Politics in Nigeria.
Jonathan’s bloody legacy: The Baga genocide.

This genocide has provided the
defining moment to the lacklustre and bloody legacy of
Jonathan’s tenure. Judging by the
long lists of bloody obituaries and sea of
tears that are being shed in Baga village and all over Nigeria, we are now saddled
with a leader whose
bemused emergence is consistently marked by plane crashes, auto accidents, communal clashes and ongoing
bloody Boko Haram
culling of innocent blood. Fierce debates and accusations
are flying across Abuja’s skyline
as I write on what really triggered such a sensational and brutal genocide against the
people of Baga, a sleepy village in Borno State. A complicated and
dense web of blame game between Jonathan’s government and the decent people of Nigeria is gathering
rapid pace. Even Doyin Okupe’s incoherent ranting on the
television as to the real figure of the dead provided no perceptive elucidations. In a rapid fire rebuttal, the Red Cross has accused Okupe and bluntly called him a shameless liar.
The Red Cross said that 187 innocent and defenceless villagers which comprised
elderly men and women and children were murdered in cold blood. I saw burnt bodies of
babies across the killing fields of
Baga through the pages of Nigerian newspapers and the
Internet. The Red Cross has said
that the military prevented their
personnel from gaining access
to Baga to provide relief to victims most of whom were badly burnt beyond recognition.
The spokesman for Red Cross Nwakpa O. Nwakpa said: Our
volunteers were on standby but we were not given clearance.
Commenting on the genocide, the
Commander of the JTF,
Brigadier General Austin Edokpaye, put the blame for the
mindless killings on the doorstep of Boko Haram jihadists. He
accused Boko Haram Islamic separatists – faceless ghosts
according to the Aso Rock dotard of using civilians as shield.
Meanwhile, the ACN in
reaction through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, said: No matter what defence the military may
put forward, the mass deaths and destruction in Baga during the JTF-insurgents’ clash portray the Nigerian military as having
little or no respect for human rights and the sanctity of lives.
This is not a flattering portrayal for a military that has made its mark in global peacekeeping.
It also criticized the Federal Government’s handling of the
killings, calling it slow and disrespectful to the sanctity of
human lives. It added: In the first instance, it took the government
almost 48 hours to
comment on the killings, as the
presidency only issued a statement on Monday evening
over the clash and the deaths which reports said started on
Friday. Secondly, even the tone of the statement amounted to further victimizing the victims of the clash. Saying that the
death toll was grossly
exaggerated, as the presidency statement claimed, is simply
wrong, because the killing of even one innocent person is one killing too many.
This genocide has provided the
defining moment to the lacklustre and bloody legacy of
Jonathan’s tenure. Judging by the long lists of bloody obituaries and sea of tears that are being shed in Baga village
and all over Nigeria, we are now saddled with a leader whose
bemused emergence is consistently marked by plane crashes, auto accidents, communal clashes and ongoing
bloody Boko Haram culling of innocent blood. When Jonathan entered office, it was with a
joyous sound of hosannas from
party members to plain ordinary Nigerians. Today those hosannas
have given way to cries of pain and even horror of his bloody
tenure. The harsh realities of his
government are reasserting
themselves and suddenly our
mood is changing to crucify him. Yes, we have to crucify this
dotard (oridota) whose government has continued to
flounder bloodily on the rock of inaction. The cold, miserable
truth is that Goodluck has brought Badluck to the Nigerian
space. Millions of Nigerians gave him the rare chance to work out a new salvation for a nation
that had become a horrible edifice, but no, he hitched our
destiny on the cross roads of bloody killings, impunity and
tears. Not to be outdone, Reuben
Otapiapia Abati gave absolute poppywash in his official
reaction to the Baga genocide. This turncoat is fast becoming a restless junkyard dog in the villa. He has learned all the tricks on
how to bark new tunes. He said
that Jonathan was interested in
knowing about Baga genocide!