Why condemn Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab?
Yes, I ask this question. This question is directed at Nigerians; both the immensely wealthy such as, Alhaji Umaru Muttalab and the one who have left those incongruous comments on the facebook group “We condemn Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab’s actions: Nigerians are NOT terrorist”.
My question to this group is this:
Who said Nigerians ARE or ARE NOT terrorists?
Do you believe Nigerians that are not terrorists or are “clean” i.e. do not participate in illegal activities (as so many do), have anything to fear by this boy’s actions?
How do you know that your fellow Nigerian riding that danfo bus with you is not a terrorist?
Ignorance is indeed bliss, if after a situation like this the first thing we do is come together and condemn this boy.
There is an underlying source here that should be condemned for this boy’s action: His father- Alhaji Umaru Muttalab.
He is described by TIMES magazine as being one of the richest men in Africa. Now, please tell me how one of the richest men in Africa could not converge the resources to bring his son back from Yemen? Puzzling, you don’t say! Instead he goes to tell the embassy his son is a terrorist, and claims to be waiting for them to bring him home? Really! I am finding it hard to believe this man is even Nigerian just from that statement. Perhaps, the man was too engrossed with his 2 wives and who knows countless concubines. Oh, least I forget, his15 children that he felt he could afford to pay little attention to one. This brings me to the topic of the boy’s obvious loneliness and growing alienation. Some examples from The Huffington Post:
"i am in a situation where i do not have a friend, i have no one to speak too, no one to consult, no one to support me and i feel depressed and lonely. i do not know what to do." Jan 28th, 2005
"I had butterflies going through my stomach reading that," Farouk1986 wrote. "I acted hypocritically? May Allah forgive me for that. I'm very sorry. Now i feel all bad. Maybe its time to say bye bye to this thread. I'm sorry if i offended anyone. Please all should forgive me."
"So usually my fa(n)tasies are about islamic stuff," he continued. "The bad part of it is sometimes the fantasies are a bit worldly rather than concentrating in the hereafter."
Why did this boy feel so lonely at just 18years of age?
He was the youngest of 16 siblings, so none of them reached out to him?
Why on earth was this boy sent to boarding school in Lome, Togo when his family was in Nigeria? (There are qualified schools in Nigeria that follows the British framework)
After boarding school, he was then sent to London to study, another place where he knew no one and was even more isolated.
The most important question of all to my fellow Nigerians is this: Do you know the effects of polygamy on kids?
These rich men feel the need to acquire wives and concubines without thinking of the effects it has on their children. They send their children to expensive schools with ill gotten money and think everything will turn out right. When everything doesn’t, they put on an innocent mask.
As Nigerians we give little regard to the effect our environment has on our mental state. We believe say we dey hard. If we no dey waka for road naked, we no dey craze be that. I believe this boy’s action calls us to notice that we are human, we get lonely, we get sad, and we get depressed just like white people. In the midst of all these mental disorders it is possible for a perfectly normal person to snap or lose their way. Once upon a time Umar Farouk was a lonely nobody, now, I bet you his name will go down in history. This kind of fame is tempting for the other Umar Farouk’s out there. I sincerely believe there are more Umar Farouk’s out there and they will strike again.

We created the group below to discuss this view of his actions.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=251247312462&ref=mf

The blog
http://whycondemnumarfarouk./