Let me begin this piece by extending my
heartfelt sympathies to all those who lost their lives in the killing spree
going on in the north in the past two years.
Those who lost people near and dear to them must have gone through traumatic
experiences while trying to understand the madness sweeping across the
region. Human life in the north is today
ten a dime. With governments at all
levels folding their arms and pretending helplessness while killers are cutting
short lives and visiting anguish on innocent people. The impunity with which murderers operate
knowing that nobody will arrest them and bring them to justice makes it more
painful to those who lose their loved ones.
I pray God should give them the fortitude to bear their irreplaceable
loses
The frequency of these killings escalated,
incidentally, with the ascension of Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency of the
country equally as well the impunity of the killers increased directly to the
longevity of Goodluck in the Aso Villa.
The north has become a basket case, no matter how one look at the
situation – politically, economically, socially or otherwise. By now, I want to believe the intention of
those oiling the killing machine ought to be clear to anyone interested in knowing. It is my personal opinion that their
intention is twofold – first, the complete destruction of all commercial
activities in the region and second, to engender religious crisis in the
region. The first was achieved by
ensuring that places like Jos, Maiduguri and Kano, hitherto major commercial
hubs in the region are down and out.
People go to these places only if it is absolutely necessary. What remains for them is the second objective,
which is the spawning of religious crisis in the north. After killing thousands in Jos, Maiduguri,
Yola, Bauchi, Kano and Gombe without achieving their aim, they have resorted to
bombing churches on Sundays when the churches are full to capacity with worshippers. The reactions to the bombings in Zaria and
Tirkana in Kaduna appear to have fulfilled the objectives of these unscrupulous
people.
With the killings going on in Kaduna, those
that want the north on bended knees will be patting each other on the back that
they have finally found the North’s soft spot and may continually hit its
underbelly until such a time the religious conflagration spreads throughout the
region. With all the contrived attacks
on worship places, non achieved what Kaduna did and may even have surpassed the
expectations of the perpetrators. With
the destruction of Jos, Maiduguri, Kano and Kaduna the north has effectively
being brought to its knees. For those
jubilating, this is a culmination of a project began well before the country
achieved flag independence. What
politicians of the first and second republics failed to accomplish in a
lifetime of trying despite their best efforts, was achieved in thirteen
years. This is a made possible by
compromising greedy, visionless and focusless politicians from the region whose
main interest is the accumulation of wealth and continued relevance or lack of
it not minding whose underwear they wash.
Almost half a century after the murders of
Balewa, Sardauna and those crops of selfless politicians, who were on their way
to positioning the region into one of the biggest regional economic powers
within the country, their heirs have turned the region into the biggest colony
of beggars the whole world over.
Northern politicians in this dispensation have become shameless and
uncaring and are completely disconnected with the people that they do not care
the number of bodies that litter our streets as long as they will be appointed
into any government even it is headed by the devil himself.
Northern Nigeria is gradually descending
into chaos and may very well turn into another Somalia, God forbid. There is no
certainty of seeing a whole day out for anyone except those who go around with
a convoy of fierce looking, gun wielding security men who shoot first and ask
after. A region that was known as the
economic power house of the nation all over the world is today without a single
industry that employs up to two hundred people full time. Successive governors of the region neglected
two critical sectors in the area – agriculture and education. And the two happen to be the drivers of
development. But the prize for the
criminal neglect, thievery and selfishness goes to the current crop of
governors who operate as if the section dealing with conscience in their brains
has been removed. Their policies succeeded
in spawning the current state of insecurity that we find ourselves in
today. Kids that are supposed to be in
school are on the street while their age mates, the kids of the high and
mighty, pass them by on their way to or from school. These kids may well turn out to be our
undoing not any religious differences.
We have seen the federal government through
the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Niger Delta Ministry and the
Amnesty Programme office, have been sending their kids abroad for training in
skills acquisition. Why can’t our
governors start such a programme locally in order to take these unfortunate
kids off our streets, which in my opinion, will minimise the menace of wanton
killings and destructions of properties that we are daily confronted with. The heirs to the first and second republic
politicians in the region are only interested in the education of their kids
and the amassing of wealth that may either take them to jail or die without
utilising. While the north is burning,
they have continuously kept a deafening silence.
To my Christian brethren in the north, I
would like to say let’s start using our heads rather than our hearts. It is becoming apparent that somebody somewhere
is bent on making sure Muslims and Christians in the north are continuously at
each others throats while whatever agenda they have is gradually and
successfully unfolded & implemented.
In none of the cities that have experienced violence has the governments
(states and federal) shown any sense of responsibility by quickly nipping
potential troubles in the bud. They
always sit back and watch while Christians and Muslims kill each other. If we are sincere and set aside sentiments,
how many of those arrested are ever taken to court? What becomes of them after the arrests? And if I may ask, how many of those arrested
with explosives or guns are Muslims? Why
is it only mutilated bodies are labelled as boko haram but those arrested in
the act of burning churches are either hypnotised, have issues with their
churches or madmen? We should be demanding
for answers from our governors not killing each other.
Creating killer colonies like Gonin Gora or
Riyom will only exacerbate our distrust for each other rather than solve any problem. They do not advance the cause of either of
the religions nor should any religion be in completion with the other. They are rather injuries to all not just
Muslims and us. The reaction of the
residents of Gonin Gora is directly responsible for the bloodletting in Kaduna
and this has been going on since 2000 with no government ready to do anything
about it. Whenever they struck, the
Abuja – Kaduna highway is effectively closed to all. Also the curfew imposed on the people of
Kaduna is on everybody not just Muslims.
So we all bear the brunt with all its economic and social consequences. And where is your president? Off to the Brazilian beaches with a retinue
of one hundred and sixteen hangers-on.
We are being systematically destroyed by the
twin evils of religion and ethnicity.
They destroyed our unity and communality, something the region was known
for and envied, discourage our interaction and steal our peace by creating a
siege mentality and sowing hatred amongst us.
We then unwittingly fall into the traps set for us by our elites for
their benefits that come at the expense of the rest of us. It is my hope that we can, collectively as
northerners, overcome our primordial sentiments for the collective good of the
region. As the Yorubas will say, Arewa, Ronu.
