Why Jonathan’s ‘Rest’ Is Dangerous For Us All By Ayobami Oyalowo

” No sane man goes to sleep while the roof of his house is on
fire.No sane man goes to sleep while the roof of his house is on
fire. ”
YORUBA PROVERB

Nigeria is an interesting country where absurdity thrives and
impunity holds court, unchallenged and unmolested. She is
probably the only country where, literally is at war, her so-
called leaders can rest easy with their feet up, relaxed as if
there is not a care in the world. I am still at sea, wondering if
there is any nation on the earth that can move on, unperturbed
after several damning allegations of financial impropriety
ranging from the missing $20bn, to several billions of naira
stolen from pension funds, to billions spent by female ministers
either on spurious bullet proof cars, fueling private jets etc.
Indeed, Nigeria is a conundrum where the more you see, the
less you understand.
Welcome to the land of savage and crude criminal appropriation
of obscene national wealth by a few at the expense of the
majority, millions of whom can barely afford to live from hand
to mouth on less than $2 a day.
For over 5 years, Nigeria has been at war with the Jama’atu
Ahlis SunnaLidda’awati wal-Jihad, a sect called Boko Haram in
the local Hausa parlance, roughly translated as” book or
western education is sin.” But as it appears, the sect is gaining
the upper hand and has recently moved from being clandestine
bush attackers to the position where they now have territories
within the country. They have not only captured a chunk of
Borno and Yobe states, they have also hoisted their flags and
even appointed an Emir.
The sound bites coming from the Nigerian authorities are, at
best, confusing. They started with denial, then came tepid
acknowledgement to the point where they are now claiming
they won’t cede any territory to terrorists. What the Nigerian
authority have failed to show is how exactly they intend to put
their empty rhetoric into concrete actions, because while they
are making empty boasts and promises,Boko Haram is spreading
their evil and extremely bloody tentacles far and wide.
Had Boko Haram been tackled with the seriousness it deserves
from the onset, we may not have been where we are today.
Sadly, the attitude of the Nigerian authority to dither and
wobble in the face of serious issue, instead of taking a strong
stand and following through with equal actions has been our
bane.
When the sect was still small and not as sophisticated as they
are today, rather than take action, the authority pretended as
if they had it covered while hoping it will fizzle out, like some
Nigerian problems sometimes do. Today, we are all the worse
for it. When supposed leaders are inept and incompetent, this
is what you get. A visionary leadership ought to have braced up
and taken concise action, most especially in the face of global
terrorism that had bedeviled our world. Alas! The Nigerian
leadership went to sleep until it has become too late and now no
Nigerian citizen can sleep easy anymore!
Most parts of the north have experienced one bomb blast or
another, even Lagos had been attacked at least once, with
several attempts purportedly foisted. How did we get here?
Our president is at rest.
Just a few days ago Nigerians woke up to the news of the
president “private” visit to Germany. No explanation, nothing.
In fact, if you make too much noise, you are deemed an
opposition, aka Enemy of the State. What the president and
his inept bunch of handlers fail to understand is that Nigerians
have the right to ask questions concerning their president. How
private can his visit be if he traveled with a delegation and on
a “public” presidential jet, fueled and serviced by tax payers?
How private can his visit to Germany be if his retinue of aides
collects per diems, financed by the tax payers? Until the
leadership of this country understands responsibility, they will
keep moving from one gaffe to another disaster. Nigeria is
NOT a private estate to be privately administered; it is a
country with laws and responsibility. The president’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, another person who
has been a total disappointment since he was appointed a
presidential spokesman, went further to prove to Nigerians how
far from reality they all are, when he told us that the
president was not sick, rather he went on a private visit and as
such we have no right to know? How jejune? The president is a
public figure, elected by the people and therefore owes a duty
and responsibility to the public. All his actions and inactions
must be open to public scrutiny while he remains in the office.
His power is derived from the people, not in spite of the people.
