Fellow Nigerians, let me confess my admiration for security forces generally. It
is not just because of the cleanliness and crispiness of their uniform or the
famed discipline that they imbue in their members. It is because I find their
job too risky. I often wonder why any man or woman would voluntarily sign his or
her death warrant.
city of Ile-Ife, I remember being told by older people that “soldiers are
trained to kill” and we were told to avoid them. The myth flying around included
that most of them were recruited without having much education. But as I grew
up, I began to acquire a special fascination for them, especially the elite
squads in the Navy and the Air Force. I would later interact with many soldiers
at home and abroad. I love their uniforms, jackboots and in particular their
menacing guns.
I still imagine till this day what it takes to be a
killer. We were told soldiers were regularly injected with special drugs that
makes it impossible for them to have the milk of human kindness in them. But
with time, I saw and met many soft-hearted soldiers. I used to tease them about
what we were told as kids. I must say I became one of their fans and good
friends. I visited our soldiers in Sierra Leone and Liberia and gave them my
humble support and they were very appreciative of my modest contribution and
inspiration.
The reason for my preamble must be obvious to you all. I was
seriously angry after seeing a video purportedly showing how our soldiers were
brutalising fellow Nigerians and subjecting them to the worst indignities known
to mankind. I’ve been praying that the videos were shot in outer space and not
anywhere near Nigeria. But if what I saw very vividly actually took place on our
planet and in this our dear beloved nation, then we’ve truly missed the road. I
did not see any sign of weapons with these hapless victims of oppression and
repression.
soldiers were pelted with pebbles and stones, the treatment meted out to the
personalities in the video is undeserved by any human being. How was the
response from the military commensurate to that of the supposed hoodlums? Was it
not an act of provocation in itself for soldiers to be engaging in drills in an
area already soaked with tension?
Let me stretch the argument a bit
further. Whose idea was it to draft the soldiers onto the streets to intimidate
Nigerians in areas where there was no war? How can anyone send soldiers to
threaten a people who already feel marginalised and are saying so very
resoundingly? What is wrong with empowering members of the Nigeria Police Force
and especially the anti-riot police squad to tackle cases of hooliganism and
even terrorism. Soldiers are meant to come out in open battle only in extreme
cases where there is total chaos and mayhem. President Muhammadu Buhari has
wittingly or inadvertently walked into the trap cleverly set for him by the
Biafra secessionists. Kanu and company have read the President well knowing his
proclivity for no-nonsense and high-handedness.
If truth must be told,
this is the height of intolerance on the part of the Nigerian State. I have not
seen any Lawyer who believes in the legality of what our soldiers have done.
Kanu may be reckless and irresponsible by promoting internecine wars and heating
up our country unnecessarily but no one can deny him the right of expressing
himself and agitating for his beliefs. What could have been done to him was very
simple; send the police after him and get him rearrested for flouting his bail
conditions. Some of his hard core loyalists and acolytes could be easily
identified and kept out of circulation. For the past few months, Kanu has been
raking and ranting but he has not fired a bullet.
who was already on his way to Golgotha and at a time his bravado was becoming
increasingly irritating to many of those who took him seriously initially. The
staccato fashion of his argument was becoming boring and predictable. I really
don’t know who misadvised our leaders into thinking they can fight all wars and
win all. Believe me please, I know Nigeria a bit, it is a dangerous
gamble.
I’m aware that our President is a retired Major General, a man
well known for his taciturnity, who packs his punches and loves to take on known
and imaginary enemies. But we supported him because we believed Baba had
transfigured into a born again democrat. The Buhari we supported was not the man
who ruled with draconian Decrees from 1983-85 and was forced out of power and
his detractors rejoiced openly and widely. The same Nigerians who praised you
for beating your child would soon turn around to castigate you and ask why
you’re so wicked. That is the reality of Nigeria.
threats to the Igbos to quit their territory or face monumental reprisals. A few
of the respected people in the North cautioned them but they were rebuffed with
insults in a most vicious manner. No security arm ever tried to even invite them
for any chat not to talk of arrests. The then Acting President, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, did so well by engaging different sections of Nigeria in peaceful
dialogue and we were happy that the ticking bomb was carefully detonated. Just
imagine what would have happened if he invaded parts of the North or East with
soldiers blazing with guns and bayonets. He would have been accused of all
sorts, including ethnic cleansing.
Our President should be told in very
clear terms that the world has changed drastically in the last three decades. No
leader can order his troops out in the streets to kill and destroy wantonly. We
should not over-stretch our luck. Nigeria cannot afford a second civil war. Our
economy is already in shambles. We should prosecute how to return to economic
recovery urgently and resist the temptation of wasting our scarce resources on
persecuting our fellow citizens. The videos in circulation tend to portray us as
barbarians who belong in the prehistoric age. We’ve suffered enough negativity
and should not invite the wrath of the world upon ourselves.
Tribunal. It is not impossible, no matter how long it takes. Mass graves have
been reported in some parts of Nigeria with concrete proofs. Nigerians have been
detained indefinitely in near solitary confinements without trial. This are not
the best examples to lay for our future. Many of those who should speak up
against tyranny are too squeamish for obvious reasons. But it should not be
so.
I’m not a supporter of Biafra. I don’t have to be. I love and prefer
a bigger, stronger and more prosperous Nigeria. But there are reasons for many
Nigerians to detest Nigeria, today. They feel they have been horribly
marginalised and treated like second class citizens in their own country. Their
perception is that they believe all or most of the following things. Their
children no longer attend the good schools for which the Igbos have become well
known. The goods, some of which they even make themselves in Aba, have become
only available for the rich.
Infrastructure is sorely lacking for the
most part. Where they exist, they are decaying and nobody is really attending to
them. There are no new jobs and the few old jobs are being lost in droves. The
state of healthcare is almost hopeless. Federal character has become a total
charade. We can go on, ad infinitum, reeling out the litany of woes that our
brothers and sisters in the South East believe is responsible for the unusually
strident agitation that we are now witnessing.
respects. Our government should address these issues instead of attacking those
who disagree with them. One of the surest ways to do this is by education,
information and public enlightenment to demonstrate that the position is not as
bad as they feel. The social media is awash with facts and figures for and
against the depth and seriousness of the so-called marginalisation of the South
East.
concern, proffer solutions to resolve them and then act on these solutions. The
third and equally important duty of the government is to ensure an equitable
distribution of resources and positions. Indeed, this is the major reason for
the clamour for restructuring. Whilst we still operate in a system where
government provides practically everything, it is only just that people must
have a sense of belonging and participation.
merely to decentralise power but to cede power completely to the private sector
whilst government contributes its quota by providing the enabling environment
for the much needed industrialisation and technological advancement that will
take us out of our present doldrums..
In the name of God, the omnipotent and
merciful, everyone should beg our Federal Government to end this self-immolating
war of attrition. We have nothing to gain. In fact, we have more to lose.
