanges and on political platforms is troublingly familiar. Leaders and influencers too often play to division, fanning sentiments that pit one group against another for short-term gain.
Ours is a country of immense diversity. That diversity is our greatest strength, but it is also our deepest vulnerability.
When reckless speech is left unchecked, when leaders fail to temper passion with responsibility, we risk sliding into the same spiral of intolerance that is now bloodying other nations.
The lesson from America is clear and chilling: societies that normalize hate eventually reap its murderous harvest. For Nigeria, this is a critical call to caution.
Our political leaders must learn to argue without inciting. Our citizens must resist the temptation to turn every disagreement into existential hostility. And our media must stop amplifying division for profit.
America’s latest tragedy is a stark warning written in blood. If we ignore it, we may one day find ourselves mourning victims of our own unchecked anger, just as they are mourning now.
Allen writes from Kano on public affairs, governance, and society.
