BUHARI ATTACK AN ACT BY ...? The battle against terror will not be won by feisty recriminations, but through a united front Last Wednesday in Kaduna, former Head of State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) survived an apparent assassination attempt when a suicide bomber hit his convoy, leaving three persons severely injured and the vehicles destroyed. A popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, also survived another bomb attack same day in Kaduna. Although nobody or group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks that left no fewer than 82 persons dead with scores of others injured, the patterns are all- too-familiar. Against the background that the immediate past Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno and many other prominent figures had been similarly attacked, the latest round of madness in Kaduna and Kano is not beyond the machinations of Boko Haram. But it is also important for the authorities not take the attack on Buhari lightly, essentially because the emerging political architecture of our country today redefines him literally as the leader of opposition. The onus is therefore on the federal government to design his security protection arrangement to reflect that reality. In a defiant statement that stresses that terror cannot win in our country, Buhari recounted how he narrowly cheated death: “This thing was ignited at exactly where my car was almost side by side with the bomber. I came out, there was blood on my dress, I did not know how it came about because I did not have a scratch myself, but dead bodies were all over the place. The security tried to move me to the other side and we just got one of the vehicles passing and they brought me home.” Even as we mourn with the families of those who lost their lives in the terror attacks and call on the authorities to provide adequate medical care for the injured, we thank God for sparing the life of Buhari. The consequences of the contrary can only be imagined in a country so divided and a political environment that is already super- charged less than seven months to the 2015 general elections. However, while we condemn the attempt in the strongest term, we call for restraint on the part of all the political stakeholders as we grapple with the challenge of insecurity at such a difficult time like this. It is in this light that we consider it rather unhelpful and indeed distasteful that the governors of states controlled by the opposition All Progressives Party (APC) would issue a statement that puts a political spin on the tragedy. What is often lost on many of our political leaders is that it is well nigh impossible to predict where next terrorists would strike or what drives their choice of targets. The constant, however, is that the bigger the victim of their bestiality, the more oxygen it provides for their nefarious activities. Indeed, terror merchants enjoy the attention that a high-profile victim confers on them. That then explains why we consider the insinuation by some politicians shortly after the bombs exploded as not only irresponsible but callous. Finger-pointing and apportioning blames over terror attacks even as Boko Haram atrocities intensified have done as much to stoke the tensions and feeling of insecurity in the country as the actual horrors of their activities. Yet when a nation is divided in the face of a common enemy, it leaves the citizens feeling confused, unprotected and vulnerable. It also strengthens an enemy that can take comfort in seeing its adversaries distracted by internal political bickering. Also, when a nation faced with terror is unclear as to who its real enemies are, it cannot forge a common front and devise a collective strategy because that nation cannot pull in one direction. Therefore, we call on all Nigerians to rise up as one as we fight this common enemy that seems desperately bent on destroying the peace and harmony of our country. It shall not succeed!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 21:30:53 +0000
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