On Christmas Day, 25th of December2009, the world was shocked to the news of 23 years old Nigerian al Qaeda trained terrorist attempt to ignite an explosive device in a Northwest Airlines Flight 253 plane from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan after shouting about Afghanistan. The explosive materials had apparently been sewn into his underwear. People where more shocked to learn that the alleged suicide bomber is a mechanical engineer, a graduate of University of London (UCL); and the prestigious British International College in Lome, Togo.
Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, was indeed a privileged son of a very influential Nigerian technocrat. Typically, one would think that suicide bombers are uneducated very vulnerable people who have nothing to loose. Many concerned Nigerians and friends of Nigerians, especially the hard working professionals and students in various parts of the world were extremely appalled and disgusted at this infamous act due to the knowledge of the consequences to the already battered image of Nigeria and Nigerians particularly the issues of advance free fraud popularly called 419 and corruption which they have to live with unfortunately. Even the Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, described the incident as embarrassing and likely to further damage the already battered Nigerian image in the international community.
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As a consequence, there have been conceited efforts by the Nigerian government and some very much concerned Nigerians to salvage the good image of their dear nation, through condemnation and disassociations. A social networking website, Face book, has a group, with the title,” we condemn Umar Farook Abdulkarim, Nigerians are not terrorist” as of today (31st December, 2009) the group has a total number of 49,463 members including yours faithfully. Ironically, different acts of terrorism, killings, maiming and destructions of properties which apparently are acts of terrorism are everyday happenings in Nigeria without much ado; there are no public outcries. The questions therefore is, why the shock with this particular incident? Didn’t we see this coming?
Is terrorism in Nigeria not a commonplace? Or is terrorism and acts of terror more unlawful when it is on international scale or directed to foreign nationals and countries? Are we totally indifference to the faith of certain group of people, particularly the so called minorities, the ordinary Nigerian? As of present time, there is no known internationally agreed definition of terrorism, however, terrorism, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion, in other words, terrorism is the use of violence and threat to achieve religious, political, ethnical and idealogical significance and aims. It is therefore very surprising and to say the least hypocritical, to see the level of shock and bewildment by many and the Nigerian government on the recent terrorist act by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab.
The high level of armed robbery and kidnappings in various parts of Nigeria, particularly the southern Nigeria, are to say the least appalling; while foreign nationals, expatriates and politicians has police and military escorts to their beck and call. Are the Nigerian police and the federal security outfits not meant to serve, secure and protect all Nigerians, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, stature or political affiliations? Further, the Amnesty International has maintained that the police in Nigeria are involved in hundreds of extra judicial killings, and only those that have money to bribe their ways out are spared of torture and safety from execution. Let us not remind ourselves of the horror of the numerous brutal invasions of the police and the military in the Niger Delta regions, both during Obasanjo and the present administration, these as well, has left countless innocent Nigerians dead, paralyzed and if they are extremely lucky homeless, yet, numerous Nigerians are not blinking an eyelids, the president is not loosing sleep, and there are no investigations nor holistic programs to bring to an end to these terrorism acts. Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallib, a devout Muslim, was driven by his religious belief; apparently he was radicalized by al Qaeda, and was convinced to cause an act of terror on United State of America (USA), the almost 300 passengers and crew aboard the transatlantic flight. This has led to a world wide condemnations and denials by majority of Nigerians and the Nigerian government as well.
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Truth be told, we have all refused to accept the harsh reality on ground; al-Quaeda and extremism is real in Nigeria. In less than two years, we have had numerous religious crisis in northern Nigeria, the recent Boko Haram crisis left more than 300 hundred Nigerians dead including their leader Mohammed Yusuf and their alleged sponsor and financier, Alhaji Buji Foi, strangely, Foi was a Commissioner for Religious Affairs during the first term of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, and before then, he had served twice as Chairman of Kaga Local Council, among other top public offices in the state. Just last week, in Zango, Bauchi state another religious crisis erupted and left more than 38 people dead (Including their leader, Mallam Badamasi) and numerous properties were destroyed by the Islamic religious sect, kala kato . In a related development in Plateau state this week, the Plateau State government has dispelled worries that there were plans to bomb some Christian centres, however, the confirmation came from the state Police Commissioner, Atiku Yusuf Kafur, who also said that 20 suspects made up of nine adults and 11 minors have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The list goes on. It is therefore high time we searched our conscience as individuals and as a nation, it was Shehu Usman Dan Fodiyo the founder of Sokoto caliphate (1754-1816), that said, I quote “conscience is an open wound and only truth can heal”. It is rather very shameful that the government and security agencies in Nigeria where less bothered by the impending doom, despite being informed by Umar Farouk AbdulMutallib’s father, Dr Mutallib, a former CEO/Chairman of Nigerian banks, a Federal Government Minister and a leader of Presidential Committee. Despite all the leads, the panty bomber was able to pass through all the security checks at the MMA Lagos with his bomb unrestrained. I reckon they didn’t envisage that the terrorism act will be on an international scale; otherwise they would have made use of all necessary governmental powers to stop it. If there was a bombing or bomb attempt in any part of Nigeria that did not affect oil and gas facilities, it wouldn’t have generated this much publicity; hence, this might be a blessing in disguise, hopefully, from now on the government and international community will take a closer interest in Nigeria security operations and intelligence. Terrorism and various acts of terrorism are real in Nigeria, and it still amazes me why the whole country is in denial. Hopefully, our dear brother master Umar Farouk AbdulMutallib has given us a wake up call, God bless Nigeria!!
Emmanuel S Emelogu Institute for Innovation, Design, and Sustainability (IDEAS), The Robert Gordon University Aberdeen, UK
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