A Nation Under Siege
For some days now, I have been quiet on social media and other forum. While this is not deliberate, I think it has helped me a lot. Let me state here that I am a firm believer in the Nigerian state and prior to this time, I have been a great optimist about Nigeria. This is why I do what I do here and in other forums.
But I have recently been compelled to have a rethink. Do I think Nigeria can overcome the mess we currently face? Well I honestly do not know. My recent pessimism(and I am not alone on this) is necessitated by the first bomb blast at Nyanya which killed over 100 people and the subsequent kidnap of students at Chibok, PDP's perverse response, President Jonathan's campaign rally in Kano State and my well published article tagged Goodluck Jonathan a Reckless and Insensitive Leader, and the insults that followed.
What I decided to do, was to adopt the siddon look approach and I confess it's not been easy. Even when some people called me and asked why I have suddenly become silent, I tell them I'm on leave. Truth is I was really mad at Nigeria. Few days ago my anger died down and I made an attempt to come back but was frustrated further especially by Mrs. Kema Chikwe's reckless comments on the kidnapped girls. Throughout yesterday, I didn't come online. I did this morning(Friday, 2/05/2014) and discovered I had a lots of messages notifying me of another bomb blast at Nyanya, which claimed about 130 lives. Forget the official figure that the police and government gives. Who doesn't know that government has a notorious culture of deceiving the people?
Now I want to ask some pertinent questions. Some weeks ago, Abubakar Shekau released a video where he claimed responsibility for the first Nyanya blast. He also said they were in Abuja and promised to carry out more attacks. What did government and our security operatives do after the video was released? Did they take any step to fortify the city and prevent further waste of human life?
We were also told that Abubakar Shekau had died from injuries he sustained from a gun battle with security operatives. Is this a reincarnated Shekau that is terrorising Niageria and Nigerians? What measures were put in place to forestall further attacks? And what has been done to get back our kidnapped daughters?
If government cannot protect the citizens, let it either seek external help or resign and allow a serious government to do that. I have read several opinions that these attacks are masterminded by the enemies of President Jonathan to portray him like a weakling. Really? What then is stopping the president from getting those behind these attacks and correcting an impression that is already common knowledge? Recently the South Korean Prime Minister resigned because of an accident which claimed almost 300 lives. An accidents that was not in any way his fault. But he threw in the towel because it happened in his administration. In our own clime, being a leader is considered a birth right; that is why we have lost close to 7000 people and none of our leaders has contemplated throwing in the towel. The interest and safety of the people must be the priority of government. Any government that cannot protect its citizens should not be allowed to continue in power.
This is not a time to play politics. Whether we admit it or not, these insurgents have brought this country to its knees. We have to admit we are on the ground and call for external help in curbing these endless deaths. Let us stop deceiving ourselves that seeking external help will deflate our ego as giant of Africa. The continuous killing of our people while government remains helpless and clueless is the only factor deflating our ego that external help will help in restore. We are like a nation under siege and we need help to regain our freedom. Nigeria is in a desperate situation that calls for desperate measures and tactics. I hope government appreciates this fact. God bless Nigeria
Frank Ijege
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@foijege on twitter