By Ikechukwu Amaechi
Published: December 27, 2011
This, no doubt, is one of Nigeria’s bloodiest Christmas. In well coordinated attacks, three churches were bombed on Sunday, the second Christmas in a row that Boko Haram was causing carnage at Christian houses of worship. Ironically, Christmas is a season of love, peace and goodwill.
And what is worse? The terror merchants sent out word two weeks ago that they would bomb churches in Abuja and Jos on Christmas day. They promised to make Christians gnash their teeth in agony this Yuletide. And they did, almost effortlessly. That should not have been. An Igbo adage says a pre-arranged war does not consume the cripple. But this is not the case here. The security agencies were caught flat-footed when the Boko Haram came calling.
The attacks, particularly the one at St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, a satellite town about 40 kilometres from Abuja, were intended to cause maximum damage. And they did. More than 25 people, who went to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, were massacred. Among the dead were three policemen. Many more were injured, most of them critically. Over 30 cars were burnt and ten houses, including the church building, were destroyed.
Murderers took the merry out of the Christmas and replaced it with blood, tears and sorrow. A family of five, already seated in their Mercedes Benz car, burnt to death. As one of the surviving worshippers poignantly noted, “The peace that comes with Christmas has been desecrated. The joy of the birth of Christ has turned to tears and death of believers. How can anybody do this on a Christmas Day?”
This, indeed, is the question that must concentrate everybody’s mind. How can anybody even contemplate such horrendous carnage, not to talk of executing it? It does not matter what cause the perpetrators of this heinous crime think they are fighting. It simply does not make sense.
In Jos, Plateau State, the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church was equally attacked. One policeman was killed and several cars burnt. And in Gadaka town of Yobe State, a church was also attacked; many worshippers were wounded. In Damaturu, a suicide bomber killed four officials at the State Security Service (SSS). Residents heard two loud explosions and gunfire in the town. The Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, had already claimed responsibility. And its members are gloating. They said they would do it and they did.
Nigeria is technically in a state of war. Or how else can anyone explain the revelation contained in a keynote address delivered at the 63rd anniversary of the World Human Rights Day 2011 that over 54,000 Nigerians have been killed extra-judicially since the return of democracy in 1999?
And what is the government of President Goodluck Jonathan doing? Preachments! Jonathan would want Nigerians to go about their normal businesses. He claims to be on top of the situation. His Security Adviser, General Owei Azazi, claims the government has recorded significant successes against the extremist group. Unfortunately, what we see is a Boko Haram that has become more sophisticated and audacious. His claim flies on the face of reality.
At best, Jonathan’s reaction to the carnage could be described as indifference. This, as General Muhammadu Buhari rightly observed, is an abysmal failure of leadership. Coming at a time the government needs to reassure the traumatized citizenry of its capacity to guarantee the safety of lives and property, this is tragic, to say the least.
The primary responsibility of the government as enshrined in Section 14(2) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) is to ensure the security and wellbeing of the citizens. On this score, the government has failed woefully. Many government officials insist that the spiraling violence is the antics of those who want to destabilize Jonathan’s government by making the country ungovernable. That may well be true. But how can that claim, even if it is true, comfort distressed Nigerians who are now living in the Hobbessian State of nature where life is nasty, short and brutish? How does that assuage the anxiety of the common man in this war of attrition?
Buhari’s claim that Nigeria lacks competent leaders to tackle its security problems is spot on. It has become almost a tradition now that the Nigerian government would be the last to react to the gruesome murder of innocent citizens within its borders. As Buhari noted, if not for leadership failure, why would the government speak only after foreign countries like Britain and Vatican had spoken?
Even when Jonathan spoke, there was no anger; instead, he was smiling, almost apologetic. The attacks were “unfortunate,” he said, urging Nigerians to exercise patience because Boko Haram “would not be around forever. It will end one day.” That is not the statement expected from a Commander-in-Chief to a people that are distressed and looking for re-assurance. What if the Boko Haram refuses to go away? How supine can a leadership get?
The assault on St Theresa’s Catholic Church should be a wake-up call. It is one gruesome assault on vulnerable citizens too many. It calls for national emergency. There must be national discussion. The President should deploy the same level of resources he is using in trying to convince Nigerians to accept fuel subsidy removal in rallying Nigerians round a national consensus on the menace of Boko Haram.
There is every reason for Nigerians to be worried. The country is gradually being dragged into a sectarian war and I doubt if it will survive. So far, the battle has been restricted to the North. But one needs not be a Nostradamus to predict that sooner than later, those who have acted with so much impunity, with little or no repercussion at all, may want to stretch their luck by attempting to market their lethal wares down South. When that happens, those of us here who are indifferent because of the very wrong assumption that what is happening up North is a matter of Northerners killing themselves will appreciate the wisdom in the saying that injury to one is injury to all. Our collective human essence is grossly debased whenever merchants of death callously murder innocent citizens.
But even if the attacks are limited to the North, targeting places of worship for Christians is a dangerous trend.What happened in Madalla was a deliberate assault on Christians by Moslems. Sooner than later, something will give. It is easy to plead with Christians not to be provoked into reprisal actions or revenge attacks. But that appeal can only be heeded if the people are convinced that the government is doing something to protect them. Right now, there is nothing to show, all pretensions to the contrary notwithstanding, that government is on top of the security situation.
If the people lose confidence in the ability of the state to protect them, they will definitely resort to self-help. That will be the beginning of the end for this luckless country.
If the Boko Haram can still strike with ease as it did last Sunday, it then means that security situation is still lax. To make matters worse, the Federal Government is not treating this problem with the seriousness it deserves. The level of brutality displayed by these murderers is un-Nigerian. There is every reason to believe that some, if not most, of the purveyors of this violence are not Nigerians.
The country’s borders, particularly in the North are very porous and mostly unsecured. What is the government doing to secure these borders? Most governors in the North have relationships with Arab countries that are highly detrimental to the country. If it is easy for terrorists to sneak in and out of the country, how can we successfully fight terrorism? What is the government doing to review our relationship with these hostile neighbouring countries from where these merchants of death are recruited?
The augury is becoming starker.