It is lackadaisical and irresponsible attitude like the above that
has fueled the insurgency and corruption that pervaded the
land of Nigeria and has pushed us to the brink that we are
today. Corruption is a hydra-headed monster and has the
potency to consume and devastate any land or people that
welcomes it with an open arm. While corruption is a worldwide
phenomenon, the problem with Nigeria is twofold. Firstly, the
impunity and scale of corruption is largely unprecedented and
secondly, there appears to be no consequence. In fact, the joke
in Nigeria now is to steal very much as you are likely to be
praised and even conferred with national honour and
traditional titles. Yes, it is that bad.
Gamboru and Gworza are territories within the north eastern
part of Nigeria. Sadly,those places are currently in the hand
of terrorists. It was reported that the terrorists were so
superior to the Nigerian Army that about 480 of our men fled
to Cameroon. Whether they defected is unclear. However,
instead of the military authorities to be ashamed and seek
better ways to counter terrorism, they resorted to cheap
propaganda and outright lies, culminating in the phrase
“tactical maneuver”. Recall how the same military authority
had earlier lied to the world that they have recovered about
85% of the Chibok girls earlier, only for them to recant and
give flimsy excuse when they were confronted with hard
facts?
When a national military descends into the arena of “roforofo”
and market women propaganda in the face of serious
challenge, then it is time to be very afraid indeed. How can a
military that can’t defend our territorial integrity against a
largely untrained rag tag band of janjaweed criminals, be able
to defend us against a sophisticated and more structured
foreign aggression? One hope that we do not have ambitious
foreign army willing to take on Nigeria, because as things
stand, we are mere sitting ducks to a band of jihadists and
religious criminals. Trillions have been allocated to national security and especially
in the face of the threats of these insurgents, more money
have been allocated to security than ever, yet the insurgency
mounts, while our military appear weak, inept and reactionary.
Poor or lack of intelligence gathering, no proactive plan to
dispel and dislodge the terrorists, reports of poor funding and
inferiors arms and military hardware are what we hear daily.
Rather than address these issues, the military high command
prefers to make empty statements, defend the indefensible
and pretend to be in control. How long can we sustain lies and
propaganda in the face of such monumental threats?
I will expect the National Assembly to investigate claims of
senior military commanders profiting from the war against
terror. By now, some people should be answering questions on
how the trillions allocated to security are being spent. Recall
how some equipment that ought to fire, refused to fire during
the Giwa barrack attack? Yet, not one question have been
asked. The insurgents are so bold that they overrun military
installations, police barracks and recently entered a police
college almost unchallenged, killing and maiming anybody on
their way. Yet nobody is being questioned, rather we pretend
all is well and move on, but for how long?
The president is the Commander In Chief and the buck stops
at his table. Going to rest or on a “private” visit to Germany
when the nation burns is nothing short of abdication of
responsibility. All we can we see today is preparation for the
next election while money is being thrown around for the 2015
elections without recourse to the human lives and properties
being destroyed daily in the northeast. It is asinine to think all
is well since it is “far away” in “awusa” land. What we fail to
grasp is that ISIS is on a similar campaign and be sure if they
aren’t already in collaboration with Boko Haram, they will be
soon. The consequence of such is better left to the imagination.
This is not the time for unnecessary “private” visits, we are at
war, yet pretend all is well. As I write, there is no “War Room”,
no definite strategy nor plan to combat terror, what we can
see is a confused, jumbled and incoherent reactionaries to a
serious security challenge. We can’t win a war without a concise
plan to. We can’t win a war on lies. We can’t win a war when
corruption defines us. It is best the president wakes up and
smells the coffee, or he quits. Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston
Churchill, etc. didn’t become legends by surrounding
themselves with propagandists; they took charge and did what
they ought to do.
Jonathan either emulates real leaders and make a name for
himself in the annals of history or continue to play the ostrich.
The choice is his. Come February 2015, that choice will be