BOMB BLAST @ 50

I have waited all these days to be told that the whole story about the October 1, 2010 bomb blast was a dream or better still a firework display gone berserk. Of a truth, I have made some comments about it on facebook; those were just to represent my immediate reaction to events around me.
Now that it appears to be nothing but the truth, then I can in the first instance re-affirm my facebook comments and then take a step further to present my views on the blast as a concerned Nigerian.
To start with, I, and indeed, a lot of Nigerians especially those who follow international news on terrorism should by now know that it is not a new thing for terrorist groups to claim responsibility for certain acts. There is this tendency to claim responsibility for attacks on supposedly secured places. Beyond the fact that such claims reduce the confidence of the public on the security promises of the government involved, it also paints a wider-than-ever picture of the terrorist group.
For MEND to have therefore come forward to claim responsibility is a question of reinventing the wheel and an attempt to step up their status to a terrorist group. If you for whatever reason address them as such, I have nothing to argue about; but for me, they continue to be an over-pampered militia group made up of opportunists with misplaced priorities.
Given that they have now taken that infamous but atleast BOLD step within the Nigerian context, the least person that would come to say they didn't do it shouldn't have been the President of our dear country, Dr. Jonathan. E. Goodluck. He is not alone in this anyway, when Michael Jackson died on 25th of June, 2009, President of the United States, Barrack Hussein Obama was the first to rule out homicide long before the matter was investigated; but a thorough country he leads, homicide was actually confirmed though nobody, atleast for the much I know, held Obama for his premature submission.
I would have expected a serving president and an aspirant for the seat come 2011 to display some level of direction and leadership by ordering immediate investigation rather than taking brief for mercenaries.
His unpardonable goof takes two very serious dimensions. One, MEND claimed responsibility; Mr. President said they weren’t responsible. By implication, Mr. President is either telling us MEND is not as matured for such attacks or that they are too sophisticated to target a distant from Eagle Square. Maybe, the MEND he knows would have gone straight for the jugular, blow up the whole of Eagle Square!
Second, of what use are the retinue of aides and media assistances if he must say a word, especially on an issue that should be subjected to serious investigation. Our man just had to say something fast enough to get credit, just as he banned every “footballing” activity to pacify an irked nation after our appalling performance at the world cup. A performance, which in my opinion, is fallout of maladministration and lack of will.
It is now the word of Mr. President against that of our security outfits. How else does one explain the arrest of Henry Okah far away in South Africa, if Mr. President is so sure MEND did not carry out the bombings? Are our police at their games again?
For all I care, the series of allegations flying around do not really make any sense to me and I refuse to take part in any discussion that has to do with them.
My reason is strictly informed by the characters involved. Henry Okah, Raymond Dokpesi, Jonathan Goodluck, “People trying to sabotage government effort” (as christened by Mr. President), the Nigeria police and other security outfits. Whom amongst this can I vouch for? None!
It pains me to place Okah by our President, but what difference does it make if they are now both involved in the mud fight. Of course, you wouldn’t expect oppositions who have been looking for a way to discredit Mr. President’s already discredited election bid to keep quiet at a time like this. The current political culture calls for such, so I very well understand the words from the Atiku and IBB camp especially.
What would have impressed me as an individual is really not the immediate unmasking and/or arrest of the mindless criminals behind the attacks, that in the real sense, might never happen, but a statement from the security outfits, something like, a word coming from the head of the Nigeria police bomb squad. That would give me a feeling that my country is organized. I am not even sure the place was sealed off after the event or did the bomb squad visit the spot. If they did, what are the preliminary findings?
By now, we should have had an idea of what kind of bombs where used, where such bombs could be found in Nigeria and some Hollywood kind of reports you get after LAPD bomb squad visits a scene. These expectations truly sound Hollywood; my apologies to Mr. I. Ringim.
He doesn’t appear to head an outfit positioned for such.
One golden lesson to be learnt apart from the fact that Nigerian politicians would do everything to remain in power or get into power, is that we are a much disorganized nation that needs a well informed leadership structure to put things in the right order.
Another lesson, and on this one, I don’t mind standing alone, is that, outright amnesty was never a solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta region. The real symbols of the struggle wouldn’t have even needed anything amnesty, the Saro-Wiwas I mean. When a group of over-zealous and armed idle men get supports from rich untouchables to wreck havoc within some regions causing the country a lot of embarrassment and resources, are pacified with such blanket offer called amnesty, you shouldn’t expect anything short of this.
A more principled government would have instead attended to their real and genuine grievances of the Niger Delta people and ask the armed bandits to lay down arms with minimum punishments maybe; but what we have is an escapist leadership even under the late Yar’ adua. Till date, the demands have not been met and they are not likely to be met judging from the insatiable craze for wealth this armed business has opened for the militant groups, the larger than life status of their patrons, support from outside the country, dirty dealings of the multinationals and above all, the irresponsible stance of the Nigerian government in the face of providing basic amenities for her people.
I am pained by the fact that innocent people have once again, like always, being killed to score political points. While I wouldn’t have even wished death for any of these corrupt and unprincipled leaders, they just have to suffer for their misdeeds; it would have been a different story if the bomb exploded inside Eagle Square. A story of pythons swallowing pythons may not be hard to tell as against that of sharks eating up fingerlings that would be.
This and many more are the questions we need to ask a nation at 50. The wasteful spending are by the way; key security issues are far more pertinent and they in many ways question the so called celebrations.
We truly cannot place our country side by side USA and co, but would we, after a sober reflection on our past, say we have done too well. I don’t care what the histories of other countries are nor do I agree we have to follow the same torturous path these advanced countries followed before becoming what they are, what I care about is that my country should learn from the history of others and get things done properly.
These are my thoughts for this country at a time like this and always when the issues bothering on leadership crisis cross my mind. I am just one of very many good citizens of Nigeria who have a lot of hope in this country. Such hopes, I may not necessarily be alive to witness but let my children and grandchildren have a fair share of the better Nigeria I am hoping for now.
Take this as a parting teaser, if Mr. President is very sure, as he has claimed he is from Niger Delta and knows his people too well, that MEND didn’t orchestrate the bombing of Friday, October 1 as against the claims of MEND and security reports; I think he stands a chance, a good one at that, to tell us who did the bombing.
With these said, I am still very proud to be a Nigerian and also very sure we would get it right one day.
Proudly Nigerian!