It is only the uncanny that would argue that the activities of the Boko Haram sect have become the biggest threat to the corporate existence of the Nigerian federation. Its insatiable appetite for blood has continued to shake the foundation of the federation such that the possibility of throwing the nation into a crisis of an immeasurable proportion is becoming a reality every passing day. I do not belong to those who claim that the sect does not have a definite agenda. Its agenda is crystal clear going by the multifaceted approaches that it has deployed and employed in prosecuting its war against the Nigerian state. Having declared millions of Nigerians of southern origin resident in the Northern part of the country persona non grata, the sect has apparently singled out those who had either failed to heed its warning for total annihilation or belonged to other faiths other than they professed. Last Sunday, the sect affirmed its commitment to the agenda when it again went on a shooting spree at Christian worshippers in Kano. It was at the premises of the Bayero University, where two university professors: Jerome Ayodele and Andrew Leo Ogbonyomi were among the number of worshippers reportedly felled by the bullets of members of the sect. 'They [gunmen] pursued them [worshippers] shooting them with guns. They also attacked another service at the sporting complex,' a witness told the French news agency, AFP. It was not the first horrendous attack by the sect members on the Christian community in the North. Similar horrors have been recorded in Niger and Abuja and a couple of states in the North-East, where the sect has almost crippled socially and economically. The sect has ignored pleas from many well-meaning Nigerians, including some respected northern leaders for the militant group to sheathe its sword and seek legitimate means to channel its genuine grievances. Such pleas are being made despite the gravity of the grave implications of the current activities of the group, which amount to waging an armed war against the sovereign state of Nigeria. But the utterances of a few northern leaders often suggest they least appreciate the gravity of the offences the sect was committing against the nation. That is why they tend to equate the terrorist activities of Boko Haram to other forms of violence that had been thrown up by the existing contrived federal structure. It is particularly absurd for anyone to see any comparison between the senseless killings and war against the state that the sect has embarked upon with the chain of events that led to the political crisis in the then Western Region during the first republic. It is only those that are trying to turn history upside down that could make such spurious claims. It is most annoying and unpardonable when such errors are committed by certain individuals, who by the virtues of their age and exposure ought to be the repository of knowledge and history of the country. At his age, I expect Ambassador Yakassai to be more circumspect in his analysis of the Nigerian situation, be it past or present. He has seen it all in terms of events and developments that have shaped the destiny of the country. From being the presidential adviser to former President Shehu Shagari in the second republic, he has continued to be a beneficiary of the friendship of the establishment. I recall how he consistently castigated members of the National Democratic Coalition [NADECO] for raising their voice against the terror unleashed on them by the Abacha regime because they were averse to the annulment of June 12. They were accused of being the brains behind the series of bombings that characterised the agitation for democracy and justice by the vast majority of Nigerians. Subsequent events after the collapse of the Abacha hegemony exposed the height of deceit and hypocrisy of most of those so-called elder statesmen. For sometime, Yakassai had maintained a dignified silence I suppose over the endless carnage through acts of terrorism that Boko Haram has embarked upon in parts of the North. But his utterances at a press conference ran as interviews in some weeklies have exposed the weakness in a number of some of our 'elder statesmen' on sensitive national issues that border on the security, and indeed stability of the country. He was quoted as drawing a parallel between what was going on the North at the moment and other crises that were witnessed in the defunct Western region and other parts of the country in the past. His conclusion is that the Boko Haram threat would soon be a thing of the past. The analogy between the Boko Haram crisis and the problem that was witnessed in the West was fatally wrong. In fact, he plainly and amply contradicted himself by the outright uncoordinated account he gave on the crisis in the West. He said, 'The Yoruba people were pouring petrol on their fellow Yoruba people, setting them on fire until they burn into ashes and die. This sort of dastardly act has never happened here in the North in spite of Boko Haram'.The hundreds of people killed in that crisis are by far more than the number of people killed by Boko Haram here in the North.' Yakassai also tried to pull the wool over the face of the public by drawing a similar analogy between the riot in Tiv land in the Middle Belt during the first republic as well as the not-too-recent unhealthy developments in the Niger Delta and the South-East. Such statement and generalisation are unbecoming of any elder statesman, who believes in the corporate existence of the country. In all the instances he cited, there was no case of a particular tribe waging a war of elimination against others, neither ethnic groups nor religious undertones were implied in whatever conflict that was witnessed in the past. Therefore, his utterances are capable of encouraging the sect members to assume that they have the backing of some sacred cows in the system and can afford to sustain their current heinous crime against the state, which has left more than a thousand dead. A drastic situation requires drastic measures and that's what we need now. How do we live together such that no ethnic group, section of the country or religion could claim to be superior to the rest' That is the system we must commence the process of working out to avoid the Nigerian federation going the way of old Sudan and India, as well as the defunct Soviet Union. Oderemi, 08023501874 (SMS only) ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Feedback: Nigeria: A food for thought 'Kunle, your article of April 26, 2012 in Nigeria Tribune, has again reminded all Nigerians of what Chief Obafemi Awolowo said that as long as we hate truth, we won't go anywhere in Nigeria. Professor Wilmot then was on practical truth. But our leaders hate truth, and that's why we are still unstable till today. Thanks.' From Sola Alabi Ode, Zaria, Kaduna State
Click here to read full news..
