By Christie Doyin
Happenings in the North Central states of Nigeria could best tell the harrowing pain of people in the Southern parts of Kaduna, which are mostly occupied by indigenous people of the Christian faith. While it is true that most parts of northern Nigeria are infiltrated, if not already taken over by terrorists and dissidents, the situation in most areas known as southern Kaduna is even more critical as cases of terrorists attacks resulting in large numbers of death are daily occurrences, so much so that there are several cases of plundering and outright wipe out of indigenes, male and female, irrespective of age.
It was Nelson Mandela that said “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity. To impose on them a wretched life of hunger and deprivation is to dehumanise them”.
Is there anything to deny or fault in the quotation above? Certainly nothing. The people of southern Kaduna have been denied several of their rights by both government and the attackers who launched violent and surprising attacks on these unsuspecting people who often go about their farm works and other businesses without provoking the attacks.
In an unfolding but trending scenario that had Mailafia Obadiah, who is a former deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and former African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, alleging that Boko Haram insurgents are plotting to start a civil war in Nigeria by 2022.
This he disclosed during an interview while speaking on the southern Kaduna killings. Obadiah also claimed that a Northern governor is the overall Commander of Boko Haram, Mailafia in the interview alleged that the Federal Government has a hand in the killings in Southern Kaduna.
When asked about the killing in Southern Kaduna, Obadiah said: “We have good reasons to believe that government is part and parcel of the killers. The body language of this administration shows clearly that they have a hand in the killings, no doubt about it”.
Mailafia said Boko Haram insurgents are also planning to invade and kill prominent Nigerians in their homes in urban cities. He claimed this would be done after they have wiped out Nigerians in the rural areas.
“Let me make some revelations because some of us have our internal security networks, we have met with some of the bandits high Commanders who have repented and they told us that one of the Northern governors is the Commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria.
He stressed further, “Boko Haram and bandits are one and the same, they have a sophisticated network, during the lockdown their planes were moving up and down with ammunitions, logistics, money and distributing them in different parts of the country.
“They are already in the rain forest of the South, they are everywhere. They told us that when they finish these rulers killings, they would move to phase two…”
In quick reaction to Mailafias allegations, the Department of States Security Services, DSS, invited him for questioning. However, Mailafia Obadiah, last Wednesday, after he was released by the DSS, stuck to his gun and refused to retract comments about a Northern Governor being Boko Haram’s leader.
The DSS allegedly detained him for questioning for over six hours in their Jos, Plateau State office.
On his claims, he said, “Yes, all of those words were made by me…
“This is not the time to disown what I said. Yes, I was privy to some very sensitive information which all statesmen are entitled to have by virtue of our public roles.
Mailafia added that “I must never give up on Nigeria, if need be, I will die for Nigeria.”
This actually is the point I am driving at that. Must we give up on bringing sanity and peace back to Nigeria? What our leaders are doing now are obvious signs that the leadership across board are only concerned about themselves and immediate family to the detriment of all of us.
In its own, the DSS speaking through its spokesperson, Peter Afunnya, stated that Mailafia’s comment was an indication that he was just playing to the gallery. He said in the statement that some elites are making desperate efforts to use their exalted positions to cause total breakdown of law and order.
Isn’t that a big one?
While going through the social media, I came across divergent opinion as regards this and was alarmed because it resonated my fear and brought to the fore my misgivings over time on the state of the nation and the likelihood of dire ripple effects if matters of this magnitude are not critically analysed and solution, I mean lasting solutions are not put in place.
Weighing the reaction of the National Chairman of Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, the mouthpiece of Niger-Delta people, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, retd as he called out President Muhammadu Buhari and all service chiefs to speak up on matters concerning Boko Haram, the realisation dawned that many Nigerians are no longer looking on ‘helplessly’ as hitherto done.
The issue of insecurity has taken a new and more directional turn. This became so when the Niger soldiers were able to intercept and arrest armed bandits trying to cross Niger into Nigeria. This came after an earlier decimation of the Boko haram by the Nigerine soldiers led by their president. If you don’t call this an indictment, I wonder what then is.
My take is that this should be of grave concern and reason for reflection for our security outfits.
The PANDEF chair said, “I think it is the President that has to answer the question himself because some of them (service chiefs) have tried to give answers in the past and did not answer the question.
“To get the volume of arms we are talking about, it must be at a higher level. So how did they pass into the country without the intelligence chiefs knowing about it, without the security people knowing about it? And if they did, did they report it, what action was taken, what is the government stand on it?
“So if some people believe that they will pass through their borders and nothing will happen and others believe that they should not pass through, then there is a problem.”
I want to take this as a case of “one man’s trash is another person’s treasure”.
It is pertinent to note that the southern Kaduna killing has to a large extent shown that the genocide type of massacres going on there may not have been without some kind of supports from powers that be. The killings overtime has infiltrated to the southern part of the country and as observed by Mailafia and others, Nigeria may not find it easy as time goes on.
As typical of Nigerians in more recent times, I place our hope for succour and peace on God.
*Doyin writes from Ilorin via e-mail: [email protected]
