By Reuben Abati

INTERNATIONAL organisations and other stakeholders commenting on the coup that took place in Niger on February 19 have been making the right diplomatic and politically correct noises. While all that familiar stuff about a military coup being an aberration and a major setback for the democratic process in Africa is acceptable, the truth is that this is a perfect case of good riddance to bad rubbish in Niger. Mamadou Tandja had become a nuisance, holding that poor nation and its people hostage for more than a year to pursue a selfish ambition that saw him getting an additional three years in office last November. Tandja’s two-term tenure of five years each expired in December but long before then, he came up with the idea of prolonging his tenure in office by another three years, obviously the first step towards life rule. Everyone who opposed him was hounded into silence or exile. He sacked the Constitutional Court.

Members of his Cabinet who dared to raise a voice were expelled too. The media was harrassed. Civil society activists were intimidated and blackmailed. Tandja put together a team of sycophants who shouted Tazarce: continuity. He suspended the Constitution, started ruling by decrees and issued arrest warrants for opposition leaders. The referendum that was held in August 2009 was a kangaroo exercise with a predictable outcome. Tandja had his way. But he underestimated the people. For a whole week leading up to the coup that took place on Friday, civil society protesters took to the streets in Niamey and elsewhere. When the military junta struck, there was dancing in the same streets. Tandja is said to be in a military facility and the coup plotters have announced that he is in good health. Whatever pains he may be going through is self-inflicted. He is the victim of his own greed.

One of the first assignments of the junta should be to put Tandja and his cohorts on trial. His self-perpetuation gambit was based on the funny script that his government had done so much for Nigeriens, and that he needed to consolidate the gains of his government’s economic reforms. A lie. What reforms? Tandja’s economic reform brought Chinese investors and more money into the pockets of crooks. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. For the ten years that Tandja reigned, that country’s development index travelled consistently Southwards. At 71, Mamadou Tandja had no fresh ideas, no new tricks that he could play to promote the people’s interests. He was acting out a bad script that had been authored before him in Nigeria, and it failed on stage, and even in those countries where the leaders became monarchs hoping to die in office, the ultimate outcome was one of shame. Remember Mobutu Sese Seko, Kamuzu Banda, Houphouet-Boigny, Idi Amin Dada: Africa ’s despots.

The more important value of what has happened in Niger lies in the strong message that it sends to African leaders, many of whom may be tempted to copy the Tandja experiment. The coup is not merely a military coup, it is a triumph of sorts for the Nigerien civil society. It produced in that regard an interesting paradox, with the leaders of the “revolution”, Col Djibril Adamou Harouna and Major Salou Djibo promising that they intend to ensure Niger becomes “an example of democracy and good governance.” The ousted Tandja rode on the back of the military to power in 1999; he has taken the same route out of power. His exit sends another message: that dictatorship creates the conditions for its own failure.

Following his decision to force himself on the people of Niger, both ECOWAS and the African Union suspended the country. The US and the EU withdrew aid. On Thursday, Nigeria, Niger ’s neighbour, and the regional power, quickly rushed a statement to the press condemning the coup. Former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar is the leader of a team to Niger holding talks with the coup makers. Where was Nigeria all this while? Tandja was able to flourish in part, because Nigeria looked the other way.

Now it is being speculated that the coup in Niger has a Nigerian element: not necessarily the fact that certain persons in the international community thought they heard Nigeria instead of Niger , with an immediate effect on oil prices, but that the coup is meant to test possible international reactions to a similar incident in Nigeria . Mischievous as this may sound, it should not be discountenanced, more so as there has been a copy-cat pattern to military interventions in West African politics. Besides, for more than two months, the Nigerian political leadership has been engaged in a death-wish. When politicians suspend the Constitution as Tandja did, and as the Nigerian leadership appears to be doing, they write a long letter to trouble. Political leaders should not seek to remain in power because it suits their animal instincts, they are required to respect the law, and not succumb to the temptation to bend or change it for selfish reasons.

Col Djibril Adamou Harouna told Nigeriens: “The army loves the people and will always stand by Niger .” The best way to demonstrate that love and commitment is for the junta to make its intervention brief. It should set about initiating fresh elections within the shortest possible time, and ensure that Niger returns quickly to the path of democratic governance. I recommend six months. It must live up to its assumed name: “Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy,” and turn its intervention into an opportunity for a new beginning. The long-term challenge however, will be to rescue that country from the claws of poverty, instability and insecurity.

In addition to the ECOWAS framework, Nigeria should see the urgent need to contribute to the task of bringing stability to our neighbour to the North, a country with which Nigeria shares not just a border but intertwined lives and cultures. Poor governance combined with elite greed poses the biggest threat to Africa ’s democratisation process in addition to ethnic/religious differences and mass illiteracy. As these transform into elements of state failure, more African states, from Guinea to Zimbabwe, to Kenya and Angola may implode. This is a terrible burden for a continent left behind by the development clock. The democratisation project in Africa is in as great a need for protection and promotion now as was the case two decades ago. Too many African states are pseudo-democracies, Nigeria inclusive; and although there has been considerable growth in civil society responsiveness and the role of international actors, altogether the conflicting spectacle of progress and failure invites much pessimism about now and the future.

If You See The Saudi King…

THE six-man delegation appointed by the Executive Council of the Federation is travelling today to Saudi Arabia to do two things: visit the sick Nigerian President whose ill-health held the entire country hostage for more than 70 days before the National Assembly organised a “civilian coup”, and then thank the Saudi King for his hospitality. Shopping, disappearing to take care of personal issues, staying back to pursue family interests- all of this is not part of the trip and we are hoping that all six men will return before the next meeting of the Executive Council on Wednesday with useful information.

It has been reported that one Nigerian, Mrs Turai Yar’Adua, who also happens to be the first wife of the President, is the one who determines who sees the President or not. Too many fruitless trips have been made to Saudi Arabia by government officials with all the emissaries unable to see the President because Madam Turai says no. We can give her the benefit of the doubt: the President is probably being hidden from visitors on doctors’ advice. But doctors also ought to recognise extra-ordinary situations. If leprosy is not one of the cocktail of ailments that they are treating, they should allow the six-man delegation from Nigeria ’s Federal Cabinet to see our President. They are coming to the hospital as “the eyes and ears” of all Nigerians. They don’t have to say a word to him; they can just wave and nod, and observe carefully. Nigeria today stands at a crossroads: not too many countries have been so affected by Presidential ill-health.

The King of Saudi Arabia has been identified repeatedly in the last 72 hours as the good host who is picking up President Yar’Adua’s bills. Some reports suggest that President Yar’çdua is no longer in a hospital but in a special facility provided by the Saudi King. The Saudi Arabian authorities must clear the air at once: to reassure Nigerians that in purporting to act as Yar’Adua’s keeper, they have no intentions of violating Nigeria ’s sovereignty. For it is this country’s sovereignty that is being compromised if the head of another sovereign nation is allowed to keep our President as a willing medical hostage, without allowing access to him.

The six men going to Saudi Arabia have all obtained their visas. Given the importance of the trip to Nigerians, and we hope the Saudi Embassy in Nigeria is awake to its duties, this can be taken as sign that the Saudi King has been duly informed, diplomatic protocols have been sorted out and the six envoys will get a chance to deliver their message. Anything short of that will amount to an unfriendly act. My fear though is that a low-ranking officer may be assigned to attend to the “nosey” folks from Nigeria ! Should that happen, and an insult posted to Nigeria’s 140 million people, the Jonathan administration should immediately invite the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria for very serious discussions.

King Abdullah recently hosted the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to a buffet lunch, showing that when he wants to play the diplomatic game, he sure knows how to do it. If the Federal Government delegation succeeds in having an audience with the King, they shouldn’t be more interested in bowing and scraping, they should tell him Nigeria’s immediate future hangs in the balance, because its President is stranded in Saudi Arabia and the people have no information about him. The Nigerian team, comprising five Ministers and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation should not return empty-handed.

Tiger Woods’ Apology

SO Tiger Woods has now apologised, publicly and properly for being “irresponsible” and “selfish”: kudos to his media handlers who want him back in the good books of all conservative elements who think his infidelity is worse than the original sin. But they want more than that: they want the withdrawn endorsements and goodwill back. Fine. I think Tiger Woods has paid enough penance. This hand-wringing over sexual dalliances, in addition to sex addiction therapy, strikes all the necessary moral notes, but can we go back to golf before Tiger Woods begins to imagine himself an eternal victim? No one is asking all the ladies who “stole” him from his wife to offer any apologies. If guilt is to be shared they are just as guilty.

By apologising, Tiger Woods has reassured everyone who invested faith and energy in his talents and success that he is aware and appreciative of the burden he bears as role model and public figure. A strong sense of his humility and humanism is well-conveyed. It is a necessary lesson for all public figures about the moral compass that defines their role-playing, a compass that is beyond their control.

Postponing Tiger’s return to competitive golf extends his saga needlessly. He is a champion on the golf course: that is the best place to work all of this out. Tiger Woods’ mother probably has the best perspective. Shortly after her son’s press conference, she told reporters: “Sometimes think there is double standard. He didn’t do anything illegal. He didn’t kill anybody. But he try to improve himself. He try to go to therapy and help. He change that and making better. When he do all this thing, he will come out stronger and better person…I am so proud to be his mother, period.” Momma is right.

By Dele Momodu

My second coming, even if intermittently, had been foretold by no less a “prophet” than Simon Kolawole. He had told me it was virtually impossible for a restless writer like me to ignore the sad developments in Nigeria. We had this encounter on the day American Chronicle published on its website that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had died as far back as December last year, which was too sensational to be true. The news was so rife that most Nigerians made frantic calls everywhere and to everyone who could have any iota of clue. I had attempted to speak to the President’s spokesman, Segun Adeniyi, who was then in Angola but was not so lucky. He probably knew why his phones would have been ringing off the hook. I really felt for this great guy, and for what must have been his personal and private anguish.

I decided to try Simon, who confirmed that the raging news had been debunked and that in fact, our offshore President was going to speak to BBC Hausa Service. I instantly concluded that we were carrying this nonsense too far. How at this time and age can the President of a great nation as Nigeria just vanish from the surface of the earth without any trace? How can the family of our President turn a matter of greatest public interest into such a disgraceful circus clownery? How can our politicians fail to realise the danger they are attracting to us all by their endless irrational behaviour? (Don’t forget that Niger is just next door). Is life all about grabbing power at all costs? Why can’t the First Family spare Nigerians this unwarranted agony? These were the thoughts criss-crossing my mind.

