On Dalori, Ogun and Mischief-makers

Running a government is definitely not "beans" and I very much  understand the protocols involved and why some information get classified. I didn't believe the Chibok kidnap story until the commander in chief at that time informed the people at his infamous media chat that the story was true and not rumours. 

Goodluck Jonathan was in Kano in April 2014, a day after a motor park bomb blast to welcome the former Kano state governor who had decamped from the ANPP to PDP. He was spotted dancing and this greatly infuriated many Nigerians including me.  It seems many actually forget that he visited the scene of that blast that claimed many lives and some injured individuals in the hospital before heading to Kano.

Mr. Jonathan (PhD) demonstrated empathy a few times by visiting the injured and bereaved including the scene of the alien induced building collapse which claimed many South African lives. It was not really the failure to visit Chibok, Buni Yadi or Baga which caused his approval ratings to go south; it had more to do with Nigerians learning that the commander in chief did not wield his powers when there was still a chance to rescue the Chibok girls just after their abduction.  The Nyanya bombing occurred on the 14th of April 2014 and the abductions took place only hours later before his trip to Kano. Major events were going on at the same time and he didn't appear to act.  He did not at that point need to visit Chibok but simply needed to give the orders to ensure the girls were recovered.

Whether we admit it or not, Nigeria is in a major conflict and the leaders should not be expected to visit the conflict zones when threat levels are high and where reasonable security cannot be guaranteed. Our intelligence gathering may not be of CIA or MI6 quality but it cannot be so bad that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not have a clue when an incident occurs especially within the war theatre. 

I do believe that certain information should be classified or not immediately brought into the public domain.  News outfits are always scrawling breaking news so a few things get distorted along the line. The latest in the series of terrorist attacks happened in Dalori a town in Borno state where a little over four scores of people including women and children were reported to have been brutally killed. Many Nigerians including those supportive of the president have expressed their displeasure at what appears to be insensitivity to the news about young children and many others burnt alive by members of the Boko Haram sect; some have even questioned why the president has not paid a visit to Dalori and Chibok town which was also attacked a few days ago.

Many online media outfits have gone into overdrive with this story; there are gory images of charred bodies including those of children all over the web.  One problem here is that the agenda of many of these online blogs and news outfits is suspect and may just be the voice of groups which are not in support of Nigeria or her government. A quick glance at the comments section of many of these news reports clearly show hate and bias towards the government even though some of the information may have been made up and attached photos completely unrelated to Dalori.

Some issues are clear and undisputed; Dalori was attacked and women and children killed just like it has happened in other attacks elsewhere. The figures may be accurate or not and news platforms are entitled to report these. What should be unacceptable is using images from unrelated events to generate effect.  This unfortunately was done by a few sites with respect to Dalori. Someone on Facebook pointed this out on a thread where a link to the story was placed and I thereafter searched the Internet and found out that images taken from Boko Haram attacks on Niger and Cameroun towns a few years ago were added to the authentic images from Dalori.

Such activities as this are incredibly sad; some people think this is a justifiable way to discredit the incumbent administration and express their lack of support for religious, ethnic or political reasons.  It is even more tragic when a private citizen is attacked by a fabricated story authored by one well known to the individual concerned. This young fabricator has obviously traded his conscience for monetary gain and will surely reap his reward.

I will not ask the president to visit an attacked town just for the sake of visiting or to appear objective because I slated Jonathan when he was in charge.  I understand the current limitations of our military and I have seen some encouraging images of how they are currently deployed in the Northeast.  These men and women though without anyone to relieve them are doing their best and I support them.  Dalori and some other spots were attacked but there were also reports of averted bombings, destruction of terrorist positions and recovery of territory.  I chose to dwell more on these progress reports but it doesn't mean I'm insensitive to the plight of those bereaved.

President Buhari went to Ogun state to join in the 40th anniversary celebrations of that state. There was plenty of music and dance but this was not exactly like going to welcome a “decampee”. I understand if people felt offended that he opted for Ogun instead of Borno but I'm certain this event was already planned for long before Dolari occurred.  As much as it is important that we genuinely mourn our lost fellow citizens; I think identifying with projects that will be of enormous benefit to some other citizens is a worthy act especially if the Ogun state government do not hand over such projects to task masters who will only end up enriching themselves and making the people they ought to serve even more miserable. One wouldn't avoid a naming ceremony because of a burial ceremony fixed for the same period.