We are all Owo, waiting to happen

 As distraction from the catastrophe enveloping the nation, our pre-occupation with the electoral process conveys the wrong impression of a nation worth aspiring to lead. Before the gavel dropped, there were 40 aspirants in all. Twenty-three from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and 17 from its major opponent, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). While the PDP has found a flag bearer, horse-trading would have produced one for the ruling party by the time this is published.

The pivotal question that the politicians have refused to answer so far is – a blueprint to tackle the enclosing insecurity in Nigeria. As a virtual citizen, no candidate has given a hint or provided sufficient understanding of the dynamics of insecurity. Yet nothing matters more than having a safe and secure nation. There is no development without security.

As we debate an aspirant playing God and expecting worship in return, another catastrophe has enveloped us – the Owo church tragedy in Ondo State. Early Sunday morning, terrorists ambushed a church service and unleashed unconscionable mindless violence on unsuspecting worshipers. The attack is gruesome and horrendous. It is cruel and callous, as it had no respect for women, children or the hoary haired.

Sadly, terrorists do not follow conventional rules of engagement in their war against the innocent. They leave us with innuendo because Owo had no notable presidential aspirant. Its son, Rotimi Akeredolu, is the governor of the state and the security outfit Amọtẹkun was launched in the state. While it is dishearteningly disturbing how people hoped to fight AK-47 and other sophisticated weapon-wielding terrorists with Dane guns, charms and amulets, the goat of national security has been pushed to the wall.

In a world where others are going to the moon and changing the trajectory of human progress, we are a prayer-and-curse believing nation whose citizens are coerced with stomach infrastructure to elect figure-head political leaders who receive jumbo salaries and direct the people to pray for solutions to their peculiar problems. Surely a people get the leadership befitting its level of development.

Before the Owo attack, the FCT suffered its second human tragedy in less than a month. A mob killed a man for alleged blasphemy in Lugbe on the outskirts of Abuja. This victim is not a Deborah Samuel, but Ahmad Usman. A threat to one is a threat to all.

When Deborah was murdered, none of the 43 plum aspirants wrote a line in condemnation. They were trying not to offend the sensibility of the mob whose votes they covet even though they know it wouldn’t count. In that incident, we had the unravelling of a tragedy of a failed state where people believe that their belief system is supreme to the law, the courts and the constitution. In Nigeria, the mob is a cousin of the terrorist; they both operate without fear from the law.

Abuja used to be a safe city. Designed with military barracks surrounding the seat of power. The Guards Brigade in Keffi is less than 30-minute drive from Abuja. The simulacrum of Abuja as a safe and secure state capital is a mirage unravelling. Fact is, Kaduna is taken; fiefdoms are established across Niger State, the Plateau is conquered, Benue is taken and Nasarawa is a walkover as Kogi is left open.

These are the states that bound the Federal Capital Territory – it is an area where terror reigns unchallenged day or night.

With this, the notion of a safe and secure capital city only exists in the eyes of the less than one per cent who make it their relaxation spot conscious that the security squad established to secure a whole society safeguards them. Nobody is secure in an insecure state. Unfortunate as it is, the victims at the receiving end hail their oppressors, fight for them and would, if the opportunity presents itself, kill their ilk to demonstrate their loyalty.

Nigeria is like a nation suffering from terminal cancer whilst treating necrotizing fasciitis. Terrorists breeze in and out of their caverns, using our citizens as target practice, inside people whose minds are fossilized in Stone Age unleash havoc for their faith. The politico-religious ogres wear a façade worshipped by blind disciples all of who should be in mental homes.

In Abuja this is how it unravels. Weeks ago, an altercation between a commercial motorcycle Okada rider led to arson in Deidei building materials market.  It is less than 10 minutes drive to a military base – the Mogadishu Barracks (formerly known as Abacha Barracks). The Mobile Police, Mopol Unit in Nyanya is less than 15 minutes to Deidei. None of these deterred the demented humanoids seeking to turn every little tragedy into an avenue to unleash their bestiality. They do these because they know that the State called Nigeria even in good times has no interest in punishing criminality.

The few lackluster paper policies made in Nigeria in recent years were supposed to strengthen national security. Banks asked us to register for a Bank Verification Number (BVN), without which all banking transactions became impossible. We complied. If that was meant to check unorthodox flow of money it has failed woefully as not a single soul has been arrested for lodging or withdrawing suspicious sums of money. Next was the embarrassing National Identity Number (NIN), registration aimed at helping the identification of every Nigerian. A Nigerien caused a riot in Sokoto and sneaked back to Niger without reprisal. Before these, we had the cataloguing of SIM cards. Nigeria has a huge telecommunications market – 143 million by 2021 count. All these were supposed to enhance security since SIM cards were linked to BVN and NIN, but insecurity looms large.

Owo plays to the prophecy of late Obadiah Mailafiya. He predicted it. Owo is a metaphor for what could happen anywhere in Nigeria. It is not an attack on Christianity. It is not an attack on a region but an attack on the nation. These issues are in alarming progression. When Deborah Samuel was assassinated in Sokoto, not one of nearly 50 presidential hopefuls issued a statement in condemnation. The one who did withdrew and reportedly fired his media hand. The projection is simple, potential votes are more important than the corporate survival of Nigeria.

Kidnapping is now so common people are learning to live with it. Two weeks ago when Dr. Samuel Uche, the Methodist Prelate was abducted, ransom fees rose to the equivalence of APC presidential aspiration form – N100 million. It was paid, the man of God was freed but some unconscionable Nigerians believe it was a hoax.

The law criminalising the payment of ransom in a society where a cleric goes in and out of kidnapper’s den while government pretends it is helpless defeats the deal. When Akeredolu ordered Amọtẹkun into the forests to flush out armed terrorists, he was told that the reserves were the exclusive preserve of the federal might and they need not show proof of efforts to prevent it being used as a den of criminals.

From kidnapped Chibok girls to the Kaduna rail attack victims – little attempt has been made to free anyone. When faced with the emotional, psychological and physical trauma of losing a family member in a lawless state, a decree is dead horse on paper. Where silence carries more weight than condemning brigandage – the trajectory is painfully obvious – we are all Owo, waiting to unravel.