As predicted, our President mysteriously, but not without some serious doubts, spoke from his groove in Saudi Arabia, and granted what must have been the most incoherent interview ever aired by any of the famous BBC channels. Many are still convinced till this day, that that interview was the handiwork of desperados who wanted to hoodwink what they believe is a largely gullible citizenry. Even the BBC which secured the exclusive interview of this century seems not to have been proud of its amazing achievement. The powerful radio channel has not been flaunting the interview the way you would expect of such rare interviews.

Let’s not waste too much energy and time on the dirty tricks with which the hawks have tried to mesmerise Nigerians. The meat of it all is that Nigerians have found a new freedom which is not likely toyed with anymore. It is a great pity if some day-dreamers cannot see that the last train has since departed the terminus. They can continue to waste our scarce resources, but the day of reckoning will come. It is obvious that these guys don’t care a hoot about the President. It is all about their pockets. The poor man I’m sure is not aware of the atrocities his acolytes have committed in his name. It is a shame that some Nigerians can still drag us down this hopeless route. But we shall rise above them. The ball is now in the hands of the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, who must act speedily and courageously. God has given him power, and it is Mr Jonathan alone who shall account for it. All the sycophants will simply move on when the chips are down.

His ascendancy is nothing short of a modern day miracle. Those who are still contesting the will of God are wasting their time. They are resisting Jonathan because they don’t want to lose their grip on power. They want to stall for as long as it takes so as to make it impossible for Jonathan to settle down to serious business. They know that the attention span of Nigerians are very short. Very soon, the fuse would blow, and we shall be plunged into darkness. And they thrive in that state of anomie. This is the reason Jonathan must seize the initiative and beat them in their game. He can. These guys are cowards. President Olusegun Obasanjo cowed and canned them, like corned beef, until he fell into their trap by dreaming of a third term. Nigerians have never united behind any man since they did on June 12, 1993, the way they have cuddled Jonathan. Just imagine that Jonathan did not have to lift a finger. He even looked like a man who loves his boss more than himself. But head or tail, he had to carry this cross that was placed on his laps by his benevolent Creator. And he would have to step on toes. Now that he has crossed the Rubicon, there is no turning back.

All roads must now lead to heaven or to hell. The choice is that limited. The road to heaven is a road to redemption. The road to hell is that littered with thorns and can only lead to perdition. In less than 16 months, Jonathan has a chance of recording monumental achievements. It is like being asked to play a penalty in a most gripping game. He must shun all distractions, and shut off the cacophony of the crowd all over the stadium. It is a game of death. When you score, you are a hero. When you miss, you are a villain. In Jonathan’s case, he needs to fire a blinder, and all his friends and foes will stand ramrod at full attention. He looks fit enough to score.

If I were in his shoes, I will recall the security details of our President from their mission in Saudi Arabia, and replace them with fresh ones. I will summon our Ambassador to Saudi Arabia home to debrief him. I will write a letter to the Saudi King, and express both appreciation for his kindness towards our President, and disgust for the manner Nigerians have been totally snubbed in the matter. I will remind His Royal Highness that when the former King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz had a stroke, he was the Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz at the time and was allowed to rule for many years. As a matter of irony, the current Crown Prince Sultan ibn Abdulaziz has been ill and was actually flown to the United States of America for intensive care. The Saudis were not kept in the dark. The media went agog with blow-by-blow account of his progress or lack of it. When he got better and was flown to Morocco to fully recuperate, the Saudi media followed him with the same frenzy.

The Saudis should remember that Nigeria is a major player in the oil business. And whatever happens later may be termed as a deliberate attempt at rubbishing a rival nation. The shame is that while they spent their proceeds into building a most modern society, our leaders wasted our proceeds on frivolities. For the first time in our chequered history, we had two former university teachers as President and Vice President. One would have expected President Yar’Adua to build one of the best University Teaching Hospitals in Africa. And to think that his health challenges actually dictated the urgent need for such a glorious investment. Today, he has paid the price for such humongous short-sightedness. If Yar’Adua was vegetating on a local hospital bed in Nigeria, no one except the soldiers would have dared remove him the way it was done by our National Assembly recently. The politicians who were too scared to discuss the health of a man no one has seen in three months would have been too timid to even table it before the National legislators. We must salute the gallant Nigerians who fought spiritedly for our liberation.

Acting President Jonathan must assemble a powerful team as a matter of urgency and ignore the advice of those who never wished him well in the first instance. The Present team needs to be energised. Everyone remembers with nostalgia a few of those bright stars in Obasanjo’s government. The debt repayment package of that era was a great boost. If such had been translated into rebuilding our infrastructure aggressively, we can all imagine where Nigeria would have been by now. Mr. Jonathan should not worry too much about playing dirty politics for now. If he performs well, Nigerians will beg him to stay on. We are very generous to those we love. And we are not asking for much.

He must rebuild our roads. They are all in bad shapes. Nigerian cities look like war-ravaged zones. And it speaks volumes about our crass irresponsibility and shamelessness. Our airports must be urgently rehabilitated. I flew through Murtala Mohammed International airport last night and nearly burst into tears. Nigerians and foreigners alike were hissing and cursing. Our power and energy situations would never improve unless Jonathan is willing to take on the various cartels that litter our landscape. Our education is currently a huge joke. As a former teacher, he should personally enter into dialogue with his former colleagues on the way forward. We must stop the present drift where our children are being tossed across the seas with reckless abandon. Our hospitals must be upgraded to reasonable standards. Our economy is in tatters, and we must rise above the uncertainties of the moment. The war against corruption can only be won when the leader is ready to subject his person to some levels of discomfort. A good leader must be bold. We must know where he stands on every issue.

Something tells me Jonathan is on the threshold of history. He could not have been raised this high if he was not destined for greatness. I pray he appreciates the enormous challenges ahead of him. By next week, he must convince us that he is ready, and must leave no one in doubt of who’s in charge.

May God help him.

by Reuben Abati

Nigeria has a new ‘acting’ president courtesy of the action taken by the National Assembly to resolve the terrible impasse into which President Umaru Yar’Adua had thrown the entire country by refusing to transmit a letter to the National Assembly in line with Section 145 of the Constitution. There is no doubting the fact that ‘expediency and pragmatism’ informed the decision but in passing the resolution by both Chambers of the National Assembly, the rule of law was jettisoned; the action it must be said had absolutely nothing to do with the law.

Nigeria was faced with a desperate situation; desperate tactics were adopted to save the situation from descending into sheer anarchy, what with some misguided elements in society already mouthing the nonsense that such times called for military intervention. What was done on Tuesday was not a resolution per se, it was a revolution: it was a case of the National Assembly, conniving with the Vice President, the Governors and a vocal section of the civil society, to do what seemed expedient. Nigeria needed to be saved from drifting, from the rush of uncertainties, it needed to be rescued from the hands of a cabal that had taken hold of it – but at what cost?

Establishing a constitution-driven society requires that both chambers either use the case of expediency to change the law or execute same through observance of the constitution. We cannot fumble and wobble our way out of the constitutional quagmire we have found ourselves through the irresponsibility of those taking care of a sick president, who from all accounts, was in no state or faculty to take the necessary steps as provided for by the constitution at the time of leaving office.

Nigerians have embraced the situation and found it acceptable because it serves our purpose; because it seems to be the only way to check the intrigues of those who were misinterpreting the law and making the presidency seem more important than the country itself.

While we look the other way and ask those who are protesting that violating the Constitution to save a desperate situation will create more problems in the long run, we should do a prompt reality check. It is as follows: the development in the National Assembly on Tuesday came about as a result of our collective helplessness. President Yar’Adua and his aides had continued to insist that he is well and capable of running Nigeria from anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, the man has allegedly been in a Jeddah hospital since November 23. Nigerians do not know the exact truth about his state of health. He and his family and megaphones have held the country to ransom and have now been beaten at their own game.

This however should not be the end of the story. We cannot proceed without resolving what happened or is happening to our president. The logjam from which we think we have extricated ourselves may be further extended and the Constitutional crisis that we think we have side-stepped may be blown full scale in due course. It is better in matters such as this, therefore, to insist on first principles. The National Assembly had to act ultra vires by interpreting the Constitution to suit its purpose. The word transmit in Section 145 suddenly was stretched to cover the BBC interview by President Umaru Yar’çdua. To all intents and purposes, that BBC interview belongs to the BBC.

It is not the property of the Nigerian government, not an official communication; it was not in any way directed to the National Assembly. To resolve this impasse by relying on the BBC is to submit our sovereignty to a foreign media – How did the BBC secure such an interview when the Nigerian Security Service, National Assembly, Federal Executive Council, Secretary to the Federal Government and indeed key staff members of the kitchen cabinet and the presidency could not gain access to him?

The appropriate thing for the National Assembly to do should have been to insist on the President sending a letter to the National Assembly asking to go on vacation to attend to his health. What then was the purpose of the meeting with Senator Muhammad Abba Ajji, “the presidential letter courier” last week? Where is the letter he promised? There were reports that David Edevbie, the President’s Principal Private Secretary had travelled to Saudi Arabia to bring the letter, the same way he took the Appropriation Act to Saudi Arabia for presidential signature. At what point between last week and Tuesday this week, did it become impossible to get the President’s signature or thumb print, therefore compelling the National Assembly to suspend the Constitution and act expediently?

No man can be more important than the country. Not even the President. By refusing to obey the Constitution, the President has committed a major breach. He has by his inability to sign a letter, confirmed his incapacitation. Why didn’t the National Assembly insist on the Federal Executive Council acting as directed in Section 144 of the Constitution? What has been proven now is that it is alright in certain situations for the Constitution to be subjected to the force of circumstances. Nigeria has never had the experience of a President going AWOL. It became a testy situation because of the failure of the professional political elite to behave properly. The National Assembly has not yet resolved the Yar’çdua issue.

On this debate rests the unresolved issue of a signed Appropriation bill. To accept that the president was in no way able to sign a letter confirming his leave of absence is to raise a fundamental and grave issue bothering on possible forgery and outright criminal deception carried out and executed by the presidency.

