By A'isha Umar Yusuf..

anotherdimension2011@yahoo.com 08092739640 (SMS only)

Except for what we saw on the silver screen, my contemporaries and all non-
military Nigerians who came after us, never knew what a bomb blast sounds
like. Until October 1st 2010, that is. That day was meant to be Nigeria’s
historic 50th independence anniversary day, but it became more like a
baptism of fire for most of us.
With my husband away and all the children at home, I decided that the day was
too significant to be spent in bed because it was work and school-free. I
summoned them all and said we were going to watch the live transmission of the
Independence Day celebrations on the NTA.
That was around 10am on October 1st 2010. I’m not sure how long we watched
but it was obvious to me the children were getting bored with the events, thanks
largely to NTA’s poor picture quality.
In these days when television pictures speak to you with such colour-perfect
clarity, one wonders why our national TV network produces such sub-standard
outside broadcast that looks more black-and-white than coloured. Anyway while
wondering how much longer I can keep those restless young minds glued to that
low-quality coverage, I suddenly heard a loud noise.
My eldest child, Fatima turned around and asked me what that noise was. I
answered that it must be a knock-out being cracked because there’s a big
celebration going on out there. A few minutes after I answered her, a second loud
noise was heard, this time our house actually shook. Fatima quickly voiced her
doubt when she asked me whether a knock-out can make a building shake. I told
her that I didn’t know. Anyway we all gave up on the viewing when the picture
quality got worse. Not even the show by the Nigerian Air Force could keep us
watching.
Though we had no clue as to what was really going on around the Eagle Square, I
vaguely remember seeing President Jonathan being led back to his seat before the
parades were over and thought that he had grown tired of standing. It was not
until three hours later that a phone call I received from concerned relatives outside
Abuja, made me realize what we heard was a bomb blast. Apparently international
media had been agog with the news of the deadly incident but because we had
decided to go NTA that day, we ignored Aljazeera, CNN and the BBC World.
From that day on, as The Whispers would say, the beat goes on. Today no one can
tell how many bomb blasts have been heard and recorded in this country since 1st
October 2010. What was supposed to be a historic milestone had heralded a
deadly phenomenon with which we are still struggling. According to informed
sources, Maiduguri residents have grown so used to bomb blasts they call them
‘ring-tones.’ This is the story of our new Nigeria.
But a day after the October 1st bomb blast, something else happened that almost
overshadowed the bombing incident except for the fact that they were closely
related. Henry Okah, the exiled leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta told the press in South Africa that an aide to President Jonathan had
called him the day before, to ask him to withdraw the claim of responsibility for the
blast that was issued by his organization earlier. Okah claimed that the man said
they wanted to pin the blame on Northerners so MEND must disown their
responsibility claim. All through that day Okah’s assertion was the lead story on
Aljazeera and other cable TV networks.
The Nigerian government quickly denied making any such move. Various officials
mentioned as having something to do with Henry Okah, on the issue, all defended
themselves vigorously by telling the press they didn’t know what he was talking
about. But in 2012, having spent two years in detention, Henry Okah made another
application for bail during which he presented a 145-page affidavit in wherein he
repeated his claim that a presidential aide, by the name of Moses Jituboh, had
called him on October 1st and demanded that he should get MEND to retract its
statement of claim for the bombings so that the government can blame certain
prominent Northerners for it.
His actual words in the affidavit were ‘On the day of the bombing of 1st October
2010, I received a call from Mr Moses Jituboh, the head of personal security to
President Jonathan, who solicited my assistance and continued cooperation with
President Goodluck Jonathan towards shifting the blame for bombing to the North
of Nigeria.’
Later in the same affidavit Okah had claimed that another presidential aide, one Mr
Uranta had sent him two text messages on the same day repeating the same
requests. The messages asked Henry Okah to ‘Ask J G (Jomo Gbomo) to withdraw
statement.’ ie claim of responsibility. While the second message simply stated ‘The
government will blame on Northern elements.’ But Okah himself had said that when
contacted by the Nigerian media, Mr Uranta had claimed that his mobile phone had
been stolen and the messages must have been sent by the thief who stole it.
Okah believed and said so in the affidavit, that the aim of the government in
blaming Northerners for the bombing was both to scuttle the presidential ambitions
of prominent ones like former president Ibrahim Babangida and also to create a
feeling of disaffection against Northerners from other sections of the country.
Whatever the truth of these claims, we must remember that as at the time of the
October 1st bombings there was no trace of Boko Haram anywhere in Nigeria. Its
leader, Mohammed Yusuf, along with most of its top leadership, had been dead
over a year. He was killed early in August 2009. Most of the followership had been
killed both during the encounter with the Nigerian military and extra-judicially after
it was over. The rest had been arrested and sent to prison. Even the phoenix-like
Shekau was believed to be dead at the time.
Suddenly, after this failed attempt to get MEND to retract its responsibility claim so
that the deed can be pinned on Northerners, Boko Haram rose from the dead. It
came back stronger and more vicious than ever before. It embarked on incessant
killings and bombings and was now literate enough to issue statement of claims.
Boko Haram returned well-trained, well-armed and sophisticated enough to render
our military the laughing-stock of the continent. Shekau resurrected to say he
survived the assault that killed his colleagues and we never knew peace ever since.
Perhaps the worst of Boko Haram’s exploits was the introduction of suicide
bombing on the African continent. On June 16th 2011, this nightmare was launched
on our home soil. This despicable of all war strategies was first pioneered by the
Japanese, to whom suicide is an honourable thing, during the Second World War.
The Tamil Tiger rebels soon took over in their war of independence against Sri
Lanka and it only came to the Arab world in late 1993, ostensibly as an attempt by
hardline Palestinians to stop the Oslo Accords from being signed by Yassir Arafat
and Yitzak Rabin. In actual fact, according a research by American analyst John
Kaminski, the earliest Shahada bombers were not willing subscribers to the
philosophy. In his famous treatise, The Deepening Darkness, Kaminksi said that
they were Palestinian youths who were abducted by Israeli security agents and
drugged to oblivion.
Unconscious of their circumstances these drugged boys will be taken to buses and
be planted there. Someone from a distance will detonate the bomb that was tied to
the young man’s body and the poor murdered chap will go down in history as a
suicide bomber. Of course some bombers that followed, offered themselves
willingly, thinking that if the others could sacrifice themselves for Palestine, why not
them? But the first few souls detonated to inspire others were not willing to kill
themselves in order to kill others. Indeed no Muslim, who knows the place of
suicide in Islam can subscribe to so-called shahada bombing.
As people who believe in life hereafter and who wish desperately to go to heaven,
we will not embark on an act which our religion categorically states will prevent
one from going to heaven. In Islam whoever commits suicide dies a disbeliever.
This is why we must return to Henry Okah’s deposition if we want answers to the
spate of bombings in different parts of the North. It might sound preposterous to
say that President Jonathan was aware his aides had asked Okah to pressure his
boys to retract their claim of responsibility for October 1st bombings, but the fact
that they used his name and the office they held as his aides, makes it imperative
on him to order these people investigated.
If we are genuinely worried over the insecurity in the country and are looking for
ways to end it, then the first step will be to find out how bombing became a
Northern phenomenon. There are more than enough clues in Henry Okah’s affidavit
of May 2012.




