QUO VADIS, NIGERIA ?

By Sonnie Ekwowusi

Amid the grounding of Nigeria by clash of arms, bloodletting, Jihadist ambush and violence, spate of kidnaps, orgy of arson and banditry, drum beats of war and secession threats, the questions which both Nigerians and non-Nigerians are asking at the moment include: Quo Vadis, Nigeria ?. Where are you going Nigeria?. To Golgotha? To Somalia?. To Southern Sudan? Last week was the bloodiest and most fatal week in recent times in Nigeria. About 240 people were murdered and more than four dozen were kidnapped. Six persons were killed in Ekiti on April 20th; 40 students of Greenfield University, Kaduna were kidnapped on April 21st out of which five or six had been killed; 18 kidnapped in Oyo State on April 22nd; 45 people killed in Zamfara on April 22nd; Another 83 person murdered in Zamfara on April 23rd. Is time out for Nigeria? Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello alerts the country that radical Jihadists had overrun about 50 Communities in Kaure and Shiroro local government, Niger State and hoisted their flag as evidence of conquest and occupation of the area. Gunmen believed to be Fulani herdsmen attacked the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp in Abagena, Makurdi, Benue State killing and injuring several IDPs. Benue State Governor Ortom is in tears. In another development last week, the Ministry of Interior raised an alarm of a looming threat to blow up the country’s Airports. Also last week the Chandler Good Governance Index (CGGI) ranked Nigeria the 3rd worst country in the world after Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Nigeria scored 0.319 points to sit at number 102 out of 104 countries trailing behind Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Consequently Nigerians are worried. The House of Representatives, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum and others call on President Buhari to declare a state of emergence on security. Even savvy-veteran Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who before now would have dismissed any talk of civil war in Nigeria as a reveling in doom-saying obscurantism, is now raising an alarm and saying that in the event of another civil war in Nigeria all Nigerians (without exception) would suffer the drastic and terrible consequences of the war. On their part, the U.S sympathizes with Nigeria. Last week, the U.S. Congress organized a Virtual Session on the escalating ethno-religious killings, religious conquest and occupation in Nigeria in recent times. The theme of the Session was: Human Rights in Nigeria and the Role of Congress. The Session was attended by Congressman Frank Worlf, Congressman Chris Smith, Tom Suozzi and a Nigerian called Dr. Ikiebe. Dr. Ikiebe regretted the arrogance of the Nigerian political elite to admit that religious persecution and human rights abuse in Nigeria amount to nothing but genocide. He wondered why the Western press is reluctant to report the genocide happening in Nigeria. To him, the hoisting of the Islamic flag in the aforesaid area of Niger State is an indication that Nigeria is finished. Congressman Smith stated that President Buhari has failed and should be held accountable for the killings in Nigeria. He wondered why Boko Haram has been killing those who refused to convert to Islam. He regretted that more Christians have been killed in Nigeria than the whole of the Middle East. It pained him that Nigeria is a member of Country of Particular Concern (CPC), that is, countries adjudged guilty of severe violation of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. You will recall that in March 2015 American ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell warned Nigeria not to elect Buhari because, according to him, Buhari would make a disaster President. In his article published in Washington Times in the same March 2015, Grenell writes that electing Buhari as President would be a disaster for Africa and would trigger off Islamic terrorist attacks to capture Nigeria because Buhari has often spoken sympathetically about members of Boko Haram and had cautioned against the rush to pass judgment on Boko Haram and had personally been selected by Boko Haram to lead negotiations with the Nigerian government.

In any case, we don’t even need the U.S. or outsiders to tell us what we already know about religious terrorism in our country Nigeria. The Nigerian people are well informed that the fight against Islamic terrorism in Nigeria has been compromised by the government. For example, our own Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr. Isa Pantami is allegedly involved in Islamic terrorism within Nigeria yet the Buhari government, without embarking on investigation to verify the allegation, has been holding brief for Pantami. What beats the imagination is how the Buhari Presidency swiftly rushed to start defending Pantami. Here is a man accused of calling Boko Haram terrorists “fellow Muslims”; a man accused of praising the Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to high heavens. Here is a man accused of plotting to procure arms during the administration of Mr. Patrick Yakowa to wage a Jihad war in order to deliver Kaduna to Muslim extremists. As profoundly weighty as the aforesaid accusations are, the Buhari government has not deemed it fit to temporarily relieve Pantami of his Ministerial job pending the outcome of the investigation of the allegations levelled against him. Instead of doing that the government has swiftly rallied to the man’s protection. Were Pantami from another part of the country or a member of another religion the Buhari government probably would not have been protecting him. By refusing to take the weighty allegations levelled against Pantami seriously, the Buhari government gives the impression that it is colluding with Islamic terrorists and bandits to wipe away the so-called infidels from Nigeria.

In corroboration of this is Dr. Obadiah Mailafia. Said he:“They are already in the South; in the rainforests of the South. They are everywhere. They told us that when they finish this rural killings, they will move to phase two.The phase two is that they will go into the urban cities, going from house to house killing prominent people. I can tell you that this is their game plan. By 2022 they want to start a civil war in Nigeria. The body language of this administration shows clearly that they have a hand in the killings, no doubt about it”. In an online video which has been watched by most Nigerians Gen. T. Y Danjuma (rtd) said: “Every one of us must rise up, the Army forces are not neutral, they collude with the armed bandits that kill people, that kill Nigerians, they facilitate their movements, they cover them. If you are depending on the Armed Forces to stop the killings you will all die one by one”.

I am persuaded by T.Y Danjuma’s logic. The Nigerian army, from now till eternity, cannot stop terrorism in Nigeria. Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai said much of that. He said that terrorism may persist in Nigeria for another 20 years. You see, a government with saboteurs sabotaging the war against terrorism cannot defeat terrorism. In the same vein, an army rendered ineffective by the very power that set it up cannot defeat terrorism. Therefore the people should take back their power. Power belongs to the people. Our representatives in government are only the repository of the people’s power. So let the people take back their power. President Buhari will never resign. The parasites surrounding him are poised to continue telling lies on his behalf. The National Assembly is an extension of the Presidency. It will never impeach President Buhari. Therefore the people should take back their mandate from President Buhari. Unfortunately while the country sickens for failed political leadership, the followership is not faring better either. Disunity, mutual suspicion, mutual mistrust, pent-up stereotype, greed, jealousy, instinct to dominate others, narcissism and unforgiving spirit are the bundle of vices destroying political followership in Nigeria. Our political opportunists know this and capitalize on it to continue to ceaselessly wield political power.