However, clearing the mess that had been created and strengthening public confidence in the rule of law should be Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s first assignment in his new posting. This would mean his addressing the issue of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s ill health. As Acting President, albeit the product of a democratic coup, willed into reality by overwhelming public consensus, he must direct a delegation immediately to go to Saudi Arabia to establish the true location of the missing President, his true circumstances, his true state of health, the bills that he has incurred.

There are reports that the President’s family prevents people from seeing him. They cannot do that. They must be told that the Nigerian President belongs to the Nigerian people. We should have a right of access to him and the right to pry into his private life. Acting President Goodluck Jonathan must give appropriate orders for full and detailed information about President Yar’Adua. Our national security is at stake. Besides, who is picking up the huge bills that the president must have chalked up in the last 79 days? If it is the Nigerian taxpayer’s money that is being spent, then the people’s right to know must be protected.

Did anyone take special notice of the fact that the same day Goodluck Jonathan was declared Acting President by the National Assembly, the first official visitors he received were the American Ambassador and a special envoy from President Barack Obama. They were in Abuja, waiting. Ambassador Johnnie Carson brought a special message from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. He also met with some stakeholders, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, and note this: former President Ibrahim Babangida! Who are the other stakeholders that the Americans met? Carson talked publicly about Nigerians upholding the Constitution but it is not difficult to establish where America’s interest in the matter lies. Two weeks earlier, Mrs Hillary Clinton and EU leaders had signed a statement expressing concern about the uncertainty in Nigeria. They warned that Nigeria is too strategic in the West African region to be allowed to disintegrate. Imagine 150 million people spilling into our neighbouring countries as refugees. It would be worse than Haiti and Somalia combined. America and the rest of the international cannot afford such risk.

Then, there is the crude oil factor. With MEND declaring that it would not do business with Goodluck Jonathan because he lacks authority, the relative peace that had been achieved in the Niger Delta faced the real threat of derailment. MEND had put the oil multinationals on notice that the next round of offensive will be an all-out war. That won’t be in America’s interest either. With Goodluck Jonathan now acting President, the thunder has been taken out of MEND’s sail. In the end, the Tuesday revolution was not merely about Nigeria’s interest, there were external interests actively involved.

America has always showed up at interesting times in the life of this nation. Recall that the day MKO Abiola died, the Americans were in town. The day Goodluck Jonathan was declared Acting President, the Americans were again in town, standing by as events unfolded. Jonathan did not help matters when he addressed the nation looking as if he was at a funeral. He looked too glum for a man who had just been made Acting President! Did the Americans apply, as they say, subtle pressure? If this had been a better-managed country, we wouldn’t have needed the Americans and other external interests to push us.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan may have no more than a week or two months in office, since the Senate has made it clear that President Yar’çdua will assume his position, the moment he returns to the country. It is worth stating however that President Yar’çdua must not return to the country like a thief in the night. The National Assembly and the Executive Council of the Federation are not likely to impeach him, but if he must take over, there must be clear and compelling evidence that he is healthy enough to do so.

As far as the Nigerian people are concerned, Goodluck Jonathan should be allowed to finish the remaining 18 months of the Yar’çdua Presidency. For more than two years, the country has been in a lull. The people want real dynamism. They are hoping that Jonathan will be able to provide it. He has on his shoulders a historic responsibility. He tried to show a little swagger on Wednesday by redeploying the controversial Michael Aondoakaa who as Attorney General and Minister of Justice acquired a notorious reputation for bending the law to serve narrow interests.

That wasn’t good enough. Jonathan should have dissolved the entire cabinet and announce new Ministers immediately. Nigerians need a new beginning. A Federal cabinet of position-seekers cannot provide the needed momentum. He also must set to work immediately. There are files that have been awaiting Presidential signature since October including due retirements in the Armed Forces that have not been authorised. There are vacancies in INEC that have not been filled. Professor Maurice Iwu’s tenure as INEC Chairman will end in June, he should be asked to proceed on terminal leave, and another man appointed quickly to start studying the terrain ahead of the 2011 elections. What is Jonathan still waiting for?

While engaged in house-cleaning, the ‘Acting’ President should also take time out to tour the country. That shouldn’t take more than three weeks, off and on. Anyone who wants to rule Nigeria must make an effort to know this country. We have had too many people running Nigeria who know near to absolutely nothing about the country or the people.

In a country where history is treated shabbily, this should not be surprising. But Nigeria now needs more than good luck to move forward. We must put an end to the tradition of people jumping from their villages, or the army barracks to Presidential office. By reading a few history books and moving round the country to see things for himself, Jonathan should be able to get a crash induction into life Nigeriana.

Electoral Reform: He is in a position to do something about that too, more so as he is not likely to be a candidate in the 2011 Presidential election. Resource control: the people of the Niger Delta have always asked for this; through Jonathan as Acting President, they are now in charge of Nigerian resources, but will Jonathan be bold enough to take consequential steps to address the Niger Delta question? In addition to everything else, let him engage the services of a wardrobe director, and learn how to smile!

By Reuben Abati

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s prayer at the Annual Trust Awards that God should punish him if indeed he deliberately chose as his successor a sick man so he would not be able to perform and possibly outshine him, has drawn quite a number of Amens from the public with the outrightly cynical insisting that God is already inflicting punishment on the former President. The reference to God often drives up sentiments among Nigerians and in an overtly religious society such as ours, every appeal to God is intended to have a special effect. It is a psychological fact that pastors rely on so well, and which Obasanjo often deploys in seasons of doubt. It is possible to be emotional in responding to his latest intrusion into the public space. But more benefit could be derived from looking at the facts of the case, and why Obasanjo has chosen now to speak up on the subject of the President’s ill-health, and what message(s) he could possibly be sending across to the public and certain stakeholders. Obasanjo not only ditched President Yar’çdua publicly, he also advised him to resign if his health has failed him. The wily OBJ talked about the path of honour and the path of morality.

In Yar’çdua’s case both are obviously currently conflicted. The Obasanjo that spoke at the Daily Trust event tried to project himself as a patriot who is more interested in national progress. Now that we know where Obasanjo stands in this matter, when next Professor Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Femi Falana and others want to embark on another “Enough is Enough. To Save Nigeria” street march, they should remember to invite him along! But is Obasanjo now one of the progressives? Or he is merely playing to the gallery? Or he is trying to absolve himself of blame? Some of his friends have praised him for lending his voice to the calls for Yar’Adua’s resignation.

There is nothing original in him position though. He is waking up to the truth, more than two years late. Is this not the same Obasanjo who only a fortnight ago pointedly refused to comment on the President’s health? If it was not safe for him to pass a comment then, why is it now safe for him to do so? Or was he waiting for the right platform? Telling Yar’çdua to get out at an event in his own backyard, seems a clever way of loading a statement with appropriate weight. Or could it be that Obasanjo already knows something that is not yet public knowledge and which puts him in a safe position to fulminate? For a man who has been to jail and back, simply because he was critical of a sitting Head of State, and who himself does not suffer fools gladly when he wielded power, Obasanjo must be sure that it is only safe to step on a dead cobra’s tail. So what are we dealing with? Opportunism? An attempt at self-ingratiation? Rather than applause, Obasanjo’s statement, arguably his most poignant public statement, since he left office in May 2007 should invite more questions. President Yar’çdua’s ill-health has set an invidious power game in motion and OBJ is trying to get on top of it. But not so fast, sir.

According to the former President, at the time he decided to support President Yar’çdua’s candidacy, he was looking for three qualities: intellectual capacity, integrity and broad-mindedness. In 2007, Candidate Yar’çdua was not the only man in the PDP Presidential race who could boast of these three qualities. That was a fact. Another fact: Obasanjo and his agents had made up their mind that it was Yar’çdua that they wanted. He even told Nigerians at the time that he knew those who would not succeed him. One by one, those who showed interest in the race were arm-twisted, or frightened, out of it. Long before the PDP Presidential primaries, it was common knowledge that both the PDP Presidential ticket and the Presidency had been willed by the man in power to the then Governor of Katsina state.

Yar’çdua was a reluctant candidate, the most reluctant of all the candidates. Obasanjo also wanted Yar’çdua in order to spite Abubakar Atiku, his Vice President with whom he had serious problems. Atiku is a product of the General Shehu Yar’çdua political dynasty, and the leader of the late General’s wing of the PDP; the once powerful People’s Democratic Movement (PDM). In 2002/3, Atiku had made the mistake of boasting that it was he and the PDM machinery that he inherited that brought Obasanjo to power. At the PDP Presidential primaries in 2003, Atiku and his PDM supporters almost humiliated Obasanjo. He was forced to eat the humble pie. What better way to divide and demolish the PDM in 2007, than to hand over power to the junior brother of the founder of the PDM? Handing over power to Yar’çdua was a cold-hearted, Machiavellian move on Obasanjo’s part. With due respect, it had nothing to do with all that rhetoric about intellectual capacity, integrity and broad-mindedness. How much of these three, now presented by OBJ as if they are divine imperatives, did we get from the eight years of the Obasanjo administration?

To all intents and purposes, former President Obasanjo wanted Umaru Yar’çdua as president because that was what would serve his own political interests then. Eye-witnesses to that campaign process will recall that it was President Obasanjo that did most of the campaigning. At several rallies, the man who wanted to be President was not allowed to speak. Obasanjo did all the talking, and subsequently, he would raise Yar’Adua’s hand. At a point, there were comments about the need for Obasanjo to allow the PDP candidate to speak to Nigerians. The first time we heard of the seven-point agenda was on inauguration day! Yar’çdua became President without Nigerians really knowing him. Now, Obasanjo says don’t blame me. He gave me a medical record which said he was in good shape. Obasanjo was Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. A Presidential aspirant gave him a sheet of paper certifying himself fit and he Obasanjo did not deem it necessary to entertain doubts!

The subtext of the Obasanjo comment is that Nigerians not he, made President Yar’çdua president. Nigeria ’s big men are very good at revising history. In the light of available evidence, it seems to me that even if OBJ had full knowledge of the risk factors in making a man who had had a kidney transplant President, he would still have chosen Yar’Adua. If the man was so fit, why was Obasanjo the one selling him to Nigerians, instead of allowing him to do more of the talking? So grateful was the Yar’çdua family after the Presidential elections and the inauguration of Yar’çdua as President that three women from the Yar’çdua household including the brand new President’s mother, and his late brother’s wife went to Ota specially to thank Obasanjo. They did not issue a statement thanking Nigerians. They went to Ota! And now, Obasanjo ditches the same Yar’Adua.

