On the road to Somalia

A significant number do apply either to satisfy their curiousity, or for the unavailable fresh air at home. Only a few can meet the mercurial requirements. It stands to reason then, the envy that drives people who see their president take a leave of absence from all the pressing demands at home. In January after the street wars, President Jonathan agreed with his critics that he would only embark on needed foreign trips. After all, most of the President’s past junkets are technically unneedful for a country with capable and tested diplomatic hands. The other is to prevent the wasteful ostentation which goes with every foreign trip. Finally, the desire to preserve our foreign exchange by reducing the need for foreign travel allowance.

Things would have been better if our president does not display wanton affluence by flying several planes instead of taking a first class ticket on any reputable airline. We have maintained a well-equipped diplomatic fleet in the face of no national carrier. And of course, a technically crippled air force. There are more reasons one of which is the penchant of our leaders to meddle in other people’s business while leaving ours unattended. Or how does one rationalise the need for such a large entourage for a peace conference in faraway Somalia when at home – we have a handful of our own. To wit, restfulness in the Niger-Delta with the volatility of the coronation of Asari Dokubo militants as stand-by ethnic army of the reigning son of the soil. The menace of armed robbery; cultism in institutions of learning – and the mother of them all – Boko Haram. So, is it for lack of a home-grown trouble that our president jets out with a large coterie of lackeys, or is he too affected by the pervasive foul air that he too needs a break?

Beyond all those questions, for which one never expects answers, it is the irony that struck my attention. I had a small chat with a friend of mine in Kano on the day that two policemen were shot dead in Gandun Albasa and schools burnt in Maiduguri. Both crimes committed by suspected Boko Haram insurgents. She expressed shock at our slippery slope to life in Somalia. A UK trained and well travelled lady, her home used to have that magnetic pull. Whenever she went the gates of Kano used to pull her with such resonant force. Today, she expresses shock at having to say her final prayers anytime she enters or leaves home. There are no guarantees of safety at home, work or on the road. Death lurks everywhere. You could imagine the paralle for residents of Maiduguri who have borne the worst of the mindless bloodletting of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Somalia, used to have such magnetic pull for locals and western tourists. Its traditional architecture mingled with modernity and its cultural allure resonated with visitors of all kinds. Then political upheavals acquired a religious dint and Mogadishu, a once-boisterous city became a hell-hole with the tag of the most dangerous city on planet earth. Once colourful buildings now porch-marked with bullet holes; people roam melancholically like zombies, uncertain where death lurks and living on borrowed time.

So, did President Jonathan and his entourage go to London to compare notes with Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh or to shop? Did he go pretending to be among ‘global leaders’ with something to offer or for the usual handshake with reverred leaders and for the photo-ops? For indeed, Nigeria is fast becoming the new Somalia while the London conference may transform Somalia, there is no redemption yet for Nigeria. Ours is a failed state living like the proverbial ostrich. For those who have travelled, there is an unenviably sad comparison between living in Somalia and living in Nigeria.

Yet the irony does not end there. Olusegun Obasanjo, the man who brought us to this level is also in Senegal as head of an AU Observer mission for today’s elections. He has met with sit-tight spoiler Abdoulaye Wade and political actors. He is expected to bring to the AU a report of his observations. He is touted not just as peace maker but peace enforcer. He may not have brought us Boko Haram, but if Obasanjo had been altruistic as a leader; if he had had the vision of Nelson Mandela or John Kuffour; maybe Nigeria may not be comparable to South Africa but at least it may not be a Somalia with a different name. So, good luck Somalia, but please save some of the luck for Nigeria, Jonathan would need it on his voyage back home.