By: Alex Ehimhantie Aidaghese
The day we lost the fight against Bandits who are operating with enthusiastic fervor in some parts of Northern Nigeria was the day they invaded the Nigerian Defense Academy, unchallenged. They came, they conquered, killed, and went away with the military officers they came for.
A few days later, a video emerged of one of the officers, being dragged along on the ground and tortured to death. And close to a year after the successful invasion, there is no public record of any arrest or prosecution of any of the culprits involved. If the Nigerian Armed Forces can’t take action to protect their own, who can they protect? A very difficult question to ask.
The successful invasion of the NDA campus and the failure of the Nigerian Armed Forces to declare war on the group and prosecute every one of them involved in the attack made the bombardment of the Kaduna Airport in broad daylight possible.
To invade a busy airport and physically restrain an aircraft that was about to take off from taking off and no commensurate land or air bombardment was initiated by the Nigerian Armed Forces to apprehend every participant in the attack is not only unpatriotic but criminal. And the fact that no one was fired by the Presidency or asked to resign, did not only send a message to the bandits that they are above the law, but they are untouchable.
If the perpetrators are foreign Fulani terrorists as we have been told, how come they dare to execute in Nigeria at the level of the mayhem that they cannot dare in Senegal, Mali, or the Republic of Niger? The fact that Nigeria is supposedly Militarily superior to those countries makes the whole saga monumental suspense. And that is “The President Buhari Factor.” A factor that is incentivizing, to wit, Nigeria is a failed nation-state and a fertile ground for all you Fulani wannabe terrorists to invade and laugh your way to the bank.
The President Buhari Security Team and Cabinet Members should wake up, this is more than tribal affiliation. The President has lost it, and no one is safe, be you Muslim, Christian, Animist, Fulani, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Kanuri, Ijaw, or Esan. When they invaded the Kaduna Airport, they didn’t care about the look, mark, name, or tribe of the occupant of the aircraft. In a similar vein, when they bombed the Abuja-bound train, they didn’t want to know the last name or geography of the occupants.
Besides, his family members are no longer in Nigeria. He has nothing to lose; he has fulfilled his life-long ambition to be the civilian President of Nigeria and has stockpiled the wealth that can sustain his generations for eternity. You could have been a passenger on that train the day of the attack. Don’t let him hoodwink you again and again with his ethnic card. Enough of the gullibility. Northerners need help, we all need help.
Only in Nigeria that Fulani terrorists can send a letter or message to the Head of a community to alert them of their planned invasion and warn them that they can only forestall the attack if they pay a specified sum of money upfront. We have seen videos of the victims of such extortions, weeping every day, lamenting how they’ve met the condition, but only for the terrorist to renege on their promise not to attack. How can a people be so helpless in a country governed by a retired Military General? And that is the crux of the matter – The Buhari Factor, dangerous as it is, is tearing Nigeria apart.
If the President is not watching the news or reading newspapers, what about the Minister of Information? Also, if the President is not aware of the egregious nature of the various attacks, is his National Security Adviser or the Chief of Staff not following the news? If the President is receiving appropriate security briefing but is unwilling to take commensurate measures, how come there is no resignation from his cabinet?
Is every one of you in that cabinet a terrorist sympathizer? Or just too greedy and too selfish to quit? Our Inability to be decisive and be proactive at best in accordance with the circumstances we face is, directly and indirectly, incentivizing terrorism and bandits’ exploits in Northern Nigeria. Our actions and inactions create in them a sense of invincibility. Here, I must give kudos to Governor El-Rufai. He has been very adamant in his opposition to our using money to buy peace and loyalty to the state from the Bandits. He has told us over and over again not to treat them with kid gloves. Where are we today?