The timing of his latest politics is suspicious but his outburst is understandable. The Atiku threat no longer exists. The PDM is in disarray. Atiku who wanted to replace Obasanjo and in the process became an issue in Nigerian Presidential politics has since gone to Obasanjo’s home to pay homage. All the other candidates, North and South in the PDP who wanted to be President have been driven into their shells, with some of them still battling with the EFCC yoke that was slung around their necks. But Yar’Adua on whose behalf all that effort was made has shown no gratitude to former President Obasanjo. The Yar’Adua government began at the centre with a systematic assault on the Obasanjo legacy. Obasanjo and his spin-doctors used to boast that the dividends of democracy that Nigerians wanted so badly would fructify in the fullness of time on the altar of sustainability.

If they thought Yar’çdua would sustain Obasanjo’s reform agenda and programmes, they made a mistake. These were the first set of pillars that the new government pulled down. Many Obasanjo boys who had worked tirelessly on the Yar’çdua-must-be-President agenda suddenly found themselves being treated as persona non grata. They have been chased out of government, into exile, or into EFCC detention centres. Under Obasanjo, there was something that assumed a political shape called Corporate Nigeria, the jet-riding set that donated money to political causes and strolled into the Presidential Villa at will. They owned the biggest businesses in town and they didn’t hide the fact of their closeness to the President. More than two years later, the Yar’çdua government has successfully castrated this group.

The 24-hour gate passes to Presidential Villa that they used to brandish have been withdrawn! Some of them have lost their banks and are now struggling to stay out of jail. Even those who thought they knew Yar’Adua ( “he was my senior in secondary school”; “I know him”) have all been shocked: if they thought they would prosper politically under him, the man gave them poisoned gifts. Obasanjo himself has not been spared. Yar’çdua and his team have not treated him as the Godfather of the administration. His position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP has been rendered almost useless. He has been turned into a laughing stock in the company of those he once said would never be President. Ordinary Nigerians may regard President Yar’çdua as a weak leader because of his illness, but his power-politics has been very strong and he may have made great strides in that direction that could affect Nigeria in more fundamental ways than we may realise. But Obasanjo is smart. He is choosing his own time to strike back. But why strike a man when he is weak? Whatever may be Obasanjo’s shortcomings, his voice still carries weight in Nigerian politics. By coming out against Yar’Adua, he will be setting off a chain of reactions that should be closely watched. What will be the Katsina response to the bomb from Ota? And why has Obasanjo suddenly become freshly voluble at the time when Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be taking charge gradually at the Presidency?

It is a game of musical chairs, not yet an end game. Two or three newspapers have suggested that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua may show up in Nigeria next week, looking healthy and strong enough to carry on. Should that happen, it will be not necessarily a miracle, but a political masterstroke. Some people may have to leave town. For there could be serious reprisals from the Yar’çdua end which may not have demonstrated a capacity to keep promises, but remarkable adroitness in teaching ambitious men and women bitter lessons about the game of power. Even if the man does not return next week, with INEC poised to announce the time-table for the 2011 elections in March, the professional political class will see the need to engage in further mischief.

By Reuben Abati

“HALLELUYAH oh. Somebody shout halle-lu-yah o. Ha-le-ha-le-hale… I praise the Lord o…ha-le. “Somebody, e yin oluwa logo hale…”

“What’s the matter with you?”: You don drink?”

“Yes o. I am drunk with joy. Halle-hale-halle…, “halleluyah, halle…”

“I have been telling you. Take it easy with the bottle. What a man eats is his path to the grave”.

“Hey. Professor. Spare me the lecture. I am not drunk. I am just happy that our missing President has been found. Lost and found President Yar’Adua. Halle lu yah o”.

“The missing President”.

“For over 50 days this country was without a President but now, we have found him. He is alive… He is ali-ve… Yar-Adua is – ali-ve-. A a-men I say: He is – a li-ve. Yar’Adua is ali-ve. Oh, oh, oh, he is alive. A a-men”.

“I am not as enthusiastic as you are”

“A nation that prays, stays together. Obviously, God has answered our prayers… It is good to pray”.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh yes. What do you mean I am sure? The President spoke on BBC. He told Nigerians that he is alive and well, and that as soon as his doctors say he is fit enough, he will return home. In the meantime, he wished the Super Eagles well in the Nations Cup in Angola”.

“He is well. After 50 days! And he doesn’t think he should talk to us through a Nigerian medium. He had to choose the BBC. We have been praying for him and Nigeria, and then, he finds his voice, he thinks the BBC is the best platform. What contempt!”

“A man is ill. He recovers. It doesn’t matter which platform he speaks from. I think we should be happy that the President is alive and that he has been found”.

“Of all things, he had to talk about the Super Eagles and the Nations Cup. Useless Super Eagles and Coach Amodu who if I have my way should be sent to Cabinda. The President didn’t apologise to Nigerians. He didn’t wish us a happy New Year. He didn’t say something to inspire us. In fact, I don’t believe it was him that spoke. I dare say the BBC must be embarrassed conducting such a shoddy interview”.

“Shoddy?”

“Yes. Shoddy. The local media would have done a better job. At least, the reporter could have asked one or two intelligent questions. The BBC using its platform to conduct what was obviously a stage-managed interview does little credit to its own reputation?”

“Hey man. Dogs should not eat dogs. Don’t get carried away.”

“Let us tell the truth and let the devil be ashamed.”

“I see you have been listening to Lagbaja. I know where that line is coming from”.

“You know I don’t even believe that it was President Yar’Adua that spoke to the BBC. The BBC should be careful not to be seen to be part of a conspiracy of deceit. Besides, the President spoke in Hausa language. I object to that Hausa bit. He is President of Nigeria, not President of the Hausa-Fulani”.

“Oh come on. When a man is ill, and he recovers, I don’t care what language comes out of his mouth. In any case, the man also spoke in English”.

“All of this is political”.

“You are a doubting Thomas”.

“Yes. I am. To convince us that the President is alive and well, let his spin doctors put him on NTA Television. With a 3-D scan of the President”.

“Channels, please. Or AIT. I don’t trust NTA”.

“After 50 days of absence, if the President is well enough, we expect him to show up on national television and address all Nigerians. And I don’t expect him to talk about the Super Eagles in Angola. There are more important issues. Is he handing over to his Vice President, for example? Will Goodluck Jonathan now be in charge? Or the country will remain without a leader?”

“The court has settled that, I think”

“The court has not settled anything. If you are talking about the Federal High Court ruling which says the Vice President can take over, I am sorry, it looks like that judgement merely states a principle. It is not executorial. There are no clear-out orders”.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation says there are. The Vice President can now sign anything and act as President”.

“Only in a delegated capacity. The President has not delegated anything to him, so, we are still in the clouds”.

“But a man of courage will hold on to that same ruling and act courageously. The ruling is in one sense about the character of the Vice President. Will he seize the day? Will he step up to the big moment. He has a chance now to stand up. This is all that he needs”.

“You are asking Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to become a suicide bomber? Is that what you are saying?”

“You are speaking in tongues. I don’t get it. I am saying there is a court ruling which offers both Jonathan and all Nigerians a window of opportunity”.

“And I am saying the court ruling has only worsened the situation. Judges should be careful what they say at moments like this”.

“Don’t blame the Judge. The law is a social modulator. The court has ruled. Will Jonathan step forward?”

“My own take is that nothing is that straight-forward in Nigerian politics. Vice President Jonathan will not like to be seen to be ambitious. You know the man is a lucky Deputy. Any man wey the man deputise, something must do am. Alami go jail. Yar’Adua go hospital.”

“That’s mumbo-jumbo. No be Jonathan fault. The matter is simple. Let the President return home. We get hospital for Nigeria too.”

“On doctor’s advice?”

“No. We can no longer wait for that. You know some newspapers have been insisting that the man is clinically dead”.

“But a man that is clinically dead cannot speak Hausa and English on BBC”.

“Suppose it was an actor that spoke…”

“No. It was Yar’Adua”.

“Fine. Let him appear on NTA, then”.

“All of this is just so tiresome. The whole world is laughing at us. How can the President of Nigeria be a missing President?”

“Nothing ever works in Nigeria”.

“At least we now know where our President is. In Haiti, their President is homeless. He now sleeps on the streets. We should thank God here. Now that the President has spoken, naturally every government official would wish to go to Saudi Arabia to greet him. Traditional rulers too”.

“No. That should be discouraged. Whoever wants to see the President should await his arrival. Nobody should turn the President’s ill-health into an opportunity to make quick bucks”.

“Too late. I understand members of the House of Representatives are already on their way to Saudi Arabia. Seven of them. They have all collected their tickets”.

“Jonathan should stop them”.

“The lawmakers claim they are performing their oversight function. They need to go to Saudi Arabia to oversee the President”.

“They shouldn’t bother. The President himself should come home. When Saudi Princes fall sick, they go to America for medical treatment. What is our President doing in Saudi Arabia?”

“No. You are wrong. Why is our President not in a Nigerian hospital. That is the question?”

“He should answer that question himself. And not through BBC. It has to be a Nigerian channel. And in English not Hausa”.

“May be you have a point. English is Nigeria’s official language, not Hausa. The crisis has just begun.”

“Don’t misunderstand me though. I am not saying that this is a North-South debacle. No. That is not my view, I just want the President back home, if that is possible. And I ask: who will come home first- Yar’Adua or the Super Eagles?”

“It is even more than that. If the country continues to drift, what do you think will happen? I am praying for Goodluck Jonathan”

“What?”

“Where do you think all this will lead to?”

“A greater future for Nigeria. I can see God’s hand in it all”.

“No. I don’t see God’s hands. I see failure of leadership. I see selfishness. That is what I see”.

“You probably have a point. Today is January 15″.

“No. No. No. Don’t go that way”.

“What way?”

“What I think you are thinking”.

“I am not even thinking. I am just saying that the only way forward is forward”.

“Better”.

“You should be careful. These are difficult times. Watch what you say. You could step on the wrong toes.”

“Okay I wish the President quick recovery, and all the people that drove the rabbit out of the hole, American Chronicle, London Telegraph and their local conspirators a happy 2010.”

“That your mouth will get you into trouble soon.”

