Nigeria: A nation hanging by the balance
By Akinleye Segun
The noises of a looming war on the global scene reached its highest crescendo when the sadistic short emperor with the crew cut from North Korea, who seem hell bent in plunging the whole world into another theater of destruction, tested a nuclear weapon, after launching many missiles, while the proverbial white cock from the White House, who doesn’t know his worth, is towing along the path of perdition with him.
On the home scene, the scenario is even worse. Our nation is more divided than we have ever been since independence. Hate speeches and provocative utterances have been flying around freely and the very thread that seems to hold us marginally together as a nation is at its breaking point.
The agitation of the separatist organization, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by Nnamdi Kanu took a drastic turn when his supporters clashed with men of the Nigerian Army. The result was few reported deaths, severe injuries, burning of a police station and the manhandling and dehumanization of some of his supporters who were stripped naked and made to lie in muddy waters by soldiers – in an act that has been criticized by various human rights organizations in the country.
The inevitable clash was only a matter of time after the FG moved troops to Nnamdi Kanu’s stronghold, Abia state, in what it termed “Operation Python Dance,” which was a barefaced show of intimidation that was meant to either frighten or provoke the agitators.
The recent discovery of another arms cache at the Lagos seaport, for the third time in 2017, is another worrisome development especially at a time like this, when the nation is on the verge of experiencing another civil unrest and with talks of 2019 elections already on the lips of stakeholders and the abundance of political jobbers in the country.
The fully loaded container of 1,100 pump action rifles from Turkey portrays a bad omen for Nigeria and Nigerians, a country with no real security measures. Killer herdsmen are known to carry out their deadly and devious acts unchallenged with AK -47s while kidnapping for ransom is also on the increase. The question now is who are those people behind such shipments of weapons into the country? Who is that person preparing for a war?
With the discovery, the total number of illegal arms seized at three different times this year is 2, 201, enough to start a mini-scale war in the wrong hands, which could escalate if not doused on time.
Things seem to have gradually fallen apart while the centre looks unperturbed and a huge uncertainty stares at Nigerians in the face. The hope that returned with the victory of PMB at the polls seems to have faded away like the transient harmattan that comes once a year.
The scenes of war ravaged nations and the destructions that follow with years of invisible scars ought to serve as lessons to the apostles of destruction signing the sad songs of war.
Syria is still enmeshed in its struggle and the devastation is enough to pause the hands beating the drums of war, to ruminate on its after effect on the nation, just like the Igbos, and the nation as a whole, are yet to fully heal from the devastating effects of the civil war that claimed over a million lives.
Nigeria is currently sitting on a time-bomb with the detonator in the hands of the Commander in Chief. He could choose to defuse the bomb by acting swiftly and decisively or he could linger and set off the bomb himself. With the economic situation in the country, the ASUU strike, the IPOB agitation, the incessant herdsmen attacks, the renewed attacks by Boko Haram, internal rift in APC and many other aimless distractions, the survival of Nigeria as a nation looks grimmer with each passing day.
The Buhari-led federal government cannot continue to play dumb to the lingering issues threatening the foundation of this nation. The longer he deters, the more the issues fester like a sore wound. He, the president, must operate within the ambit of law and decency. The clamor for restructuring, regionalism and referendum are salient issues that deafening silence or the use of brutal force cannot shut out.
A word is enough for the wise…
The views of the above article are those of the Author/s and not necessarily reflect the views of The BA Media, publishers of BA Daily News.
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