Nigeria: A country under severe siege
4 min read
Nigeria, the biggest country in Africa means a lot to many persons. As Africa’s biggest country, it is also Africa’s biggest problem. In the recent time, the country has been described by the following expressions, “a shithole country”, a “zoological republic”, “poverty capital of the world” and a “haven for terrorism.” From last week and beyond, the country has been witnessing one super tragic incident to another and there seems to be no end in the soonest time possible. Despite the usual kidnapping and burning of police stations especially in the South East part of the country, terrorists struck twice last week and shot sporadically on a train in motion, killing more than 8 persons and wounding some others in the Northern part of the country. As at press time last week, Some of the passengers who fell victim to the Abuja Kaduna rain terror attack were still on the missing list.
A week before the train terror attack, terrorists found way to Kaduna International Airport and in an another attack where at least, one man who is a security officer lost his life. The airport attack shocked Nigerians and several aviation workers to the extent that Azman Air Services Limited, immediately suspended its operations for some days pending when normalcy returns in the state.
Benue State also suffered heavily last week over terror attacks. local farmers were attacked by some headers leaving about 7 persons dead. As the attacks were going on, some fleeing villagers including women and children got drowned while trying to run to safety. The governor of the state in a reaction to the tragic incident, told his people to always rise and defend themselves against attackers.
The terror attacks in the country has continued to flourish in diverse ways and many persons have also fallen victim. Down to South East and South South Nigeria, kidnapping and burning of police stations by yet to be identified gunmen have continued and many communities are now living in deep fear especially during the night hours. The government especially the Federal Government under APC has continued to assure Nigerians that the terror attacks would soon be a thing of the past. In its way of fighting the terrorists and showing sympathy for the affected families, some top government officials and top military men visited the crime scenes where the attacks were carried out and promised that the perpetrators of the terror acts would be brought to book.
Despite the terror attacks, the country is undergoing a deep rooted state of anarchy. It is now about 8 weeks of fuel scarcity which has made the prices of goods and services to triple across the country. The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities ASUU is on strike which seems to have no end. The National Association of Nigerian Students which is a body that had the opportunity to play a mediating role is suffering from fragile leadership. When Gen Buhari visited London a couple of weeks ago for medical reasons, the education minister visited him in London to show his support and wish for a quick recovery. Today, Nigerian students are still at home.
In a country where things have gone so badly to this extent, it is the duty of the opposition party to prepare the consciousness of the people and draw support for their emergence. But too bad, the opposition PDP in the country is as good as a dead horse or a yet to be programmed computer. The masses who have been bearing the brunt of all these socio-political mishaps are indeed fed-up. There seems to be no clue on how to salvage the country under the leadership of Gen Buhari and his APC.
Many Nigerians have wondered what informs the position of the Federal Government which keeps telling Nigerians that the country has improved in terms of security. Lai Mohammed, the Information Minister told Nigerians last week that it is now safer to travel by Nigerian roads. It was that same week that most of the terror attacks against the armless people of the country took place.
With the present state of terrorism across the country today, many have argued that Nigerians should be allowed to be carrying arms to be defending themselves otherwise, the worst will soon happen. In the usual reaction of the Federal Government during the Federal Executive Council meeting last week, the president, service chiefs and other members of the group condemned the terror attacks and observed a minute silence for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives during the attacks. Top government officials including the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have visited those who sustained various degrees of injuries during the attacks in their various hospitals. Case closed.