“Wetin I talk now?”

by Ijeoma Nwogwugwu

Ever since the United States listed 14 countries, including Nigeria, which it perceives as either “sponsors of terrorism” or “countries of interest”, a lot has been said and written locally and overseas in reaction to the development. Of particular interest are those reactions from the Nigerian citizenry and officials in government. The general consensus was that the US acted out of political expediency by hastily including Nigeria on a watch list that would subject its citizens to profiling and intensive security screening each time they travel to the US and possibly other parts of the world.

For many of these commentators, one isolated incident involving the alleged botched attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up an American airplane on Christmas day was insufficient to have warranted Nigeria’s inclusion on the list. Attempts have further been made to show that the young Farouk is not a made in Nigeria product and was radicalized in the United Kingdom where he mingled with radical elements in mosques and other similar associations where they met. The most curious arguments put up in defense of Nigeria are that Nigerians by their very nature are not “suicidal” and are happy-go-lucky people with an innate love for life and living.

I am inclined to disagree with this line of argument for a number of reasons. First, it would be rather simplistic to think that the US government included Nigeria on a sub-list of “countries of interest” just because Farouk Abdulmutallab was misguided into attempting to blow up the Detroit-bound Delta Airline plane. This country has a history of sectarian violence linked to religious tensions and resentment which the state has not been able to contain for decades. Indeed, more Nigerians have been maimed and killed in religious-related clashes in northern Nigeria than in all of the countries along the West African coast with an equal representation of Muslims and Christians dispersed between the south and the north of those countries put together.

Starting from the Maitatsine riots in the 1980s when members of that sect led by one Muhammadu Marwa shot their way to notoriety, killed thousands and proclaimed their brand of Islam to be superior to every other one, including Christianity, to the Boko Haram crisis last year, the Nigerian state has never been able to curb the mounting threat of sectarian violence in our midst. Yet, aside from the extra-judicial killing of Mohammed Yusuf and his cohorts a few months ago, none of the religious zealots who preach hate and jihaddism against the “infidels” has been arrested and tried by the state for their involvement in the riots. Instead, the norm has been to set up dozens of commission of inquiries after which no action is ever taken even when some of the people behind the clashes were known.

Even after the 9/11 attack on American soil, a few misguided young Muslims poured out into the streets celebrating the destruction of the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and the plane that went down in northern Pennsylvania. To add salt and pepper to the wound, shortly after the attack, more than a few families named their new born sons, Osama, signifying their endorsement of the mastermind behind the plot to extinguish the “Great Satan” as the US is known by such extremists.

As recently as 2006, religious clashes were also triggered after a group of Muslims converged in Maiduguri to protest the drawing of an offensive cartoon by a Danish newspaper. According to Newswatch magazine which in October 2009 chronicled the history of sectarian violence in the country, that incident led to the destruction of property belonging to non-Muslims, and the attack and death of more than 50 Christians including Michael Gajere, who was identified as the Catholic priest in charge of St. Rita’s Catholic Church. The Maiduguri incident led to reprisal attacks in Onitsha by Igbos. Incensed by the sight of their kith and kin that were brought home for burial, some Igbos went in search of Muslims in the commercial town, and ended up killing more than 30 of them.

Realistically, listing all the cases of religious-related clashes would require more space than this page would permit. But the point being made is that Nigeria in the last three decades has shown more than a passing inclination for religious extremism, and by extension is the prefect breeding ground for elements willing to sacrifice their lives to further their cause. That in my estimation is not a good portrayal of happy-go-lucky people. Rather, it is one that portrays intolerance and a propensity for violence in the name of God.

Besides, it would be erroneous not to classify the trigger for most of the clashes linked to religion in the north, as acts of terror. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the word terror as “extreme fear” while to instill terror is “the use of extreme fear to intimidate people, especially for political reasons”.

Terrorism, on the other hand, is defined as the “use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims”, while the verb to terrorize means to “create and maintain a state of extreme fear and distress in (someone)”. Going by these very basic definitions, I do not see how the sustained acts of religious violence in northern Nigeria over the last three decades do not constitute acts of terror. Terrorism is not merely limited to the bombing of US targets and like interests. It is the act of instilling extreme fear through violent means and through whatever form, including the use of machetes, swords, horsewhips, sticks and stones that can inflict grievous harm.

When an overzealous man or groups of people rise up in arms against their fellow human beings and decide to kill them for the simple reason that they have divergent religious beliefs, that constitutes an act of terrorism. It is an incontrovertible fact that thousands of non-Muslims from the south have been forced to flee the north for fear of being killed. They were terrorized into relocating to their homes and communities in the south. The same is applicable to the kidnappings of oil workers and innocent citizens in the Niger Delta as well as the destruction and bombing of oil facilities. No matter how justified or aggrieved the perpetrators of such dastardly acts feel, they are nothing more than terrorists trying to instill extreme fear for political capital. Extremism in all its forms can never be justified in a plural state, particularly in a government that talks about law and order.

Moreover, we would be making a big mistake if we think that Al Qaeda has not possibly established a foothold in the Nigeria. Since 9/11, Al Qaeda has grown into an amorphous organisation with franchises all over the Middle East, and certain parts of Asia and Africa. Today, Al Qaeda has simply become an “idea” that binds Islamic extremists who believe in the same cause and press home their message by replicating acts of terror on America, western interests and their allies. The recurring philosophy among its adherents is “the enemy of my friend is my enemy”. It is for these reason experts on terror and the spread of Islamic extremism all acknowledge that the Al Qaeda band of terrorists started and led by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan has no relationship with Al Qaeda in the Middle East, Al Qaeda in Somalia or Al Qaeda in Indonesia.

If we must be honest with ourselves, Nigeria is only a secular state in name. For all intents and purpose, it should be renamed the “Chrislamic Republic of Nigeria”. Religious extremism is as pervasive in the south as it is in the northern part of the country. Nigerian Christians do not have to wait for a replay of the Branch Davidian Christian religious sect that barricade itself in a ranch in Waco, Texas for 51 days until it was raided by the FBI and resulted in the death of 54 adults and 21 children, before realising they are heading along the same extremist path.

As a people, we have lost all sense of rational thought and logic, and attribute everything to a higher being. The most embarrassing aspect of our over-religiosity has been made more glaring in recent weeks by our refusal to invoke the 1999 Constitution, preferring instead to pray for an incapacitated president whom we don’t even know if he’s alive or dead. My common refrain to this sickening prevarication is “what’s God got to do with it?”

In my candid opinion, that we have been listed by the US as a country of interest should be a wake up call for all of us. We would be running away from the truth by pointing at the United Kingdom and other countries whose citizens have been caught in the past for terrorist acts. We forget that America and the UK have sustained a “special relationship” across the Atlantic that is centuries old. America sees the UK as its foremost ally in Europe and would therefore never do anything to jeopardize that bond, certainly not because of a Richard Reid, the British shoe bomber. Even where religious elements begin to grow and fester in those countries, they clamp down on them decisively and deport foreigners back to their countries of origin. They most certainly do not pander to meaningless sentiments like we do in Nigeria.

Instead of burying our heads in the sand, we should see our listing as an opportunity for the Nigerian state to uphold its secular constitution as supreme and take decisive security measures to discourage and contain extremism, be it Christian or Muslim.

by Simon Kolawole

A young Nigerian boy, named Farouk, went to the UK to study engineering. The chap started attending mosques where radical preachers, rather than concentrate on propagating Islam and exhorting Muslims to love their neighbours, spend most of the time denouncing the West and the Great Satan (commonly known as the US). UK did nothing about the preachers of hate on its own soil. Subsequently, the young boy got radicalised and went into a mental state that alarmed his father. He quickly got in touch with American authorities to report his son. The US did nothing about it.

Then on Christmas day, the boy hid explosives in his underpants and tried in vain to blow up an American airliner. What happened next? The US blacklisted Nigeria as a “country of interest”. Pronto, Nigeria was classified alongside Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen as countries whose travellers will face “enhanced security screening”. In simple English, it means if you hold a Nigerian passport and you are travelling to the US, you will be singled out for humiliating checks. To even get the US visa will now be one difficult assignment – and you may no longer be given more than a single-entry or six-month visa.

Let’s face it: this is ridiculous. Plain ridiculous.

The Yoruba will say: “Kila gbe, kila ju?” What is the crime? What is the punishment? The punishment is far more than the “crime”. How can the action of one boy out of 140 million Nigerians become a yardstick to punish all of us? It is all the more ridiculous when you realise that the boy was obviously radicalised in the UK, not Nigeria. He received his suicide training in Yemen, not Nigeria. He received the explosive in Yemen, not Nigeria. The father reported him to US authorities. The boy was on the US watch list, yet he was not watched. He bought a ticket to Detriot. The US authorities cleared him to fly. So what’s Nigeria’s offence? It seems the US was just looking for the slightest excuse to pounce on us.

What exactly did we do wrong to deserve the victimisation? Let us examine a couple of hypotheses. The first says Nigeria was blacklisted because of Al-Qaeda activities in the country as evident in the religious riots in the North. Nigeria is seen as a breeding ground for fundamentalists and terrorists who could threaten American interest. The US, in trying to protect itself, had no other option than to blacklist Nigeria in the wake of the AbdulMutallab saga. Those who peddle this hypothesis include some top government officials. But I do not buy into this. There is yet no concrete evidence that Al-Qaeda has any cell in Nigeria – and, for goodness sake, AbdulMutallab was not radicalised here. He was made in the UK. So where do the dots connect?

We should not confuse religious conflicts with terrorism. Religious conflicts, like ethnic conflicts, have been with us for ages. I have heard people talk about Boko Haram as terrorism – but the best information we have on them so far is that they were religious zealots who were up in arms with politicians.

They may share similar beliefs with Al-Qaeda – particularly their anti-West message – but there is a thick line between what they stand for and what Al-Qaeda stands for. Terrorism, the only mode of operation of Al-Qaeda, is a systematic use of violence (such as bombing) to make a political statement, under a religious guise, against targeted interests. The victims are never carefully selected – so even Muslims could be victims, as we saw in the September 11 attacks and other cases around the world. In the Al-Qaeda thinking, even if the aircraft is filled with Muslims, as long as an American is killed, the operation is highly successful.

