Casmir Igbokwe
If the young brilliant dentist had a choice, she probably would have opted to be a non-Nigerian. Dr. Chinelo Megafu Nwando had no choice because she was born a Nigerian. She struggled like many other Nigerians. She had reportedly resigned from her job and made arrangements to relocate abroad where she would be better appreciated. But she was cut short in her tracks. Some demented terrorists who have no value for human life killed her and at least seven others in a mindless attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train on Monday, March 28, 2022.
Some other people killed in the attack include the secretary-general of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Musa-Lawal Ozigi; the Kwara State chapter chairman of the TUC, Mr. Akinsola Akinwunmi; and the director of the National Board for Technical Education, Abdul Kofarmata. Many sustained severe injuries as countless others were taken hostage. Among them is the managing director of the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan.
The idiocy of this attack was that the terrorists were reportedly shouting Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest) when they were shooting and killing people. They first planted improvised explosive devices (IED) on the rail track. When the explosion occurred and the train with 398 passengers derailed and stopped, they probably grinned and thanked Allah for granting their wishes. Perhaps, they are now dreaming of the day they will enjoy seven virgins in paradise. Little wonder, barely 24 hours after this attack, a similar one reportedly occurred at Gidan Train Station, which is along the same Kaduna-Abuja axis. But there appeared to be no casualty this time.
This whole thing could have been averted in a country where human life is valued. The terrorists had given sufficient notice of their planned action. Last October, they did a dress rehearsal of the attack when they planted some IEDs on the rail track along the same axis, close to Rijana community. The explosion damaged the rail track and shattered the windshield of the train, but there were no casualties.
Immediately after this attack, government promised that it would not happen again. It pledged to deploy security devices, which would ensure safety of railway passengers. Six months after, the devices are yet to be deployed.
Hear Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation: “We have not been able to install the security sensors because the procurement process is a bit difficult. It is typical of Nigeria. We would have loved to shorten the process and save lives but because the process is tedious, and the approval also tedious, we have not been able to get that approval that will lead to the purchase of those items…So, for me, I am devastated and I honestly don’t know what to tell Nigerians anymore.”
This is tragic! Did it not occur to this government that the rail and some other means of transportation would be the next attraction for terrorists since a large number of people started avoiding the roads because of incessant attacks? Almost on a daily basis, commuters go through hell plying Abuja-Kaduna road. Some are kidnapped for ransom. Some do not return to their families alive.
With the rail attack, one wonders what will be the next option for commuters. The airport is not completely safe as well. Two days before the rail attack, bandits had invaded the Kaduna International Airport. They succeeded in killing a security guard but soldiers at the airport quickly repelled them. Reports later indicated that 12 of the terrorists were killed. The way things are going, we may wake up one day to hear that hoodlums have hijacked aircraft midair. God forbid!
The truth is that nowhere is safe in Nigeria anymore. In some places, bandits visit people in their homes to unleash terror on them. People have been kidnapped or killed in their farms for no just cause. On the roads, travellers’ hearts are always in their mouths. Military barracks and institutions that should ordinarily be a fortress have been attacked.
In Niger State, bandits attacked a military base in Zazzaga community in Munya Local Government Area in April last year. They killed a civilian and razed the camp and some military vehicles. Some two weeks earlier, the criminals had attacked a military base in Bassa, Shiroro LGA of Niger State, killing five soldiers, personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and a civilian. Last August, some daredevil bandits invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna. Before they left, they had killed two officers and abducted another.
The irony of the spate of insecurity in Kaduna is that the state is home to up to 15 military institutions. Some of them are the NDA, the Air Force Institute of Technology, the 1 Mechanised Division, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, the Nigerian Military School in Zaria, and the Nigerian Army School of Artillery in Kachia.
This is shameful! We have made ourselves the laughing stock of the world. And we cannot get the much needed investment in this kind of atmosphere.
The question on the lips of many Nigerians is, who will save us? Security agencies are struggling and are overstretched. Government has failed and has continued to live in denial. Ironically, the same Monday that the Abuja-Kaduna rail attack occurred, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had briefed reporters in Abuja, claiming that Nigeria was becoming safer every day.
