Tribute To Buni Yadi Victims

By Saleh Ibrahim Bature

Nothing shakes and disorients a man more than the death of a loved one. The death of students of Federal Government College( FGC) Buni Yadi, is so disturbing as it consumes 59 lives of innocent secondary school students, whose lives were terminated by a horde of beast masquerading as humans. I'm personally touched by this monumental human lose of unsuspecting children who are full of life and hope for their fathers' land.

Since the time this merciless and eye soaring incident occurred, I find it very difficult to concentrate. The graphic display of lifeless bodies of defenseless but innocent victims of Federal Government College Bunu Yadi, Yobe state, in the North east sub region of Nigeria, is one massacre too many.

I weep and my heart bleeds for the precious but wasted lives of the slain students and their poor, helpless and perturbed parents.

In a civilized country where government respects and values life, the massacre of over 50 students would have brought government business to a standstill. In Nigeria, it was business as usual when students of a Federal unity college at Buni Yadi were Murdered by Boko Haram. Neither Mr. President nor any of the loquacious press agents of the government has come out to give satisfactory explanation, as to why the president allowed the centenary celebration to take place while Nigerians, especially parents of the over 50 student who were gunned down, roasted alive or had their throats slit at Buni Yadi were still mourning the gruesome murder of their loved ones.

Nothing could be more insensitive and insulting to the sensitivities of the bereaved families than to watch on their tv screens, Nigerian men and women, singing, dancing and swinging their hips in merriment to entertain Mr. President and his guests of international dignitaries, at a gala night to celebrate the nation's Centenary, barely less than 36 hours after the senseless murder of students at the College.

While mourning the departed souls of Buni Yadi victims, I asked myself the question: Would that gaiety and fanfare take place if daughters and sons of Mr. President, governors or members of the National Assembly were the slain victims?

It is an abuse on the collective consciousness of Nigerians that President Good Luck Jonathan should be criss-crossing the North west sub-region and other parts of the country, campaigning for 2015 in disguise, at a time when the nation is mourning the annihilation of over 1000 Nigerian citizens at Buni Yadi, Mofa, Mainok, Gwoza, Dagulun, Bama, Maiduguri and elsewhere in the country.

Instead of the Government to sympathize with families of the Boko Haram pogrom, it is unfortunate that they are dancing on the graves of the victims without remorse.

For every life of a Nigerian wasted by the Boko Haram, government poor handling of the situation is further revealed. This confirms the grave accusation of the Federal government by Governors of Borno and Yobe states; the two states that are the worst hit by terrorists attacks in the country. That military gross ineptitude, poor motivation of soldiers, conspiracy and lack of weaponry to match the insurgents' fire poor is the albatross to the success of war against Terror in the North east. Hence, Nigerian citizens living in this part of the country are hopeless and have misgiving about government handling of the crisis. The general feelings and belief here is that those who lost their lives following the protracted Boko Haram insurgency in the North East are expendable. Peoples' foreboding had been confirmed by the escalation of violence in the area and the army seeming inability to contain the situation.

Apparently not satisfied with government's poor handling of security in the North, Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC), had in a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola queried the Nigerian Army top command to provide answers to questions being asked by Nigerians-Why is Boko Haram always attacking when they are supposed to be on the run? Why are our troops always on the defensive? Is it true that Nigerian soldiers merely sit and wait for the group to attack? Is it also true that there is poor welfare for soldiers posted to the area? Is it true that soldiers in the region use their own money to pay for treatment? Who is keeping sophisticated weapons from reaching Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram?

It is also more than a mere coincidence that "an army of a ragtag semi-illiterates coming full in 9 Hilux Toyota vehicles, wearing soldiers' uniforms carrying out a bloody rampage and massacre for about 5 hours just a day after the withdrawal of the army from the area." Why? Many others are asking the same question which may probably never be answered.

As the innocent victims of Buni Yadi senseless massacre sleep peacefully in their graves, we pray and hope that those who perpetrated this dastardly act will NEVER have peace in their life. May ALLAH, the ever living, He who has power over ALL things avenge the gruesome murder of those innocent kids? May the lives of ALL those who perished in this seemingly unending wave of senseless violence have eternal bliss? And, finally, may the Almighty weaken the power base of insurgents in this country and make ALL their evil plots to naught?

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