Now this is different from the religious conflicts that we experience in Nigeria. They are usually sparked off by an incident at a particular point in time, given that the atmosphere is permanently tense and polluted with hate, mistrust and resentment. Terrorism, by contrast, is a sustained, systematic campaign. Even if the US based its action against Nigeria on religious conflicts, how come India is not on the list? India experiences religious conflicts regularly. Egypt experiences conflicts between its minority Coptic Christians and the majority Muslim population all the time. Why is Egypt not on the list then? Those pointing fingers at Boko Haram are pointing in the wrong direction. There is more to the US action than Boko Haram.

Let’s even say US believes Nigeria harbours terrorists. So far, AbdulMutallab is the only Nigerian to have experimented with suicide bombing. Meanwhile, there are convicted terrorists who are American and British citizens. There are Al-Qaeda cells in the UK. The July 7, 2005 attacks on London underground trains were plotted on UK soil by UK citizens. They struck and killed and injured dozens of people. Why is the UK not a “country of interest”? Hamid Hyat, convicted of terrorism in 2007, is an American. Richard Reid, a British citizen, is serving a life sentence in the US for his failed shoe-bombing of December 2001. Terrorist attacks have taken place in Egypt, India, Indonesia and Spain, yet US has not classified these countries as “countries of interest”. So there is more to the US action than AbdulMutallab.

Let’s move on to the second hypothesis – what I call the “Yar’Adua Diplomatic Disease”. As THISDAY reported during the week, Nigeria’s foreign relations have weakened over the last three years. Generally speaking, Nigeria seems confused on its foreign policy – whether to be pro-West or pro-East. My advice is that we should weigh the pros and cons of whichever we want to choose, and then pursue it with commitment. We can’t sit on the fence. Sadly, we’re fast disappearing from the international scene.

For a country that has only oil to sell to the world, it is not in the country’s economic or political interest to make itself unimportant in the scheme of things. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has attended the UN General Assembly just once; the rest, he sent his foreign minister, not even the Vice-President, to attend. Automatically, we’re relegated. There are some levels that a foreign minister can never operate. That’s the truth.

Nigeria has not had an ambassador in the US for most of the 30 months of the Yar’Adua administration. The US government is expected to be dealing with a Charge d’Affairs. In international relations, I don’t know how politically wise this is. When the AbdulMutallab saga broke, there was no person on ground for US President Barack Obama to discuss with. Our president was somewhere in Saudi Arabia, incommunicado. Such high-level discussions are usually held at presidential level. If Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan had been constitutionally empowered to speak on behalf of Nigeria, Obama would have been able to discuss meaningfully with him.

What we needed was to make a case for ourselves. Ironically, we were waiting for the Americans to call us before putting them through to Yar’Adua – or whoever was going to impersonate him. With nobody to make a case for us, it was all too easy for the Americans to rush to blacklist us for an offence we did not commit, for an offence we were in no way culpable, for an offence that the US has at least 99 per cent of the blame. In fact, Obama has taken full responsibility for the failure of the American intelligence system. Yet Nigeria gets punished! Some dots are certainly not connecting there.

I conclude, therefore, that the AbdulMutallab-induced blacklisting is nothing but a decoy. The real American grouse, I suggest, is with Yar’Adua administration’s aimless foreign policy and lukewarm ties with the US. Nigeria is full of absurd political intrigues and empty of leadership. We are finally paying the price. As Americans would say, we ain’t seen nothing yet! Even Togo will soon blacklist us.

by Simon Kolawole

Let’s briefly discuss the story of a young, independent boy with religious zeal and a fertile mind, delicately torn between the two worlds of extremism and liberalism. No, I’m not talking about Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab. I’m talking about myself. I embraced the Christian faith at the age of 20 during my national youth service and I was ready to do anything – except kill – for God. All I needed to be told was “don’t do this” and I would not, “do this” and I would.

The formative stage of religious beliefs is the most critical in a believer’s life. The heart is so tender. You’re so vulnerable. Because you have not studied the scriptures enough to be able to make up your mind by yourself, you rely virtually on interpretations by others. Pray you don’t get the wrong message.

I was told I could no longer keep “unbelievers” as friends – which would include even my childhood friends and members of my family. I was told I would go to hell if I continued to listen to the music of Bob Marley.

I was told ladies who didn’t wear scarves were a few kilometres from hell. Ladies who wore trousers would perish, for sure. In no time, I was in a serious emotional crisis, desperately caught between two worlds – one of extremism which my Bible teachers told me was the best way to heaven; the other of pragmatism, knowing that I would still have to live with people who did not share my faith or beliefs. At that critical juncture of my life, I was able to resolve my crisis by personally studying the Bible, asking different people different questions and reading a variety of literature to keep a balance.

As I read the story of AbdulMutallab, the 23-year-old chap at the centre of a failed attempt to suicide-bomb an American airliner, something clicked in me: that is the familiar story of naïve zealotry. He had a heart for his God. Even though he was born a Muslim, he went deeper and deeper into his religion at a stage in his life. He was a young, independent boy with religious zeal and a fertile mind. He wanted to be upright – to stay off the vices that so easily entrap young men and women.

He wrote in one of his posts on an Islamic website: “I have no friend. Not because I do not socialise, etc but because either people do not want to get too close to me as they go partying and stuff while I don’t, or they are bad people who befriend me and influence me to do bad things.” And in another, he wrote: “The last thing I want to talk about is my dilemma between liberalism and extremism [...] How should one put the balance right?”

That is the critical juncture in a believer’s life. You are supposed to be pure but the world around you is dirty. You don’t drink but your friends drink, so should you cut them off completely or stay with them but refuse to join them in drinking? How long can that last? Is it not easy for them to drag you into drinking than for you to drag them off the bottle?

How can you be a believer and still go to disco halls? How can you keep girls as friends and not end up fornicating in a moment of weakness? These simple questions are usually difficult to handle, especially for a young believer. Of course, there is a world of difference between Christian and Islamic beliefs – but, at the end of discussion, religious beliefs leave similar traits and impact on the life of a believer.

At the critical juncture in AbdulMutallab’s Islamic renewal, he was torn between conservatism and modernism, between radicalism and pragmatism, between extremism and liberalism. How do I love my God and my “unbelieving” neighbour at the same time? How can I wear a Nike cap on top of jalabia (the Arabic clothing associated with Islam) or a skull cap on top of denim jeans? AbdulMutallab was unable to handle these questions by himself – and so he fell into the wrong hands. That, to me, was the turning point of his life. With a mind so fertile and vulnerable, the radicals moved in and took over.

The first step by radicals is to convince the believer that whatever he does in the service of God is permissible. In fact, it is the wish of God. The ultimate reward is heaven. And, yes, the believer no longer belongs to this world. He (or she) is now a citizen of heaven and should start looking forward to going to meet with God. In fact, the earthly family is no longer his family. He is no longer from Nigeria; he is now from heaven. And God is eagerly awaiting his return to heaven where he would reap limitless rewards.

By the time AbdulMutallab was sending text messages to his family members from Dubai telling them never to ask of him again, the radicals had finally succeeded. They had convinced him to do away with his earthly family. And by the time he chose to go and enlist as a suicide bomber, the radicals had completed the job of brainwashing him. They had succeeded in indoctrinating him that the ultimate good thing he can do in life is to die for his God. No form of death is better. It is better to kill yourself in the service of God than die in a road accident or die fighting for your country. God would be very pleased that you killed yourself fighting against infidels.

My heart goes out to AbdulMutallab because he too is a victim. His love for his God had made him vulnerable. At that critical point, his tender heart was filled with the message of hate rather than love, isolation rather than accommodation, death rather than life. He fell into the wrong hands. He could have asked his radical teachers: Sir, how come you are not carrying the bomb yourself?

How come you’re not giving the bomb to your children to carry? Why me? Don’t you want to die fighting for God too? Don’t you want your children to go to heaven too? Why is Osama bin Laden on the run? If he truly believes he is now a citizen of heaven, why doesn’t he join the suicide bombers so that he can go to heaven quickly? New converts to radicalism are not encouraged to ask these questions; they are simply to listen and not talk. If you ask too many questions, you’re committing a sin and God would be angry with you.

I have heard a lot of people criticise Alhaji Umar Mutallab for sending his children to school abroad, for not bringing up Farouk properly. Yet we all know that this argument is very unkind. Let’s be fair: Farouk’s father reported his worrisome new orientation to the US embassy. How many fathers can do that, knowing the implications for the child?

Of all the Nigerian children who have been schooling abroad (they are in their thousands), how many of them have become suicide bombers? The only case I know of, so far, is Farouk. Name another one. Do you now use one case to reach a conclusion? It is too simple to conclude that Farouk became radicalised because he schooled in Togo and the UK. In this facebook and twitter age, you can become radicalised anywhere you are, even in the remotest village in Nigeria.

What of children who take to drugs, cultism, armed robbery and all sorts of vices?

Did they also school in Togo? As simple as it sounds, you can live in the same house and sleep on the same bed with your child without knowing his or her mind! Only a deluded father will tell you he knows everything his son or daughter does. AbdulMutallab could have schooled in Lagos and still chosen a similar path. Most of the religious zealots we have in Nigeria who are busy burning places of worship and killing innocent people have never been to UK or Yemen.

We would therefore be deceiving ourselves by saying: “Thank God, my own children are schooling in Lokoja. Thank God, I am very close to my children. They can never be involved in vices because we live under the same roof.” We do not need to snigger at Alhaji Mutallab. We are all vulnerable to this abnormal behaviour in the society.

I know that we parents have a God-ordered responsibility to bring our children up properly. There is no question about that. We all wish the best for our children. We all want to bring up children we can be proud of. But any parent who is sincere enough will also admit that some of these things are beyond us. Ultimately, there is something called the grace of God. After all, I know pastors whose children live wayward lives. That is the irony of it all.

By Dele Sobowale

I started reading Nigerian newspapers in 1953 —mostly those absolutely delightful cartoon/advertisements by Nigerian Breweries featuring Sammy Sparkle. Who in our generation can forget that mischievous character who popped up almost every where to stop a train; to stop a fight, etc, and the punch line —“I did says Sammy Sparkle; its time for STAR”.

I was also a good listener; in fact the best listener when my father, a Yoruba man who would gladly lay his life on the line for “Zik of Africa” and my eldest brother, who was a die-hard Awoist engaged themselves in arguments over their heroes. Between father, who religiously read the West African Pilot published by Zik and my brother, who devoured the Tribune, published by Awolowo, I got to know most of the important news of each day.

