By Emeka Alex Duru
If you take from the surface, the flurry of expressions and condemnations by the government and its officials on the recent twin terror attacks on Kaduna, you may risk drawing a hasty conclusion that this is a system that cares for its citizens.
On March 26, gunmen launched an attack against Kaduna airport, killing, at least, one airport official. Three days later, an apparent improvised explosive device attack took place against a train travelling from Abuja to Kaduna, resulting to casualties and injuries.
Since the train attack, various figures have been bandied on the number of passengers affected. Unconfirmed sources alleged that over 900 passengers were on board the train. Kaduna state government and the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, however declared that the passengers on the train’s manifest were 398.
There have also been conflicting account on the number of victims. Military sources said eight passengers were dead and 41 injured. Some passengers are yet to be accounted for.
But one thing that has run through, since the attack, is the outpouring of emotion by Nigerians. From the presidency through the national assembly to the governors and the military, all have been literally up in arms, seeking vengeance against the perpetrators of the heinous crime. Some seasoned politicians have even made show of the moment by openly announcing suspension of their programmes and schedules. In a normal setting, these could pass as clarion call and mobilization of the people to stand firm and say; “thus far, no further”.
But that is unfortunately where it all ends. Ours is a system where no one bothers nor takes responsibility. Beyond the trending photo opportunities at the scene of the mayhem, expressions of anger and calls to fish out those behind the attacks, I can bet that there will be nothing on ground to guard against recurrence of the incidence. It will only take one more incident in another part of the country for attention to be shifted from the Kaduna issue.
There is hardly any development, no matter how monumental, that galvanises us into sustained action. At the end of it all, it is the bereaved families of the train attacks and the injured passengers that will be there to pick their pieces and bear the brunt.
Insecurity has become our lot in Nigeria. That is why, if you take a critical look at the leading media organisations in the country, you would notice a seeming neglect of the global practice in news reporting – ‘when it bleeds, it leads’. The maxim, simply put, means that any news item that involves loss of life, should be the lead story. This is a major demand on the practitioners, to emphasize the primacy of life. Sadly, this demand is gradually taking the back seat in news selection and presentation in the Nigerian media space, not on account of laxity or callousness on the part of the newsmen.
Rather, the rate and regularity of loss of life in the country on account of insecurity, leadership failure and infrastructure collapse, have combined to make death, very common, here. There is hardly any day that people are not killed in various numbers and for various reasons in the country.
Perhaps, more than any other factor, it is this rising culture of insecurity that is rousing the question on the continued existence of Nigeria, as a country. No matter how hard the leaders try to paint or bend things, the situation in the country, is dire. In fact, as it is, any Nigerian who does not feel sufficiently concerned with the persistent drift of the country to the status of a failed state, deserves pity.
Gradually but steadily, Nigeria is losing it at all fronts. Except a few – just a few, who may be feeding fat on the remains of the carcass that the country has been turned to, most citizens would rather not have anything to do with it.
Security of life and property, is listed as the primary function of government all over the World. But that cannot be said to be the case here, presently. As we write, we are yet to know the number of Nigerians that may have been dispatched to their early graves, today.
The Kaduna attack is one out of the lot. Elsewhere in Zamfara, Borno, Benue, Imo, Ondo and other parts of the country, it is the same story of Nigeria turning to a killing field. In each of these encounters, lives and properties are lost; the victims are helpless. The immediate reaction by the lucky survivors, is loss of hope on the system.
This feeling of despondency by the citizens explains why Nigeria is increasingly losing respect abroad. In a post on its website, some time ago, the United States’ Embassy, had in an advisory for its nationals intending to visit Nigeria, described the country in very unflattering terms. It stressed on two major failings, namely crude infrastructure and poor security. The directory touched on other aspects of our national being including health, roads, transportation systems and even such basic necessity as water.
The United Kingdom (UK) has issued similar alert, advising its nationals to be wary of travelling to seven northern states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gave the warning in its travel advisory posted on its website.
For a country like Nigeria that prides itself as the giant of Africa, these verdicts are very damning. But they reflect the sad realities of the day.
The most embarrassing aspect of the regime of insecurity, is the menace of armed gangs in various forms. The pledge to tackle insecurity, corruption and unemployment, was the key point of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign in 2014. But seven years after the President’s inauguration, things are not looking up. Nigerians are rather, sinking deeper in standard and essence.
When therefore, the government, humours itself that the specter of insecurity has been banished, Nigerians know that it is a lie. When its officials prance about claiming rise in standard of living by the citizens, they are mocked by statistics. The truth is that Nigeria is seriously going the way of some failed states in the Continent.
It is a huge irony that Nigeria which was buffeted with requests for wish-list by the US, Britain and other Western nations at the election of Buhari in 2015, is currently being lumped in similar travel directory as Libya, Chad, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and even Somalia by the very same countries that had earlier thrown wide their arms in open embrace to her.
Whether those in power would want to hear it or not, the truth is that this house, called Nigeria, is falling. No matter how state officials feel secured in their homes and offices, we are all victims of the Kaduna terror attacks.
This calls for the Buhari administration to come down from its high horse to face the realities in the land. There is need for another look at the security arrangements in the country.
DURU is the Editor of TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos. (08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)