“We are proud that, in our time, Nigerians are once again able to travel by rail, this time in total comfort and safety. Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna, Warri-Itakpe-Ajaokuta and Abuja Metroline are shining examples of our rail revolution,” Mohammed enthused. He said he was proud of our security forces and that, as terrorists and their camps were being decimated, thousands of terrorists and their families were surrendering in droves. He reeled out the various military equipment procured by the Nigerian military and noted that the security forces had taken the battle to the bandits and put them on the run.
President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, has continued to issue weak orders. But the more he orders the military to apprehend and crush bandits and terrorists, the more they unleash terror in many parts of northern Nigeria. In fact, the killers appear more sophisticated and ahead of our security agencies.
After the recent rail incident, our President, once again, gave marching orders to security agents to go after the terrorists, crush them and bring back all the kidnapped passengers. He also directed immediate conclusion of the processes for the implementation of the elusive integrated security surveillance and monitoring solution for the Abuja-Kaduna rail line. He also directed that it should be extended to cover Lagos-Ibadan rail line. Is this not medicine after death? Nevertheless, it is better late than nothing.
We should not wait for another disaster to happen before we do the needful. We should always take proactive measures. We should invest more in fortifying the intelligence-gathering capabilities of our security agencies. Asymmetrical warfare has gone beyond mere cocking and shooting of guns. It is intelligence and technology-driven. We can seek the help of foreign powers, if need be. After the 9/11 and 7/7 terror attacks in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively, these two countries took measures to prevent a recurrence of attacks of such magnitude in their countries.
Our soldiers and other security agents should be motivated. The money we waste on frivolities could be utilized to cater for their welfare and procure superior, sophisticated weapons. Today, some members of the Nigerian Police Force are threatening to go on strike in a season when they are needed most. If they are well motivated, this will not happen. The Federal Government should hearken to the calls by many Nigerians to decentralize the police force.
Let us tell Karl Maier who wrote ‘This House Has Fallen’ that we will never allow the house built by our forefathers to fall. May the blood of Chinelo and all the innocent victims of terrorism in Nigeria liberate us from further carnage! Amen!
Re: Electoral Act and Malami’s judicial magic
Politicians, especially those within the corridors of power, are good at interpreting and pursuing the amendments of those provisions of the law that protect their ambition and political life. Some politicians have condemned zoning as unconstitutional all because of their unguarded desperation to be president while they are also oblivious of the fact that the same constitution preaches equity, justice and fair-hearing. A court in its judgment and inherent jurisdiction can make consequential orders to give effect to its judgment. But the very suspicious way and light speed employed by the court in straightening the k-leg observed in S.84(12) of the 2022 Electoral Act were mind-boggling. It’s not every dream that one needs an interpreter. A court is not a Father Christmas that should give the National Assembly a joinder’s platform ‘suo moto’. If the National Assembly whose interest was at stake did not apply for a joinder, they should not blame anybody. But the matter of this case is not whether one is a political appointee or public servant: it’s about the Act’s clear conflict with the constitutional provision which the Supreme Court may still align itself with the lower court’s submission if the matter goes the whole hog.
– Edet Essien Esq., Cal. South, 08037952470
Casmir, the legislature and the judiciary both have their separate functions. The legislatures are to make laws that are ‘consistent with the provisions of the constitution’. Should there be a clash of interest between the legislature and the executive, the judiciary, ideally, plays its role of interpreting the extant laws vis a vis the position of constitution which is supreme. The high court has done its job. It is left for the National Assembly to contest the verdict, even up to the Supreme Court. The court does not need to join the N/A since the position of the N/A on the issue is known by the court. I hope the N/A is acting in good faith and not on selfish grounds just to flex its muscle with the executive. They don’t want to be seen as rubber stamp.
– Mike, Mushin, Lagos, +2348161114572
Dear Casmir, Malami should support the legislation that political appointees should resign their positions 90 days to polls. This will help to render the influence of godfatherism effect. As appeal is made, National Assembly should seize the opportunity and agitate against grooming of successors and recommendation of candidates by Clergy/Clerics, traditional rulers, pan-ethnic and pan-religious organizations. Aspirants should speak for themselves and create value with viable manifestos.
– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +234 909 538 5215
By now, President Buhari should have sacked the AGF because of his controversial policies.
– Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia,state, +2349046032121
- Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, April 4, 2022