Never in those 56 years has the media in Nigeria and respected opinion leaders made such individual and collective fools of themselves as they have done since the news of Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to commit suicide was first announced by the American owned CNN network on Christmas day.

Notice the words “attempt to commit suicide” because that is what most of our commentators missed. The CBN, naturally, had gone to considerable length to portray Farouk as a terrorist because an American aircraft was involved and the attempt occurred as the plane was about to land in Detroit — one of America’s largest cities. It was understandable that the news network would take the politically “correct” position in their broadcasts with regard to this incident.

But, it was poor journalism. Worse than that; it was pure propaganda —as this article would show.

Media executioners

While CNN’s position was understandable, the response of the Nigerian media, opinion leaders, the Federal Government and even Farouk’s father was at first puzzling and finally enraging. CNN labeled Farouk a “terrorist” and every damn fool in Nigeria who had access to a page of newspaper or a few minutes on the air in electronic media, was gullible enough to accept that label without question and a barrage of the most prejudicial statements and commentaries followed.

Editors, who should be more discerning, were all on holidays and they allowed their papers to be used in the most despicable manner — to defame Farouk; to pronounce him guilty — even before pleas are taken and to have handed the poor misguided boy to American executioners. Well, I have a name for my media colleagues, from CNN to Nigerian columnists — on this matter.

As far as I am concerned they are all a bunch of media executioners. They have not even bothered with the first golden rule of journalism and law —let the other party be heard. None of our engaging and erudite columnists has spoken to Farouk; and failing that none had put on their thinking caps to ask themselves if Farouk’s right — namely the right to be presumed innocent of the charges — were being violated.

When Mark Twain, 1835-1910, wrote in Innocents at Home, “Are you going to hang him anyhow — and try him afterward?”, he must have had in mind a situation such as this.

And it was not only Farouk who was thoughtlessly slaughtered in the collective race to hand the poor boy to American executioners. His parents, the Federal Government and even the re-branding effort of the Yar’Adua’s administration and the Nigerian nation were all taken to the media abattoir and butchered.

But was Farouk guilty of terrorism? Was his father wrong to have sent his son abroad for his education? Should the unfortunate incident be a reason to jettison the re-branding effort? And should Nigeria and Nigerians feel embarrassed and hide their heads in shame? The answer to all the questions, surprisingly, is a resounding NO!

Permit me to start in reverse order to point out how Nigerians have allowed themselves to be fooled by US propaganda and the thoughtlessness of our public opinion molders.

Virtually every day bombs go off in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, killing several hundred more people than were on the Delta Airline plane that Farouk was accused of attempting to blow off. Neither the governments nor the people in those countries feel ashamed or embarrassed. Why? Because they, and the entire world, realise that those carrying out these activities are in the tiniest minority. The vast majority of the people just want to live a peaceful life —if they can.

By the same token, 90% or more of Nigerians have never boarded an aircraft —and probably never will. An even larger majority — close to 99.99999% know nothing about explosives; they neither know how they are made and how they are used.

So in what way does Farouk represent them and as a result they should feel ashamed. In fact, Farouk is a product of the foreign countries — including Britain and America, now making the most deafening noise about a Nigerian “terrorist” when there is none. So Nigeria and my fellow countrymen and women have nothing to be ashamed of on this matter which the Western media and their Nigerian collaborators have blown out of proportion — as you will soon see.

Those carpeting the father for sending his son abroad for education are simply envious. There is probably no Nigerian today blessed with Alhaji Mutallab’s money who will not ship his children to school abroad. And, if a university in London harbours subversive elements hell-bent on preying on poor misguided souls, the fault is not Alhaji Mutallab’s own; nor Nigeria’s. The fault is with the British government which had failed to curb such activities on its campuses.

Alhaji Mutallab, as a matter of fact, deserves a pat on the back for not engaging in cover-up. Few fathers will report their sons to the CIA or British security forces. Alhaji made only one cardinal error —which is, jeopardising his son’s right to strong defence when the case comes up.

He should not have released the statement that he did because it can be misconstrued as admission that his son is guilty as charged by the media executioners —at home or abroad. Later in this article, Alhaji and Nigerians will be shown the way forward.

But, let me announce the destination of this journey — Nigerians should collectively put up a fight to save Farouk’s life. And the reasons are not hard to discover.

First, America never releases its citizens for prosecution in another country. So contemptuous are they of the quality of other nation’s judiciary that they don’t even believe an American can receive fair trial even in Western countries.

Secondly, Britain has provided the example of what a country should do when its citizen is on trial in other lands. As the Farouk story was playing on SKY NEWS, another story was on the air. A Briton had been sentenced to death in China for smuggling hard drugs into that country.

The British government and the man’s family proceeded to mount a campaign to free the man. He was pronounced mentally unstable — yet nobody presented a doctor’s report to substantiate the claim. The Chinese were made to feel like brutes despite the fact the more people are killed and more lives are destroyed by drug trafficking than all the homicides arising from “terrorism”.

The message was clear; Britain wanted its citizen’s life to be spared irrespective of the fact that the judgment was based on convincing proof and guilt was beyond reasonable doubt. By contrast Farouk was being cut and quartered at home and abroad by people who have not even heard the evidence.

Who’s a terrorist?

Now we come to the main issue —was Farouk guilty of terrorism? Was he a terrorist? And do all the facts at our disposal point to terrorism? Few of us are experts on the subject and even the experts don’t always agree. But, every one is familiar with the saying that, “one man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter”.

Every time a bazooka lands in Israel from the West Bank, the Israelis call it a terrorist attack; the Palestinians call it a blow for liberation of Palestine from the illegal occupants. When Israel, in response to the bazooka which killed one person, sends bombers and tanks into Lebanon and reduce the city to rubbles — including children’s hospital — the West calls it retaliation; Arabs call it genocide.

Who’s right? It all depends on who you are. There is absolutely no reason why Nigerians should swallow — hook, line and sinker — the West’s characterisation of an event as “terrorist” any more than we can expect them to accept it as “liberation effort”.

At any rate, if America can recruit Britain, Australia and other nations to fight its war in Afghanistan or Iraq, and those soldiers are not called “terrorists” regardless of how many Arabs they massacre, what stops the Arabs from seeking help wherever they can find it?

This is not an admission that Farouk was a recruit for al-Queda despite US propaganda. It is to point out to everyone that there is a war on in the Middle East started on the basis of a lie told by US President Bush and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, about weapons of mass destruction, WMD, in Iraq. I recollect writing in my SUNDAY VANGUARD column before the war started that “Bush and Blair would invade Iraq even if there is no single pen knife in the country”.

Today the whole world knows there was no WMD; the whole world also knows that over one million Iraqis have lost their lives since the invasion and the once thriving country has been devastated. What can be more “terrorist” than that?

Now we come to my “son”, Farouk. I call him son, not only because I am old enough to be his father, but because I feel pity for him and if possible, I will adopt him. If it is possible to visit him, I will hug him and tell him that he has not been abandoned; that in my books, he is not a terrorist. Again the facts at our disposal should be our guide. And what do we know?

Why did he do it?

First we know that Farouk is the son of one of the richest men in Nigeria and that he stands to inherit — if we can save him from the executioners — millions of naira and, may be, even dollars. In fact, he will probably not ever have to work for a living if he chooses not to and he will still live in affluence for the rest of his life. The obvious question is: why does a fellow like that want to blow himself up? Once that question crops up in your mind, you begin to see the truth, namely that we have a mind disturbed in a handsome body frame.

In short Farouk was, and is still, not himself. And nothing proves this more than the approach he adopted to end his life. In short the fellow was embarked on suicide in the most “tragic-comical” manner.

Second, most of us forget, when reading about suicide bombers, that the first word is SUICIDE. That comes before bomber. Obviously, any person with so much to live for, and who contemplates suicide, is not a candidate for the electric chair or the firing squad but a mental hospital.

Third, the poor boy, in absolute ignorance of how to manipulate the device he procured for the suicide bid, strapped the damned thing to his vital organs — which raises one question. Which well-adjusted young man still in his twenties would want to blow off his “tool box”?

Even my old friends, past 70, until their dying days guarded the “strong room” jealously. Despite the attempt by CNN and other Western media to prove that the explosive could have blown a hole in the plane’s fuselage, which they considered a sufficient reason to label Farouk as a “terrorist”, the fact remains that if the device had gone off as planned, Farouk was the only sure candidate for kingdom come. The seats next to him appeared empty and a plane might still be landed with a hole in the fuselage. It has happened before.

Fourth, a real terrorist generally wants to witness the result of his efforts. They plant an explosive which is detonated by remote control or with a timer allowing them to get away before the explosion occurs. Just as in the regular army, a soldier is trained to kill for his country, not to die. In so far as he dies, he has been a failure. So the real terrorist wants to live to terrorise another day.

The suicide bomber is another character all together. He would not see the outcome of his mission — if he succeeds. In that respect, he has a lot more in common with others embarking on self-liquidation. Having decided to end his life, the next most important question is: how?

The methods range from those who go alone to those who decide not to “walk alone”. And once it is decided that the exit must be accomplished by taking a crowd along, then it does not matter whether he drives his car on the path of a speeding train, or a fully loaded bus or a plane full of passengers. Farouk chose the plane and he is no more a terrorist than the fellow who caused the train to derail taking 400 people with him.

Nigerians must save Farouk

So far, all evidence at our disposal can only support one conclusion — suicide. That it occurred on Delta Airlines and in a plane coming to land in Detroit are secondary considerations. And if it is suicide, the fellow should not be executed but helped. And the only people who can help him are Nigerians. And Alhaji Mutallab must take the lead for his son to be saved.

We must adopt the Western approach; which means we establish a SAVE FAROUK ORGANISATION. Its functions will include raising funds to ensure that Farouk obtains the best legal team money can engage. The second is to start a multimedia campaign, including using CNN, to convince the world that Farouk is not a mass murderer but a sick young man.

The third is to insist that Nigeria’s leading psychiatrists should be called to assess his mental state. It is doubtful if an American or English doctor can accurately diagnose mental illness in a Nigerian who is not a raving lunatic already.

Fourth, the Federal Government of Nigeria, instead of distancing itself from Farouk, should use diplomatic approaches to get him released to a Nigerian psychiatric hospital for treatment. The fifth is to get Nigeria’s media executioners to stop labeling the fellow a terrorist and to join the campaign to save Farouk.

