Gruesome, disheartening, sad, despicable and vile were some of the many adjectives that ran through the pages of my heart while painting the mental picture of what the occupants of the 18 seater bus travelling through Gidan Bawa in Sokoto State, that were burnt beyond recognition had gone through.
At what point did we miss it? How come the popular Northern Nigeria which was to many a sight to behold both locally and internationally have now become a shadow of itself, no thanks to bandits and other criminals.
How come the Kaduna-Abuja which connected the entire Northern Nigeria to other axis of the country could be desecrated to the extent of being christened an highway to death.
Hemorrhage according to those in the field of medical and health sciences is a heavy release of blood within or from the body.
I think the above definition aptly captures the current state of things in Northern Nigeria. In fact if the region were to to a system with spirit, soul and body, it would have longed ceased to exist.
No wonder some concerned citizens and well meaning Nigerians tripped out in their numbers to express their disgust on the docile nature of the government with respect to securing the northern axis of the country using the hashtags “thenorthisbleeding”?
Can we really fault their grievances or feign ignorance when news headlines currently feed our ears to the daily killings, abductions and attacks on peaceful Nigerians.
The high rate of insecurity in the North which has suddenly skyrocketed like a yeast added to a flour has continued to be the cause of concern among many. It is almost becoming a normal occurrence especially in more recent times as the news of different killings, abduction, gruesome murders of unharmed citizens continue to be the trending news on our dailies.
Undoubtedly, the central factor which has prevented the insurrections in the north from becoming yet another tale of war is the ignorance which has being designed as serenity and tranquility to which the minds of many a northerner has been attuned to. The minds of many have been captured and prevented from embracing the gospel of citizens questioning the actions and inactions of the government like we have in parts of the country and in the world. It is literally a situation of the oppressed been prevented from fighting for liberation from the stronghold of the oppressor.
The various lords of the north who in an attempt to preserve outdated customs and traditions have subtly captured the mifns of it citizens and driving it where they will. This is by making education a privilege which has a substitute and which in the real sense has none. After all, “who school epp” is the slogan many have been accustomed to. Little wonder, it is said that when the mind of the oppressed is captured, no other thing falls into place.
Many of these archaic theories and ideas are one among the many tools that has been used overtime to cloud the minds of many northerners especially those who don’t have access to viable and quality education. Or how do we imagine that several of the rulers in the north have their children schooling in choice institutions abroad. Whereas, the minds of the citizens they are ruling over are being bought with a piece of bread.
Let’s compare the luxurious marriage of the President’s own son which was to many a show of indecency and shame to how local law enforcement agents are quick to clamp down on sellers of alcoholic drinks on the false premise of preserving a culture. Isn’t this hypocrisy at its highest?
Niger State which has the slogan of being the power state since it generates a worthwhile percentage of the electricity requirements of the country due to the presence of the Kanji dam, has hy extension been tagged the seat of power for bandits. The daily announcement from these criminals is for poor and hapless villagers to enter into a bargain by selling their produce to raise ransom to seal the release of their abducted relatives.
A walk down the line, in Sokoto State, shows villagers being shut indoors for fear of reprisal attacks. The rider to the need is that both those at home and those in the streets are becoming the prey and the hunted.
In Kaduna State, it is a situation of you either give me my share or I waste your life. Even the aviation sector which was initially the safest form of transport has been relegated to the background as these individuals who for a longer time have been refused to be tagged terrorists by the government and its allies now go to the extent of shooting down fighter jets. Who says there is no smoke without a fire?
And in the North East? It is a daily bloodbath. Children turned orphans, women suddenly turning widows and precious human lives of Nigerian troops caught in their prime years by experienced terrorists who possess much more sophisticated weapons than our troops posses.
And amidst all these, the actions and reactions of the lords and chiefs in the North has been both amusing and disgusting. Rather than call a round table discussion and proffer valuable solutions, what the chiefs bicker over is the failure of the various political parties to zone the Presidency to their region or the failure of the NYSC to open the camp at Borno State. What has this gotten to do with what is on ground you may want to ask?
Perhaps if only we understand the fact that the Hemorrhage in the North is an eye sore to other regions affects all other regions. Until my friends in the North Yohana and Bulus are able to visit me without entertaining any fear, until Southern Kaduna is able to experience peace as it was in yester years, until Borno which was christened the home of peace in the late 90s can actually proove that it isn’t a home of war, until farmers do not have to pay loans to bandits to harvest their crops I think we need to continually ask the question from Nigeria’s docile lords”
“Who will stop the hemorrhage in Northern Nigeria”?
