THE LABOUR OF OUR HEROES PAST SHALL BE VAIN
Technically, Nigeria is at war. The senseless killings have become a daily occurrence. In reality, no day that passes without brutal, vicious and coldblooded murder of unsuspecting members of the public. North, south, east, and west, the story is the same. This cruel act is perpetrated by marauding militia herders and their accomplices, kidnappers, Boko Haram, bandits, cult groups, military/security rascality as well as other agents of crime and criminality.
The current state of insecurity in Nigeria is likened to what promoted the civil war of 1966-1970. There are big questions here: Who is fighting who? What is the motive? To what end? Who are the perpetrators? The big issue is that almost everyone is confused, because to say the least, the “center can no longer hold.”
What is happening in Nigeria security-wise is baseless criminality, trigged by ignorance or lack of rationality, religious bigotry, unemployment, cheap sentiments, corruption, bad leadership, man’s innate evil heart, wickedness, selfishness, clannishness, name it. The variables are too many. The consequence is chaos and anarchy reflected in the senseless bloodshed. This unfortunate situation can be blamed on both leadership and followership, past and present. The current situation was avoidable, with the handwriting on the wall in crystal clear print.
The truth is that we have continued to drag on smokescreens. Fact remains that in whatever form, crises are sources of income and a means for scoring cheap political points/propaganda. This goes to prove why the current security architecture in the country is helpless so far. The political will to fight these crimes against humanity is lame and questionable as it is the fault of members of the political who have continued to shield these vicious terrorists, who by the way, do not fall from the sky but are integral part of the society.
Nigeria have joined the league of countries where fallen regimes gave rise to endless crises; Chad, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran among others. These countries are notorious and synonymous with countless wars. In a recent report released by terrorist watch groups, Nigeria is ranked third. A country brought together by British idea (amalgamation) must be proactive in stemming the tide.
If the leadership of this country is sincere, it is high time we started making high profile arrest to serve as deterrent. Some of these attacks have sponsors who publicly claimed responsibility. Why are they not arrested? Again, in the days of modern forensic gadgets, it is unfortunate that this cliché -“the perpetrators will be brought to book” is what we hear from the leadership quarters. This is dishonest as it is a show of irresponsibility and a display of incapacity.
Posterity has a long eye. Therefore, all of us must come together and preserve the unity of the land for our children and our grand children. One message of peace from everyone can travel far and wide. It is obvious that the leadership has failed or it is not doing enough for the safety of lives and property, which is the primary responsibility of government. If we cannot protect Nigeria, then we had better compose another National Anthem. In reality the labour of our heroes past shall be in vain, if we all fail to do the needful. Nigeria belongs to all of us. Only the living can make a change. This is a clarion call!