It will not be easy, given the prejudicial statements most commentators have made before. But, we must hold the life of every Nigerian so sacred as not to throw them to foreign wolves when they present with evidence that they are asking for help which sometimes manifests itself in extremism.

Finally, this is not an issue which should be confronted by Muslims alone. I am a Christian; but, that should not stop me from standing up and defending a Muslim who is being led to the slaughter house as we are now doing to our son Farouk. Will you join the struggle?

By Reuben Abati

Nigerians were not favourite air travellers before the Christmas Day Flight 253 bomb scare incident involving our 23-year old compatriot Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: the rest of the world looked upon Nigerians as potential crooks (even if there are more crooks in Italy and Russia). We were accused of being too noisy and aggressive (one Nigerian got chased off a British airways flight and was promptly banned for life from all BA flights: this caused so much furore). Part of our profile is the label of being the biggest load carriers in the world. On nearly every route, Nigerians tend to have more luggage than other travellers (British Airways has had to create a special luggage re-pack area for Nigerians at Heathrow’s Terminal Five, the only nationals that have been given that curious distinction).

Nigerians were also regarded as potential drug couriers or illegal immigrants: the country’s green passport received detailed attention, to be sure that the passport belonged to the man or woman holding it! Visas originating from Nigeria were screened more than averagely. As a Nigerian flight arrived at an international airport, sniffer dogs were directed to check out the Nigerians. Since Nigerians like to travel with foodstuff, many of them ended up with their ogbono seeds, processed melon, fish, kilishi being sent to the laboratory for proper examination to detect possible traces of cocaine. Others could be handpicked and asked to use the toilet by force. Not even our national icons are spared such humiliation. Before December 25, 2009, Nigerians loved to protest that the humiliation that they received at local embassies issuing visas and at international ports was most undeserved. Young visa officers at the embassies treated Nigerian applicants like vermin. We didn’t like that at all.

Now, the Mutallab effect seems to be shutting us all up. The shame is collectively shared. The collateral damage is resulting in embarrassment and self-doubt. After December 25, 2009, this was a foreseeable development. Our apprehension was further confirmed by the Sunday December 27 incident involving another Nigerian who again was travelling from Amsterdam to the United States. The Nigerian passenger, suffering from incontinence had reportedly stayed a bit longer in the lavatory. Two days earlier, his compatriot whose suicide-bombing attempt had failed had also spent a little time in the lavatory. Both are black men. Other passengers therefore jumped to a convenient conclusion (here is another suicide bomber from Nigeria!). The poor man was treated as if he was another terrorist trying to finish off what his compatriot had bungled on Christmas day. Mutallab may go to jail for attempted suicide-bombing etc., but all Nigerians travelling internationally would henceforth also pay a price, for we have all been adjudged guilty by association.

A cousin who is home on Christmas Holiday couldn’t have expressed the dilemma better when he pointed out 72 hours to his departure that he would also be travelling through Amsterdam.

“Mutalllab travelled through my route. I don’t want to imagine what would happen when I get to Amsterdam,” he had said.

“They will search you from head to toe, that is all.”

“No. It is not that simple. They will do it in a way that you’d feel you have been pronounced guilty by association. Every Nigerian will now be treated like a Mutallab; as if there is a Mutallab in all of us. ”

“You don’t have to worry. As long as you don’t go to the toilet too often, or appear too motionless, nobody will treat you like a suspect.”

“Are you saying Nigerians are now banned from using the lavatory on international flights? I can’t believe that”

“I have not said that. But don’t go into the toilet and start grunting the way many of you do, or spend more time than necessary as if you are busy mixing substances.”

“But why is Ghana not being criticised? The young man travelled through Accra. Why is Holland not being asked to talk about the security at Amsterdam Schiphol International? Why is the focus on Nigeria?

“Simple. It was your man that tried to blow up an aircraft with explosives.”

Since December 25, 2009, there have been reports of airports across the world beefing up their security systems with three dimensional (3D) image scanners. Again, this is causing so much concern among Nigerians. One other fellow, also based in diaspora, had observed that airport authorities need to provide more information about how the 3D scanners work.

“I mean they can’t just go and give somebody cancer because they are looking for explosives. I understand that scanning the entire human anatomy, with electro-magnetic waves could have implications for health. I travel a lot. So does it mean that at every airport, I’ll be exposed to a full scan.”

“Looks like.”

“And I can bet we Nigerians will be targeted specially. We should speak up.”

“Yes and No.”

“You know what bothers me?”, one fellow who had been busy battling with a plate of cow leg interjected. “It is this thing they call 3D.”

“It is not new really. It has always been there.”

“But my attention has just been drawn to it. I understand that 3D scanning, the type that airports are now using will capture the human anatomy from all angles and indicate every part of the body, showing if anything is hidden anywhere.”

“Looks like. It is an advanced security check mechanism.”

“But there are ethical and legal issues.”

“How?”

“How? You are asking me how? You tell me how combatting international terrorism or a threat of it should allow any agency to use a see-all, tell-all machine that invades the body of another human being. That is not security; it is voyeurism. Peeping Toms may derive much fun from it, but I don’t like it.”

“As if your opinion matters… A 3D will only show outlines. How do I explain it? It is like the luggage screening machine.”

“You see. I am saying the same thing. It will show every hidden thing.”

“An outline actually.”

“That is unacceptable. My wife travels a lot. She is not a terrorist, not a would-be bomber.”

“How do you know?”

“I know because I am her husband.”

“You are not making sense.”

“I may not be making any sense to you. But what I am saying is that the West should know what it is introducing when it says it wants to fight international terrorism by all means. Using a three dimensional scanner to scan the outlines of the anatomy of a female homo sapiens is immoral. Can you imagine an airport official scanning my wife’s body? If they are not careful, they will create more suicide-bombers, they will turn decent men into international militants!”

“Look Mr Man, go and sit down. World peace and the lives of other human beings are more important than your wife’s outline. Woman-wrapper. The whole world is talking about peace and security, you are reducing everything to 3D scanner and your wife.”

“I know what I am talking about. As a Muslim, I have a duty to protect my wife.”

“That is precisely what visa officers don’t want to hear at this moment. If you go to an embassy as a Nigerian and you declare that your name is Farouk, Sulaiman, Abdulrazak, Abdul, Mujahiddin… You see, the moment those cynical visa officers type your name into the computer and it brings up the names of terrorists and suicide bombers who share the same names, they won’t waste a minute before stamping your passport: No visa, no visa, no visa.”

The discussion soon focussed on the report that since the Mutallab incident, airports across the world have been subjecting Nigeria-bound luggage or luggage originating therefrom to heavy security screening. In effect, many Nigerians arrive at their destinations without their luggage, or when it eventually arrives, it bears all the imprints of tampering, excessive examination and so on, in a few cases, the luggage is declared missing.

“Not funny”, my cousin said. “Do you know what that means in terms of time and cost? If your bags don’t come in when they should, it means you’d have to go back and check, phone calls and all that, time that should be spent on other things will be devoted to a journey that has not been allowed to end because the airline is looking for powder and liquid explosives.”

“That is the Mutallab Effect.”

“But the young man has not even been found guilty yet. Let them punish the offender and not punish a whole country. I don’t even know what a bomb looks like if I see it. So, why punish me?”

“These things don’t work like that.”

“Not fair.”

“The world has never been fair to anyone.”

“If any airline plays around with my luggage, I’d sue. I will go to court. They can only try that at the Nigerian end, not in the United States. You misplace my luggage, you pay for it.”

“Come to think of it,” I said. “May be there is a good side to all of this.”

“What is good in all Nigerians been tagged a Mutallab by the international community?”

“May be Nigerians will now behave better at airports around the world, knowing that they are being closely watched, May be our people will spend less time in aircraft lavatories. Have you not observed that when a Nigerian gets into the lavatory in an aircraft before you, he or she actually settles down there as if it is a sitting room?”

“Get away. You like to criticise everything. Make man no offload?”

“Well, may be all of this will teach Nigerians to travel light. If you know that your luggage may be delayed or you may lose a bag or two, then you’d reduce everything to hand luggage.”

“That will never happen. By the time you buy shoes for Ekaette, perfume for Ngozi; handbag for Mama Silifa, clothes for the children, the ones at home and the ones outside, with special emphasis on the latter, the bags are bound to multiply. It is only oyinbo travellers who don’t buy anything for anybody. We are Africans.”

“I know. Your ancestors were load carriers. It is in the genes.”

“How do you tell Nigerian travellers on the Dubai route not to carry baggage? I once saw a woman with five bags. When customs opened the bags, they found toilet rolls. Toilet rolls from Dubai!”

“I can imagine the Customs officials begging to be given a pack. We blame the Police all the time, but if you know the level of corruption in Customs, you’d scream E-F-C-C.”

“No. I will scream Fari-da Wa-zi-ri.”

“Be careful. That is another man’s wife.”

“What? Mr Waziri has donated his wife.”

“That is interesting. To you?”

“To public service.”

We concluded that after the initial expression of surprise, and the many questions that have been raised, the Mutallab incident is invariably about all of us as Nigerians. It presents government with special challenges, to the extent that the country’s image has been dealt a heavy blow which needs to be managed, and all Nigerians have now become guilty would-be terrorists, they are in the dock along with their compatriot, and Nigeria finds itself in the ugly situation of being classified as part of the axis of evil. The international media is feeding on the story, seeking a story behind every possible lead. By the time they are through, they may discover a lot more that will further tarnish the country’s image. The initial statement by the Federal Government is now inadequate, the world needs to be reassured continuously that Nigeria has not yet become a haven of terrorists.

We, the good ones are in the majority, and we are the real Nigerians not the boko haram, not the kala kato, not the treasury looters, not the sick leaders, not their wives, not the armed robbers and assassins, not the agents of Lord Lugard. Because every Nigerian who loses his or her mind brings shame upon the rest of us, the challenge of rescuing Nigeria is invariably the collective responsibility of the good majority. Those who mouth the rhetoric of citizens’ diplomacy should now do some work; and they need not embark on estacode-guzzling trips around the world to discharge that function. This is the 50th year of Nigeria’s independence, 50 years after the writing of Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease. It is sad that Nigeria is still No Longer At Ease.