While killers are rampaging in the north
east, particularly Borno state, massacring innocent villagers and itinerant
traders, Goodluck Jonathan was either genuflecting before the Emir of Kano, Ado
Bayero or clownishly beating a drum in the palace of the Alafin of Oyo or
trying to score with the Christian population by snatching a photo opportunity
with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church, Pastor Enoch
Adeboye. The president had neither time
for the survivors of this modern day holocaust nor a sympathetic thought to
those who lost their lives and property.
The president’s mien only projected a one-track mind – how to extend his
stay in the Aso Villa, not the security or sanctity of the lives of the
country’s citizens. We have seen how
Kaduna was “won” in 2011. We therefore pray that we won’t see a repeat of what
happened then. Interestingly, despite
the prominence given by both local and international media organisations on the
massacre, the president and the presidency kept mum and didn’t deem it worth
their intervention. The loud silence
from Jonathan and his handlers is indicative of the value the president placed
on the lives of our people. Until Kashim
Shettima, governor of Borno state, addressed State House in Abuja. That was when the presidential attack dog,
Doyin Okupe, poured insults on the victims.
What I find incomprehensible is that
insurgents dressed in military uniforms, carrying military grade weapons and
operating with military precision have been attacking communities under state
of emergency with all its attendant military restrictions, yet no one is
arrested and no prior information regarding such attacks. The Nigerian intelligence community,
seemingly so effective in apprehending the likes of Nasiru El-Rufa’I for being
“politically incorrect” can’t seem to provide information that will lead to the
apprehending of these insurgents, or at least pre-empting the attacks by moving
troops to such identified areas. Or are
we to infer that the non-deployment of troops to these areas that are prone to
attacks?
The case of Konduga appears to be very
incomprehensible because the town is a stone’s throw from Maiduguri where
incidentally the JTF and the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army is
headquartered. In his hastily incoherent
response to Kashim Shettima Okupe claimed Konduga is at the foot of the Mandara
hills. This shows you the level of
ignorance on the part of those supposedly responsible for our security as
political leaders of the country. Granted
Izge is at the foot of the Mandara hills, but does that give Okupe and his boss
the excuse of not sending troops to rout the insurgents? In the case of Konduga, it was reported that
the killers operated between 5p.m to 12 midnight without hindrance. This was happening just about 35
kilometres. The people living around
that corner of the world conveniently forgot Baga so quickly and it is proving
to be their peril.
I have always had my opinions about Boko
Haram and its shadowy leadership. I am
yet to be convinced about certain things and explanations from the government
pertaining to the existence, operations and sustenance of this murderous
group. For example, I am yet to be
convinced that Mohammed Yusuf was not executed to allow for the takeover of the
brand name he made popular to be used for black operations. The total absence of a successful prosecution
or conviction of anyone caught either in the act of committing terror or in
possession of guns and Improvised Explosive Devised (IEDs), makes a bold
statement on the seriousness of the government to bring these killers to book
and bring to an end this unnecessary and wanton human sacrifice. Before you mention Kabiru Sokoto, I want you
to reflect where he was arrested – was it in the theatre of war or in the
comfort of his bed? Here I am talking
about the likes of the lady caught in St. John’s Cathedral Bauchi; the Delta
fellow caught in the act of setting fire to a Redeemed Christian Church in
Yenagoa; the guys caught with a cache of arms in Jos; the eight guys arrested
in front of the COCIN Church, Miya Barkete in Bauchi state with
explosives. Jonathan’s reaction (or non
reaction) to the recent violence gives life to the theory that Orkar’s (Tony
Nyiam) project of excising some of parts from Nigeria is still very much
alive. Pretending otherwise may be
dangerous for anyone from this part of the Niger.
Okupe can yak for all he cares, but I pity
the likes of Ahmed Ali Gulak and Dauda Birma, because their villages are
shouting distances from the nucleus of the war- more so for Gulak. The bulk of the survivors of the Izge massacre
had to relocate to Gulak to preserve their lives. While their people are killed daily the likes
of Gulak and Tanko Yakassai are competing to be identified with those the
victims feel don’t care whether they live or die. Bottom line is that the whole of the north is
today under one form of attack or the other – north east is under the control
of the Boko Haram; north central is now a theatre of war between farmers and
herders; a large swath of the north west is under the control of bandits. Northerners have lost faith in the government
and the current crop of northern leaders.
Northerners see a federal government that cares less
that they are reduced to a society beset with broken families, violent crime,
and drugs. They see a federal government
willingly dividing the society by ethnicity, religion, and huge disparities in
income. This wasn’t what the populace
bargained for in 2011 when they were cajoled, harassed, induced or suborned to vote
for Goodluck Jonathan. They long for a peaceful life in which they may provide
for the basic needs of their families, and enjoy the respect due to all mankind
regardless of their ethnicity, religion, position, or wealth. What they see is that their goals for a more
just and compassionate society thwarted by the Quislings among them as
personified by the likes Gulak and Yakassai, who pursue wealth and power regardless
of the cost to their fellow human beings.
Human or material lost leaves them to either be
burying relatives, friends and acquaintances or rebuilding a life shattered. They see few opportunities to earn a living
because most opportunities are withheld for militants of the Niger Delta and
their godfathers. They see these Quislings and their sponsors remaining silent
when their villages are pillaged and destroyed; when loved ones are killed and
businesses destroyed. What they are
confronted with in most cases is denigration in the biased media, which serves
to maintain these Quislings.
I just pray the activities of the
likes of Doyin Okupe, Ali Gulak and their associates will not close the doors
of reason permanently. May God deliver
us from this current holocaust and the Quislings and Goerings among us.
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