[size=14pt]Between Henry Okah & the Northern leaders[/size]
Wednesday, 13 October 2010 01:00 Phillip Eyam-Ozung

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Yet, as if the bombers and their sponsors didn't wreck enough physical and psychological havoc on the bereaved families and the generality of Nigerians, the brazen attempt to politicize the Independence-day bomb blasts is proving more devastating and deeply divisive! While President Jonathan dismissed MEND's claim of responsibility for the Independence-day bomb blasts on the grounds that intelligence available to him indicated that a few individuals were camouflaging under the name of MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) to commit acts of terrorism against the Nigerian state, Henry Okah who's widely suspected of masterminding the blasts granted Aljazeera an interview in which he claimed that after the bomb blasts 'someone' called him from the Presidency requesting him to incriminate Northern political leaders in the bomb saga!

[b]Curiously, while the self-styled Northern leaders led by Mallam Adamu Ciroma vigorously questioned President Jonathan's dismissal of MEND's claim of responsibility for the Independence-day bomb blasts on the grounds that intelligence available to him indicated that a few individuals were camouflaging under the name of MEND to commit acts of terrorism against the Nigerian state, they believed Henry Okah's Aljazeera claim hook, line and sinker to the extent of calling on President Jonathan to either resign or be impeached! Towing the same line with the Northern leaders, the four PDP Northern presidential aspirants namely Babangida, Atiku, Gusau and Saraki instructed their campaign organizations to jointly issue a press release that reflected their wholesale acceptance of Henry Okah's Aljazeera claim as the smoking-gun evidence of President Jonathan's sinister plot against them! It's fairly obvious that as far as the Northern leaders and the four Northern presidential candidates are concerned, President Jonathan is the devil who must be doubted while Henry Okah is the saint who must be believed.

[/b] But, if I may ask, was Henry Okah's choice of Aljazeera which is both the leading satellite TV channel in the Arab world and the media channel almost exclusively used by Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda high command a mere coincidence or a pointer to his proximity to global terrorism which vindicates President Jonathan's assertion that the bomb blasts were masterminded by a few individuals camouflaging under the name of MEND to commit acts of terrorism against the Nigerian state? Did President Jonathan or any of his aides publicly or privately link any Northern leader to the bomb blasts? Did the security agencies arrest any Northerner in connection with the bomb blasts? Why was Henry Okah's Aljazeera interview all that the Northern leaders and the PDP Northern Presidential aspirants needed to move against President Jonathan? Isn't it clear to the Northern leaders and the PDP Northern Presidential aspirants that by basing their biggest onslaught against President Jonathan 100% on Henry Okah's Aljazeera interview, they're rather portraying themselves as acting the same script with him? Isn't it clear to the Northern leaders and the PDP Northern Presidential aspirants that by basing their biggest onslaught against President Jonathan 100% on Henry Okah's Aljazeera interview, they're simply proving to the world that President Jonathan is their (Northern leaders'/Henry Okah's) common enemy? Whatever the plots and counter-plots, my prayer is God Bless Nigeria.

http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14352:between-henry-okah-a-the-northern-leaders&catid=96:columnists&Itemid=350

We always need to be specific when we say "North." It is too loose an expression, the author of the article clearly meant "core North."
That cleared, let the ball role.

A lot of unscrupulous politicians and their followers have suddenly become die hard Okah fans. It only goes to show their level of moral decay.
I pity them and their followers; a bomb blast is not a political opportunity.

bloody terrorist!