Lead us not into perdition, By Femi Adeoti.
They have turned their guns far away from the real targets, the forests of bandits. They no longer pursue terrorists and killer Fulani herdsmen. They know where they are firmly rooted but choose to look the other way.
They opted to ignore them in the bushes of the North-West and the dreaded Sambisa forest in the North-East.
New preys have been found in great abundance in innocent citizens. And against them they now turn their guns. They have ripped open the armoury and emptied the arsenal on us.
Guns, bombs, rockets, et al, are booming unrestrained against innocent citizens. The hardest hit are the South-East, South-South and South-West.
We can correctly read their crude minds. It is a firm resolution. They are determined to make a North-East out of the South-East; a North-West out of the South-West. Of course, a Middle Belt out of the South-South.
That’s their hidden agenda. And they want it implemented with the speed of light. They do not care a hoot whose ox is gored or even brutally bruised.
The end must justify the means. Whatever happens in the process matters not. The reason they are so desperate about the sordid project.
They are reckless and mindless in pushing their agenda through. It is a deadly and dreadful mission. These eerie characters are demented. Their cravings are awkward.
Wicked souls all; wicked souls they are!
They are thirsty for repeat performances of the ruins in the North-East, North-West and Middle Belt. And the South-East, South-West and South-South are their choices.
They gave a belated hint to this. Yet, we did not read their lips well. We were careless to have glossed over it. We naively laughed it off, to our detriment. That is our undoing.
President Muhammadu Buhari did warn us. He gave us an inkling of their devilish intention. But the message was totally lost on us all. He was direct, unambiguous. It was one of his rare powerful deliveries. He was straight to the point and indeed on spot. No mincing or mixing word.
True. The man was being honest. He didn’t know how to lie, unlike the legion of perpetual liars in his government. He says it as he sees or hears it. He would not add one word to what he has been told.
He demonstrated that much very recently. He alighted briskly at the Abuja International Airport the other day. He was returning from his latest medical tourism in London, United Kingdom.
A battery of reporters was waiting to engage him. He was allowed to exchange pleasantries without handshakes. Then, one of the reporters picked him up:
“After your ‘deserved’ rest in London, what will Nigerians expect from your administration, going forward?”
Buhari didn’t risk it. He couldn’t afford to waste time. Apparently expecting the question, he roared: “Continuity!” And that was it.
We know we are in for more unthinkable moments. Yes, we have seen nothing yet. There are terrible things still to come. We did not reflect properly on it. We didn’t adequately look back to know what was to be continued.
In our strange characteristic manner, we wrongly elected to trivialise Buhari’s one-word response. It was pregnant with bizarre meanings. Promptly, the social media was awash with “continuity” video clips of various sorts.
We goofed. We failed to realise that the man just spoke his plain mind. We asked for it. And he gave it to us in good measure.
True to his vow, that “continuity” is continuing in earnest. It is everywhere; it’s overwhelming. In fact, they are violently extending the continuity beyond borders. It no longer knows bounds. It is taking over the South-East, South-South and South-West.
It was in that obviously hideous order that they launched the onslaught. Since then, there is no stopping them. They are raving and ravaging all the way.
We are convinced, the on-going killings and destructions in the South are a deliberate “continuity.” Perhaps, even precipitated. They could not have been ordinary but planned. That is our suspicion. It is our honest reading of the grim and nasty situation.
You cannot blame us. Their ultimate goal is clear to us: The South must be destroyed. It must go the way of the North, particularly the North-East and the North-West. That is the target. And they are dastardly bent on achieving it.
They won’t stop at anything to make this a stark reality. That is why they are all out to afflict the South. The South must also be heavily inflicted. They want our stories to be as bizarre as their weird, wild North. The now heavily battered North.
The “continuity” is spreading like wildfire. Every section of the country is having its own “fair” share. No more marginalisation. That is one area in which fair is fair in this accursed clime.
But, a lone ranger has emerged; even from their inside. Yes, he is one of them. Mr. Yakubu Dogara is immediate past Speaker, House of Representatives. He was down-to-earth last Saturday. It was at the 10th convocation of the Achievers’ University, Owo, Ondo State.
He confessed that they had been heady and neck-stiff all this while. That they did not take to honest and good counsel. He poured out like never before.
That the present challenges were long foretold. But they flagrantly ignored the warnings. And the supreme price we are paying with our lives today. Sad!
And the results are the current doldrums. He captured it aptly: “The South-West and South-East are fast becoming Nigeria’s new zones of instability.
“Added is the long list of protracted conflicts, including but not limited to Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, organised crime in the South-South and farmers-herders’ clashes in much of the rest of the country.”
You dare not stop Dogara: “With an unemployment rate of over 30 per cent, epileptic economic growth, over-burdened and overwhelmed security agencies, coupled with weak institutional capacity within the security agencies, extreme inequality-cum-poverty and citizens’ alienation from the government, you need not look further for compounding factors.”
This man is loaded: “Experts have linked insecurity in Nigeria to government’s failure or lack of capacity to deliver on public services and provide for basic needs of the people. The lapse created a pool of frustrated people easily ignited to be violent.”
He is not done yet: “Also, inequality and unfairness in appointments and distribution of public utilities create a perception of marginalisation, especially the youths, who have a sense of disaffection and/or resentment.”
Gbam! He couldn’t have been more on spot. He warned Nigerians to “shine” their eyes. Why? Year 2023 may not come “to become.” That is, if we choose wrongly like the previous elections.
He was clear in his mind: “Make no mistake! If we dare get it all wrong (again) in 2023, we would have succeeded in hastening the days of the first four – the famous horsemen of the apocalypse – on ourselves. Days that will be marked by conquest, war, famine and death.”
Then, his ardent prayer: “May God forbid.” We sincerely join him to say a huge AMEN.
Dogara wasn’t blabbing. He wasn’t spilling the beans for nothing. He should know. He was there before. He saw but could not conquer. All the same, he spoke from the strong position of authority. And that is very germane.
Our rulers should listen and listen well to Dogara. He is not a rebel. They should make quality time available to hear him out.
Let us be on our knees: O Lord, may our rulers not lead us into perdition. Another resounding; AMEN
