LESSON FOR ALL NIGERIANSMubi, 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 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

LESSON FOR ALL NIGERIANSMubi, 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 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