A FORMER United States Ambassador to Nigeria, perhaps reading out of a script written in Washington, prophesized that come 2015, Nigeria will disintegrate. Jonathan was in power, the Boko Haram terrorists made headlines around the world by abducting the Chibok girls, which gave birth to the viral #bringbackourgirls, a movement so sweeping that Michelle Obama was seen carrying the placard.
The marauding Boko Haram had sacked many villages and towns, creating one of the most horrific exodus of refugees, making Nigeria the second largest refugee center in the world. Ethnic and religious tension had never been higher and the complacency of Jonathan government by drawing CAN into his kitchen cabinet makes matters worse. Selfish politicians in the North seized the opportunity and throw into the political arena the religious card. Nigeria has never been so divided along ethno-religious line.
The 2015 elections was the most challenging event that faced Nigeria since the civil war. The breath of the nation was suspended with Orubebes dramatics at the Abuja collation center, amiably condoned by Prof Jega, the electoral Umpire, as he contained the situation.
Like a biblical savior, Jonathan defies his kitchen cabinet, sneaked away silently and called Buhari with a congratulatory message before the Borno elections results were finally announced. This singular effort by Jonathan, averted what the doom sayers hoped for (The doomsday prophecy of 2015) and we should forgive Jonathan for whatever lapses he may have had.
Instead of the expected destruction, euphoria never before seen greeted the final announcement of the Buhari and APC victory against PDP and Jonathan. Nigeria, once again, survived the prophets of doom. Countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan weren’t as lucky.
The recent outbursts by President Donald Trump in saving Nigeria’s Christians, is supported by no less celebrity as Nicky Minaj. Evangelical Republicans are applauding it too, as well as some myopic Christians among us. The bigger question is how going in “guns-a-blazing” against Nigeria’s Islamists might work?
Nigerian protests over the realities on the ground are brushed aside. Yes, Christians are being murdered, but so are Muslims. Nigeria is battling multiple insurgencies, Islamist – alongside widespread banditry. By the numbers, Nigeria is one of the world’s biggest Christian countries. It’s also one of the world’s biggest Muslim countries. President Bola Tinubu is Muslim. His wife is a Christian pastor. How do you weild your guns on such a complex polity?
The Tinubu government, as well as its people, would most certainly be happy for anyone to knock out the Islamists and Bandits that plagued the nation. But it would take forces on the ground, not cruise missiles or airstrikes.
The claims of Christian persecution is myopic and one sided because every data and indices had shown that the core North, predominantly Muslims, suffers the brunt of both terrorists and bandits, but there appeared calls for a military base in Port Harcourt not in Zamfara or Katsina. It is an open secret, America wanted to open it’s AFRICOM center in Nigeria since Obasanjo days. Both Nigerian government and it’s people strongly opposed the idea and the reason why the center was located in Nigeria Republic.
Meanwhile, the wider Islamist threat in West Africa is growing with jihadists poised to seize the entire country of Mali, which has few Christians. Whether Trump has the desire or ability to address the bigger problem is highly doubtful.
Trump should be ashamed of himself as he openly backed the genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza, with policy, weapons and money for 2 years under his watch, which include Christians, yet making such noise about Nigeria, based on skewed and malicious data.
The Trump threat should be a wake up call for all Nigerians. The government need to wake up and face, headlong, the threat of both Islamists and Bandits. Not only with rhetorics for applause, as one video showed Tinubu declaring “We are not afraid of Trump’s threat”. He must ensure using pragmatic approach to the insecurity problem through wealth creation among the citizenry.
His administration had the opportunity of stopping subsidy that translated into huge revenues for government, yet they are still borrowing and the accrued revenues are lining elites pockets while poverty increases across the masses. Governors are spending recklessly on whims not investing and creating wealth.
Equitable redistribution of wealth is the greatest antidote and panacea for our security problems, as poverty made fertile and attracts unemployed youth into insurgency and bandity and kidnap. The threat is alarming as all shades of people are found culpable in the kidnapping business in the north. It is also challenging the food security, not only of the region but the entire country. We must refocus on agriculture and manufacture, our governors must invest there and shy away from the scramble of building bridge’s in metropolis while agriculture is dead.
The people must also unite and realize the dividing labels of “Christian” or “Muslim” are just convenient for our exploiters to use in furthering their agendas in perpetuating the divide among us they continue to rape our commonwealth. There is no difference between a poor man in Abakaliki or Azare, Bauchi or Bayelsa, Lafiya or Lagos, in Damaturu or Delta, in Yawuri or Yenogoa.
The recent Coup attempt, had it been successful, would have sent us backward in decades. Let the people rise and realize that democracy has given us opportunity to employ and sack our leaders and as long as we continue to have faith and build the system, one day we will reach the eldorado we hoped for. Let us not allow anything derail our peace, stability and democracy please.
- Sadiq writes from Kano and can be reached via aleesadeeq@gmail.com.