Alright, God forbid. I also pray against this eventuality, the inauguration of disaster on May 29, 2015, because it appeals to our collective emotions. But this prayer alone can never stop a genius of electoral sentiments and manipulations, especially in a country where the politicians are obviously smarter than the electorates, from reaching a height where the destiny of the nation is designed. No country has ever been built, or project executed, or even a cause pursued, by amens and faith alone. Except in the imagination of Nigerians, the ones whose senses are bound in the fabrics of bigotry, extremism and patriotism along the lines of ethnicity, religion and region, respectively.
In the eyes of Nigerians who are already victorious for they have, or least so they thought, embarrassed the Presidency with the cacophonous criticisms over the President’s insensitivity to the spate of killings in the country, the past few days may be seen as tough for the partying occupants of Aso Rock. But, on a clearly written note, President Goodluck Jonathan really is the victor, the undeclared winner–Mainasara, as his northern campaigners called him pre-2011 presidential elections.
The pulse of the nation has changed ever since Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State embarked on his “conspiracy theory” campaigns, accusing the Presidency of complicity in the growing insurgency in the north-east. With actually only conjectural proofs. This conduct makes the return to Aso Rock in 2015 much more easy for GEJ. The more cheap and unverifiable propagandas and conspiracies are propounded by those who should know better, the more he becomes more electable in a country this polarised. There was almost a consensus in our dismissal of GEJ as an irredeemably failed President, before these torrents of sentiments begin to blur our senses of perception.
The tragedy is, many may now volunteer to pitch tent with GEJ because of these dangerous accusations – of the Christian as the enemies. Without credible proofs, aside from obvious failings of government’s counterterrorism measures. We can only judge the President, without making him likable by a section of the citizens, with undeniable records of his very poor performance – which are enough to get Nigerians united against the present mis-governance. You see, if any people accuse my own too as the destroyer without corroborating evidences, I’ll be similarly hurt and even take an unpopular decision to support that unfairly judged devil!
The good people of Nigeria, however frustrated and suspicious we have become in attempting to understand this insurgency, must end this child’s play at once and ally to defeat the vampiric ruling class, all of them, stripped of the immunity they have earned in their dubious religious, ethnic and regional advocacies. If you don’t know how terrorism works, joining the bandwagon of the proponents of conspiracy theories isn’t the best resort. We must understand what terrorism is, we must understand that it is not a fanfare, but an irrational fatality perpetrated by a people to whom we’re not humans, but symbols, symbols of satanism, of anything unholy, of infections that must be cured. Violently!
The Boko Haram is as real as water. It began before our eyes, so any attempt to dismiss its actual existence, as some deluded citizens have done in their disturbing vulnerability to this seemingly plausible reports of the the federal government’s involvement, is lazy and mischievous. If you have concluded that the government or President as an individual sponsors the violence in the north, let’s also embrace the wisdom to ask: Who are influentially and integrally in the in the federal government. Both Muslims and Christians, northerners and southerners, and all the ethnic groups are represented.
So before you begin to accuse the President of complicity in destroying the north, do know that the Vice President, Inspector-General of Police, Minister of Defence, National Security Adviser, and even the Chairman of the ruling party, which some of us call “Boko Haram” in promoting our conspiracy of the government’s complicity, are Muslims and northerners. And, as such northerners occupy relevant security positions, how would they comply in these alleged ploys to destroy their own people?
I know that it’s understandable to embrace conspiracy theories in the absence of reasons, but the existence of BH itself is unreasonable. We embrace these conspiracy theories, every bit of them, even the absolutely absurd, because we had never experienced the irrational fatality of terrorism. We’re so hopeless, that any culprit presented to us is acceptable, which is even as dangerous as terrorism itself. The best decision Nigerians ought to make now is allying to ask our leaders to stop politicizing our security challenges. As we read Nyako’s letter or speech, let’s have in mind that he’s just also politician being who he is: a manipulative opportunist! He is no different from Olisa Metuh a few weeks ago, except for the damning fact that Nyako
I have written extensively on the terrors inspired by unchecked religious extremism and, having observed the damaging trends of this evil, I acknowledge that it is capable of turning Nigeria into the mess it is now and, thus, if I’m given a chance to talk to Gov. Nyako face to face, in the absence of his gun-totting guards, I’ll definitely tell him he’s just politically paranoid. We can’t talk about Boko Haram as though Mohammed Yusuf never existed!
The tragedy of Nyako’s claims is, we live in a country where his political posturing may be seen as humane activism by some, which is why many of us are already hoodwinked by his claims, without bothering to ask: what do BH insurgents want? Killing us, nonbelievers in their hollow ideologies, is seen as acts of worship by them. Terrorists who have been indoctrinated to consider terminating you acts of worship should be our first suspects in this dilemma. Our politicians, if they’re indeed morally upright, must form an alliance, however forced, to protect us, instead of their predictable maneuvering for victories at the February polls, which seems to be more important to them than even our security!
That you don’t like GEJ, which is very understandable, isn’t a reason to hang your objectivity in analyzing an attempt to undermine him by a paranoid politician. I’m also I’m sympathetic to the cause of APC in its bid to oust the failed incumbent but I won’t endorse any obvious propaganda!
On this, I wish to say, I’ll not forgive you, if my foresight is right that our misplaced paranoia may earn us, but may God intervene, another torturous term under GEJ. If you think GEJ is not electable, especially with this twist of ‘politicized activisms’, that’s because you don’t know Nigeria beyond Facebook and Twitter. May God save us from us!
By Gimba Kakanda
@gimbakakanda (On Twitter)
