A LESSON FOR ALL NIGERIANS
Mubi, the biggest commercial town in Adamawa
state, was thrown into chaos the day Boko Haram
descended on them and the people found
themselves running for their lives. The terrorists
shot sporadically, killing a lot of people while those
who could escape jumped into any available car to
run to safety. Christians, Muslims, Igbos, Yorubas,
Tivs, Hausas and any tribe or religion, jumped onto
any vehicle that was headed outside the town.
Soldiers scampered onto trucks with civilians,
begging to be saved, hundreds of people who could
not get a vehicle ran into the hills. In their frantic
effort to stay alive, no one paid attention to
anybody's religion or ethnicity before asking them
for help or helping them to stay alive. It was a
community of people, united by their desire to
escape the common enemy that hunted them all
without discrimination. Ethnicity and religion
vanished, all they were left with was their
humanity. Those climbing the hills stayed together,
helping one another stay on their feet as they all
tried to survive.
The most interesting part of the narrative is that
the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Badeh is
from the same town of Mubi. It has been reported
that few hours before the attack, helicopters flew in
and evacuated his family members from the town.
The chief of Defence staff by the way, is the most
senior military officer in Nigeria and he controls the
army, navy and air force. Before that sad day,
someone from Mubi would have boasted that the
Chief of Defence Staff is from their home town. But
on the day that it mattered the most, he evacuated
only his family members and abandoned everyone
else to their fate. It means he had information of
the impending attack and as the most senior
military commander, he did not fly into the town to
lead his men to battle to defend his community. He
quietly saved only his family and left even the
soldiers without an inspiring commander to
motivate them to engage the terrorists and defend
his community.
One lesson all Nigerians must learn from this story
is that as a people, all we have is our neighbours.
When you need some help at home, you knock on
the door of your neighbour. The president, governor,
senator or minister is not there to help you. Why
then should you continue to fight your neighbour
because of a man or woman who cares only about
his own family? Our elites may deceive us about
sharing the same religion or ethnicity with us, but
time and again, they have proven that they do not
care. We have been fools, killing one another on the
basis of religion and ethnicity while they stay united
across all the divides and plunder our wealth. The
time has come for us to rise, educate one another
and unite to fight our biggest common enemy. The
politicians are our enemies and not the poor
struggling men and women in our neighbourhoods.
What now will the people of Mubi boast about as
the gain of having their son as the chief of Defence
Staff? If you go to Otueke where Jonathan comes
from, there are many people who live in
excruciating poverty! There is still a lot of poverty
and suffering in the home towns of all our
governors, ministers, parliamentarians and former
presidents, while they and their families live in
scandalous affluence. The minister of petroleum
Diezani Alisson spent over 10 billion Naira on a
private jet. That money can end the poverty of
several communities in her state. Stella Oduah
bought two cars with 120 million Naira while there
are people in her home town who can't afford 500
Naira to feed their family in a day. The time to
throw away the sentiments is now! Support only a
man or woman who has a just heart and will serve
everyone and every community regardless of if they
come from there or not. The moment anyone
begins to talk to you about religion or ethnicity,
reject him summarily! We need leaders who will
unite us because our shared humanity is greater
than any differences between us. And if someone
does something wrong or fails in governance, do
not support them simply because they're your own