USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fwd: [OmoOdua] Kano Massacres of 'foreigner'-Nigerians - Rewind to 2004

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tunji Timi Tola <roteemee@yahoo.ca>
Date: Fri, Mar 29, 2013 at 3:12 PM
Subject: [OmoOdua] Kano Massacres of 'foreigner'-Nigerians - Rewind to 2004
To:

 

The article below was written in 2004, yet it seems the events happened last week. This shows that Nigeria has remained on a retrogressive path, and this path is bound to consume all who have refused or wished it a change.

Hold your breath!
TTT

UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE WHOLE FAÇADE CALLED NIGERIA
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

n the second day of the most recent Kano massacre of non-Muslims, a newspaper reported that some Igbo traders were seen standing in front of their shops early in the morning wondering whether to open or not. Others were wondering whether to evacuate or not. You can bet that some of them were also wondering what their theoretical citizenship of Nigeria meant. Some could have contemplated changing their names, their religion and their accent if it would have helped. Many who have already done so would have told them that whenever it is time to kill, Insha Allah, the dagger would unmask the infidels.

Being that these kinds of killings have been going on for over seven decades, one would have loved to know the contingency plan these "foreigners" in cities like Kano had put in place. Or were they thinking that every last massacre was the last, until another and then another? One would have expected that they had plans to fight back. But no, they were just standing outside like Eld-Un-Kabar lamb waiting to see if the mass killers had left their prime target, the College of Education, and were heading their way before they run towards the police stations and army barracks. For those who could not run fast enough, their souls shall rest in mass graves.

Knowing this long history of killings and its frequency, one would have imagined that a man who chooses to live in places like Kano should have a serious fight-back plan. A viable plan would outmarch the firing power of the mass killers as well as their sheer numbers. The plan would take into consideration the lack of retreat site outside Sabon Gari and the killers potential for endless reinforcement from neighboring countries. In fact, considering these odds, a reasonable person would be assured of a furious, effective and overpowering air power behind any plan on the ground, before he or she would decide to call a place like Kano home.

Without such a solid arrangement, tested and proven to be efficient and enough deterrent, it is senseless for any sane "foreigner" to call a place like Kano home. For those who find themselves in such a place, a look at Kigali '94 will show them the future. For those who care, the only alternative to death is a unilateral withdrawal. There must be somewhere that life of non-indigenes means something. And if there is nowhere big enough or safe enough, determined men should be able to build one such place.

To many, these lines of thought may sound extreme and uncalled for but what other measure should be applied when dealing with such an extreme situation? Or is this not extreme enough judging by its long and bloody history and the number of lives so far lost? In any case, in places like Zamfara where people know what they want and seek no permission before they go for it, they take extreme and unilateral steps as it pleases them.

The likes of Governor Sani and his gang of Islamists have looked at Nigeria and saw that it has nothing to offer them. Being that they have no penchant for long grammar and no patience for argument, they went ahead and withdrew from Nigeria unilaterally. They imposed their Sharia and left the rest of us to argue about it. When they felt the argument had subsided, they upped their move. While you and I argue and scream for a national conference, they are busy creating the kind of world they want to live in.

For umpteenth time, I have said that southerners are such unserious bunch of people. Most often, they do not know the powers they have. In rare cases when they know, they do not know how to use it. Only recently, a mere threat of mass resignation by Eastern members of the House of Representatives forced the Governor of Kano state to abort a planned demonstration in Kano that could have led to more killings. The Niger Delta people, in their struggle for resource control, could have used the same unilateral withdrawal.

If southern leaders and citizens were serious and sensible, they could have unilaterally withdrawn from the whole façade called Nigeria, individually or collectively, until a negotiated nation is born. If the leaders would not lead, the citizens should have sacked them and show the way.

Instead of doing so, many of you, aggrieved souls, would rather sit it out. Many of you would rather wait for the day they would be tired of you all and say, "Get behind me, you infidels." That day will surely come, but the question is: how many of you will be alive then? And what if they will not be satisfied with leaving you alone, what if they want to make you a junior member of their religion by force. What if they move the frontline of that battle from the Middle Belt to a market square near you?

This relative period of peace, an interlude before the next wave of killings, is the time to find a rational solution. A serious solution must show that the 'foreigners' have chosen life instead of death. It must be practical. It must be long lasting. It must not rely on government help. It must put Nigeria's reality into consideration. It must be loud enough to stir up the sleeping majority everywhere. But most importantly, it must have the potential to permanently alter the way things are.

The critic comes and goes, but posterity stays.

__._,_.___

Reply via web post

Reply to sender

Reply to group

Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Recent Activity:

• New Members 4

Visit Your Group

Please note that  membership into our focused and specialized groups are by Invitation.  If interested, you may reply to our Invitation to become a member. Also, you may directly send a message using the SUBSCRIBE Links above to subscribe yourself in a specific group. The subscription policy in these Groups shall be "EASY COME, EASY GO." All requests for subscription require the approval of Moderators.

Thanks.
Martin Akindana
Moderator

ChtAfriK Network Groups - the 'talk shop' of the African village.
...setting the pace in innovation and specialization in the African net community.

Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use • Send us Feedback

.

__,_._,___

--
Compcros

Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems

"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.