Convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi flew home from a Scottish prison on Thursday, freed by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds because doctors say Megrahi’s cancer will kill him within three months. This decision has generated a lot of criticism from the US and British governments.

What creates the fury among the families of the victims is not only the way Mr. Ali al-Megrahi has gotten away with murder, but the way he was welcomed in his native Lybia as a hero. Many people believe that behind the medical reasons of his release are oil deals with the rich oil-producing country. Unfortunately, these practices are not novelties in the relations between poor countries that are rich in resources and the West.

Despite the anger of the victims’ families, nothing will change. Mr. Ali al-Megrahi is a free man and could live longer than expected. As the Igbo of Nigeria say, “He who does not look ahead always remains behind.”