http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/weekly/index.php/opinion/18241-let-s-begin-where-henry-okah-started

I hope the whole truth wud b revealed soon, lots of live had been lost and yet no solution at sight..

May the soul of the dead rest in eternal peace..
May God grant their family and friend the strength to bear the irreparable loss

Spiritually speaking, this was the root cause of all the bombing and killings we have experienced since 2010. It is something 'significant' when a sitting government sets off bombs during its own country's national day celebration. It is called an 'invitation' in some Christian circles. On a more mundane note, these accusation which has not been effectively challenged also sent a signal to some funny guys in the NE that the game was on. God forgive everybody's sins

Only God knows what we Nigerians did to GEJ for him to b treatin us lik dis.

Gej came out openly to defend MEND even as okah's boys came out to claim responsibility. Okah indicted gej in that attack, but nigerians chose to look away because we dont care. In other climes, gej wld bn cooling his feet in the prison by now. Azazi told us pdp is behind boko haram, and he was killed in return.
And somebody wants me to believe that gej is not behind the killing going on right now in the north. Na thunder go fire that pesin wey want make i think like that...

so this is how we got here

Bulshiit..

Jonathan is a very greedy man who will do any evil to remain in power. The speed he used in picking up MEND spokesman's position was too desperate as well.

Just like that we have forgotten "NA WE DO AM" sms that was propagated by Jonathan and his agents.

Adminisher:
Spiritually speaking, this was the root cause of all the bombing and killings we have experienced since 2010. It is something 'significant' when a sitting government sets off bombs during its own country's national day celebration. It is called an 'invitation' in some Christian circles. On a more mundane note, these accusation which has not been effectively challenged also sent a signal to some funny guys in the NE that the game was on. God forgive everybody's sins

I believe wholeheartedly and I am completely convinced that Jonathan has a hand in the bombings. The problem now is that he cannot stop it as a compromised President. I will hope to watch him, Henry Okah and others given real judgement at Hague.

I still have no reason to doubt the complicity of Gej's administration in conjunction with some Niger-Delta militants and Biafran warlords in the current security challenges in the country.

If we all decides to put sentiment aside and be sincere with ourselves we will all see that the current administration have a lot to answer on this issue of book haram.


The current supporters of this evil deeds should understand that power is transient in nature and I pray they be paid back in a worst coin in no distant future.

Caseless:
Gej came out openly to defend MEND even as okah's boys came out to claim responsibility. Okah indicted gej in that attack, but nigerians chose to look away because we dont care. In other climes, gej wld bn cooling his feet in the prison by now. Azazi told us pdp is behind boko haram, and he was killed in return.
And somebody wants me to believe that gej is not behind the killing going on right now in the north. Na thunder go fire that pesin wey want make i think like that...

Thank God am not alone in dis, I know dat oct 1st bomb blast set the pace for wat we are witnessing today.

The speed at which GEJ try to exonerate MEND, speak a lot about his involvement in d bomb blast.

Okah is in prison today, cos he refuse to play ball.

Paretomaster:


Thank God am not alone in dis, I know dat oct 1st bomb blast set the pace for wat we are witnessing today.

The speed at which GEJ try to exonerate MEND, speak a lot about his involvement in d bomb blast.

Okah is in prison today, cos he refuse to play ball.

gej is responsible for what is happening in the north; he's behind d insurgency.

Caseless:
gej is responsible for what is happening in the north; he's behind d insurgency.

Abagworo:



I believe wholeheartedly and I am completely convinced that Jonathan has a hand in the bombings. The problem now is that he cannot stop it as a compromised President. I will hope to watch him, Henry Okah and others given real judgement at Hague.

Truckpusher:

People Like you make me not ti comment on NL.



Why can't you peoe think outside the box about the reality of things happening in this our great yet running by CLUELESS man from Otuoke?



If you are happy with what is happening in the north-east. I beg when your neighbour house is on fire, forget him and stay in your own laughing at his lost. B rest assured...........let me not finished the dash.