Nigeria’s macabre dance with terror

• • Our beloved country  is in a state of war. Pure and simple.  The sooner we recognise and accept this reality and deal with it precisely and squarely,  within  the dictates of the constitution, the better for us as a people. The truth is we have deceived ourselves far too long and the effect is beginning to tell on our statistics,  as we continually drift away from the highway of reason into the edge of perdition. Statistics, after all  do not lie. The gory details, I daresay  are everywhere on our national dashboard. 
  • How long do we masturbate terror?  How long do we continue this macabre dance with terrorists, brigands and their ilks? How long do we confront this evil with kid’s gloves? Don’t forget, the singular objective of these human sharks prowling our landscape with impunity is to bring down the roof over our heads, and to put asunder the finer lines of our brotherhood. While we prevaricate and dilly dally in neutralising the fire power of  the terror merchants, they seem to grow in leaps and bounds, they become more brazing and daring, expanding their tentacles beyond the forests and the ungoverned spaces including new frontiers such as airports, rail lines and highways.
  • The truth is we cannot obviate the fact that Nigeria is under seige. Neither can we veil the gnawing truth that we are in a dire strait on account of our precarious existential paradigm. Except, perhaps we indulge, as usual to disambiguate the present whimsical trajectory. Otherwise the ominous tell tale signs staring us rudely  in the face are unambiguously frightening. 
    Indeed, it is safe to assume and rightly so, that the terrorists have crossed the rubicon into the zone  of war. Yet we feign ignorance of the drum beats of war reverberating in the North East, North West,  North Central,  South East, South West, and South South.  Our leaders,  sustained by the commonwealth of the people are shamelessly unperturbed by the increasing wave of violence across the nation. They take delight in breaching the social contract entered with the people.
  • The hostilities have malicious stalled our growth and development. Yet those at the helm of affairs, deign to touch off the mechanism that hopefully should annul the advance of the terrorists as they move unhindered from one axis to another across the country.
  • Without being uncharitable, the situation in our nation is haemorrhagic. Besides, the economy that is in perpectual stupor, defying all known prognosis, as shown by the managers of our economy, the socio-political landscape is equally prostrate. No thanks to a combination of factors conspiring to choke the nation by denying it of oxygenation.  As I write this piece, the country is going through some difficult challenges including inflation, unemployment, scarcity of foreign exchange, lack of fuel, insecurity, non availability of top notch health facilities, widespread  darkness, poverty, ritual killings, terror attacks, hunger and so on.
  • In this parlous environment, infested as it were by the corona virus on the one hand, and  man-made viruses such as corruption, injustice, mismanagement,  nepotism and ineptitude on the other,  there seemed no end to distressful news. We are constantly fed with a daily dose of horrific homicidal activities perpetuated by terrorists, ritualists  and bandits
  • Now that we seemingly share brotherhood with Mogadishu, a practical example of a  failed state, may be this will jolt our leaders to act fast, and consistently, at least to save the nation from collapse. That’s the least they owe the hapless, helpless masses who have been dwarfed by the inglorious policies of government.  This union must not be allowed to capitulate as a result of the horrific attacks by men of the underworld. It’s about time we all come together to fight these sons of Bezelbub. To add insult to injury, we hear many of the terrorists are none Nigerians. They are nationals of French speaking West African countries. What a cheek? In my fatherland? We must stand up to defend our country. Now or never.
  • Only last Monday night, the terrorists stepped up their  game by intercepting a Kaduna bound train by bombing the rail lines just 20 kilometres to its destination.  At the end of the tragic encounter, no fewer than 8 persons were reportedly  killed and over 26 persons received gun shot wounds.  Meanwhile, countless other commuters were adopted by the dare devil terrorists. 
  • Forty eight hours before that attack, the terrorists invaded the preccints of the Kaduna international airport, killing one security guard on the runway. In the same vein, they also decimated the rail station in kaduna leaving sorrow, tears and blood as a mark of their visit. Zaria has also been under siege. The situation in southern Kaduna is no longer news. In Zamfara State scores of villages are ramdomly ransacked at will. So it is with Niger State. It was reported that many of the villagers who could not the constant onslaught have vacate their ancestral homes in the wake of the attacks.
    It has been confirmed that a female medical doctor, Chinelo and some Trade union Congress members also lost their lives in the tragic incident. No doubt, the dreams of these young persons were cut short because of the sloppy attitude of our care takers who have been  morphed into undertakers. No amount of lamentations by the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi would  excuse him from blame. Unfortunately.
  • President Mohammadu Buhari, we abjure must be decisive in his actions. He should go beyond his honed rhetorics by ensuring a lasting solution is found to the menace of banditry and terrorism. In saner climes both the minister of transportation and the national security adviser, Babagana Munguno would been relieved of their appointments. Even the service chiefs should be shown the door. It was reported that they got wind of the attack, yet they failed to take proactive steps to forestall the incident. Enough of the kinetic polemics touted by the service chiefs.   We need to deploy technology in fighting high calibre crimes, not theoretical rhetorics. We must win this war, afterall the terrorists Abdul bandits are less than five hundred persons. How is it difficult to crush them through carpet bombing of their camps and cells in the forest. Government must block their supply chains. They way they will be starved of food and weapon supplies. Their sponsors must also be brought to book. This not the time to shield anybody, every criminal element in our shores must be made to face trials as demanded by the constitution of the country.
  • What seemed far fetched a decade ago has gradually become a common place. We must not allow terrorism to fester. Otherwise, very soon we shall be at the receiving end of terror attacks.
    This is my stand
  • Thomas Thomas Ebikabowei Peretu A social commentator and political analyst
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