From NOAH EBIJE, Kaduna
Thursday, September 15, 2011


Twelve years after he lost his wife to ill-health, an Army pensioner said the recent bomb blast at the office of the United Nations (UN) in Abuja nearly sent him to his grave having developed high blood pressure over the incident.

Waziri Bassi, 70, told Daily Sun in his Kaduna home that as soon as he heard that his 33-year-old son, Williams Bassi, was a victim of the UN bomb attack, his health worsened, which he said forced him to utter some words involuntarily.

He said words like “government knows the bombers, you can’t kill my son for nothing sake, if some people don’t want us to live together, let’s divide the country into two, I am feeling very bad and sad about the whole situation,” were some of the ones he said.

The retired Army Sergeant (SGT) who is a native of Borno State served the Nigerian Army for 29 years and fought the civil war. He said despite his ill-health, he did not know when he hit the road to go and see his bomb blast survivor son who he said is receiving treatment at a private hospital in the Federal Capital:

“I feel bad that my son was a victim of the UN house bombing in Abuja, I feel very bad. I can’t train my son, and for somebody to come and kill him for nothing. So I am not happy. My son’s name is William W. Bassi, he works with the World Health Organization (WHO) at the UN building. He is receiving treatment at a private hospital in Abuja. He is 33 years old.

“I am not feeling fine; even now I am still going to hospital for treatment for High Blood Pressure. My blood pressure rose as soon as I heard the news of my son as one of the victims in the bomb blast. They wanted to kill my son for nothing. My BP is just coming down, but I am still seeing the doctor.

“If people think this country is too big for one person to be President, why not divide the country so that one group can go this way and another group that way. I do not see God-fearing people getting themselves involved in this bombing. They must be people who do not like peace. Let the government fish them out as quickly as possible.

“I served the Nigerian Army for over 29 years, starting from Kaduna, transferred to Ogun State, from there to Lagos, to Sokoto, to Kaduna again. I fought the civil war, and I still believe that Igbo have not forgotten the war. In fact, they have not forgotten. Time will come when the Igbo will come back to fight again. And if they fight again, I will support them because there is injustice in the land now.

“In my days, there was no incidence of bombing on the streets of Nigeria. There was no bomb at all, no situation like this. I want to blame what is happening on religion and politics. One of the presidential candidates once said that if he did not win, there will be no peace in Nigeria. So think about this talk, you can now see there is no peace in the country.

“I pray for those who died in the bomb blast to enjoy eternal rest and to those receiving treatment in various hospitals to recover quick. But it is sympathetic that those who died have gone for forever, they will never come back again.

“I have eight children, one is a Wing Commander of the Nigerian Air force, another one has HND in Catering, the third one is about to finish Accounting course at the University of Maiduguri. I lost my wife on May11, 1999. She was sick, and that led to her death. It would be devastating for me to lose my son having lost my wife just few years ago.

“I am a pensioner, and I have been getting my pension, but the increment which the government has done in other sectors is not extended to the pensioners. Government should increase our pensions as a matter of urgency.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/sept/15/national-15-09-2011-007.html