Usually I would start a post by explaining certain concepts. Not today. I'm not even in the mood to pretend that I can keep ignoring the news of the terrifying things happening around me. For many months now, we have been watching with growing unease, the steady, calculated spread of violence permeating across northern Nigeria. As I have written elsewhere, the religious bullying by radical Muslims has not reared it's ugly head for the first time. Over the years, the government has consistently shown immense hesitation to take the side of civil freedoms and send a clear signal to one religion that Nigeria is not a one-religion state and that they are not above the law.
At the time when I wrote about that, part of me died. It died because by nature I am the least tribalized person you would ever meet. I am the least religious as well and have many non-Christian friends who I love dearly. And by professional training, I also am the least biased especially when I am not armed with all the facts. And this is the sole reason why I have refrained from writing my thoughts about the spread of boko haram ever since. I, like a lot of other people, was deceived into thinking that in accordance with their proclaimed goal, their greivance stemmed solely from the elections that saw the present administration in power (and to avenge their leaders death). As a lot of people did, I hoped that it was a monster that was released by aggrieved politicians hoping to make the country un-governable. And as such, it was government's problem that would be resolved the "MEND" way (i.e. Reward criminal behaviour by paying them to stop breaking the law)
As the days go by, it has become more and more apparent that this problem is not a government problem. It is becoming even clearer that at some point, when people that you know are attacked and killed in the night for no other reason than that they do not profess the Islamic faith, the question will cease to be why boko haram is here, but why we should not let them continue to be. I do not understand armed struggle, considering that Nigeria has been at relative peace for most of my life, uneasy peace yes, but peace still. As such I do not claim to understand the passion with which people will lay down their lives for a cause they believe in. But I understand this: that if Christians continue to turn the other cheek every single day under the pretence that radical Islam is targeting the government and we just so happen to be in the way, there will be no cheek to turn in the very near future.
I am not advocating a revolution, violence or break down of law and order (this achieves nothing from experience and often only replaces the bad with the worse -ask egypt)and I am aware that there have been casualties on both sides (bombs don't exactly demarcate between Muslims and others before exploding). I am aware that the northern religious leaders have half-heartedly (almost comical if you ask me) come out to distance themselves from the spate of killings, but thats all they've done. Suddenly, going to church on a Sunday could mean the end of your life...in a country that guarantees constitutional freedoms of worship. Over 200 recorded deaths over a few months, of hapless unarmed people raising their voice of supplication to God for the sake of the same country that cannot protect them. Just a few days ago, a bomb reportedly went off in front of a nightclub in Abuja. And I'm sure hardline Muslims are secretly happy to see that Nigeria is "returning to the path of faith" where everyone would feel safer in a mosque and where any social hangouts are clearly an invitation to death. And so where do I see boko haram going with this? A complete institutionalisation of Islam as the official religion in Nigeria. Pure and simple. When zamfara state started it years ago, all voices of reason were drowned by the then president whose only response to the unconstitutionality of that move, was that it was a phase that would pass. Apparently not.
But this all doesn't concern you does it? I mean, you live in lekki anyways and you work in ikoyi and vacation in the UK. You're probably right, you're very safe. Infact,worse case scenario, you move to the UK should the country become completely chaotic and we can't function as a result of gun shots and bombs going off everywhere as is the case in kaduna. But I hope you have factored in your old mother,yes the one on pension, and your sisters four children. I hope you have made plans for your grandpa who is too old to travel...because when the real demands start being made, when your sister has to cover her head to leave the house and is no longer allowed to drive, when your daughter is not allowed to go out unaccompanied by a male relative, when you cannot wear your designer clothes and have to worship in your neighbours house for fear of persecution, it will dawn on you that if this plays out wrong, you will indeed be affected.
I will end by saying that Nigeria has had the good fortune of always having a turn around at every point when the country got to the edge of doom. We have survived a civil war, the dreaded Anini, terrifying dictators and military coups. We lived through the structural adjustment program and bird flu. Yes, this all has left us content with using faith and hope as a strategy while chanting that "God loves Nigeria" every Sunday by way of self-delusion. The truth however is, that even those who have died in air crashes, reprisal attacks and bombs, were no less loved by the Almighty than Nigeria is. If we do nothing, God's love will remain true as we face the consequences head on.
Nuff said.
At the time when I wrote about that, part of me died. It died because by nature I am the least tribalized person you would ever meet. I am the least religious as well and have many non-Christian friends who I love dearly. And by professional training, I also am the least biased especially when I am not armed with all the facts. And this is the sole reason why I have refrained from writing my thoughts about the spread of boko haram ever since. I, like a lot of other people, was deceived into thinking that in accordance with their proclaimed goal, their greivance stemmed solely from the elections that saw the present administration in power (and to avenge their leaders death). As a lot of people did, I hoped that it was a monster that was released by aggrieved politicians hoping to make the country un-governable. And as such, it was government's problem that would be resolved the "MEND" way (i.e. Reward criminal behaviour by paying them to stop breaking the law)
As the days go by, it has become more and more apparent that this problem is not a government problem. It is becoming even clearer that at some point, when people that you know are attacked and killed in the night for no other reason than that they do not profess the Islamic faith, the question will cease to be why boko haram is here, but why we should not let them continue to be. I do not understand armed struggle, considering that Nigeria has been at relative peace for most of my life, uneasy peace yes, but peace still. As such I do not claim to understand the passion with which people will lay down their lives for a cause they believe in. But I understand this: that if Christians continue to turn the other cheek every single day under the pretence that radical Islam is targeting the government and we just so happen to be in the way, there will be no cheek to turn in the very near future.
I am not advocating a revolution, violence or break down of law and order (this achieves nothing from experience and often only replaces the bad with the worse -ask egypt)and I am aware that there have been casualties on both sides (bombs don't exactly demarcate between Muslims and others before exploding). I am aware that the northern religious leaders have half-heartedly (almost comical if you ask me) come out to distance themselves from the spate of killings, but thats all they've done. Suddenly, going to church on a Sunday could mean the end of your life...in a country that guarantees constitutional freedoms of worship. Over 200 recorded deaths over a few months, of hapless unarmed people raising their voice of supplication to God for the sake of the same country that cannot protect them. Just a few days ago, a bomb reportedly went off in front of a nightclub in Abuja. And I'm sure hardline Muslims are secretly happy to see that Nigeria is "returning to the path of faith" where everyone would feel safer in a mosque and where any social hangouts are clearly an invitation to death. And so where do I see boko haram going with this? A complete institutionalisation of Islam as the official religion in Nigeria. Pure and simple. When zamfara state started it years ago, all voices of reason were drowned by the then president whose only response to the unconstitutionality of that move, was that it was a phase that would pass. Apparently not.
But this all doesn't concern you does it? I mean, you live in lekki anyways and you work in ikoyi and vacation in the UK. You're probably right, you're very safe. Infact,worse case scenario, you move to the UK should the country become completely chaotic and we can't function as a result of gun shots and bombs going off everywhere as is the case in kaduna. But I hope you have factored in your old mother,yes the one on pension, and your sisters four children. I hope you have made plans for your grandpa who is too old to travel...because when the real demands start being made, when your sister has to cover her head to leave the house and is no longer allowed to drive, when your daughter is not allowed to go out unaccompanied by a male relative, when you cannot wear your designer clothes and have to worship in your neighbours house for fear of persecution, it will dawn on you that if this plays out wrong, you will indeed be affected.
I will end by saying that Nigeria has had the good fortune of always having a turn around at every point when the country got to the edge of doom. We have survived a civil war, the dreaded Anini, terrifying dictators and military coups. We lived through the structural adjustment program and bird flu. Yes, this all has left us content with using faith and hope as a strategy while chanting that "God loves Nigeria" every Sunday by way of self-delusion. The truth however is, that even those who have died in air crashes, reprisal attacks and bombs, were no less loved by the Almighty than Nigeria is. If we do nothing, God's love will remain true as we face the consequences head on.
Nuff said.
Comments
P.S. There is a teeny weeny typo in ur piece(last line, 2nd to d last paragraph) 'it will dawn on you...' (sorry i had to go Piers Morgan on you)
Though its really scary. I read some newspaper were Boko Haram was said to be one of the three biggest terrorist groups in Africa or was it the world sef? I catch cold