The Kaiama Massacre And The Tragedy: A Nation Living In Denials -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Two weeks ago, Nigeria witnessed one of the deadliest rural terrorist attacks in recent memory when terrorist stormed Woro and Nuku villages in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwarra State killing over 170 people, razing homes, looting shops and abducting several residents. Media reports had it that the terrorists operated for almost ten hours unhindered and unchallenged. Victims were short at close range, some burnt alive while some were found with their hands tied and their throats slashed.

The Kaiama Massacre has sparked off public outrage as the killings are seen as an evidence of systemic failure and government negligence. The Kwarra State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described the attack in what many see as a lame excuse, as cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells in response to the ongoing military operations against armed groups in the state. The Amnesty International blamed negligence and security lapses for the attacks. According to the international human rights body, “the security lapses that enabled these attacks are unacceptable…” especially as it was said that the terrorists had been sending warning letters to the villages for more than five months before the attack. The foremost international human rights organization blamed the Nigerian government for leaving the rural communities at the mercy of rampaging terrorists.

A few days after the Federal Government in its characteristic reactive manner sent troops to the scene, after the lives of the innocent hapless citizens have been wasted, in what is code-named: “Operation Savannah Shield”. The scale of killing is staggering, horrifying and worrisome coming a few weeks after the military was said to have launched a “sustained coordinated offensive operations against the terrorists’ elements” in the area and was said to have achieved notable success, killing at least 150 fighters in the operation according to Aljazeera. We do not know if the government is deceiving the people through propaganda or whether the earlier operations in the area were being sabotaged?

But, what is more worrisome is the manner which these attacks are carried without any repulse from the security agencies. One concerned analyst ruefully summarized the attack thusly: “The attack and killing of 170 people in Kaiama is not an isolated incident. It reflects a growing pattern of violence across Nigeria’s North-central and Northwestern regions where rural communities have become increasingly vulnerable to armed groups.”

Be that as it may, these frequent attacks indicate failure on the part of the government. Communities in the far North now live in fear of bandits and terrorist elements. Some have been coerced into pact with the terrorist wherein they pay taxes and provide food and provisions to the terrorist in order to avoid being raided. In a world where people know their rights and understand the principles of social contract, Tinubu and his team would be sacked ignominiously for failure to protect those whom they have sworn under oath to protect.

In a recent release from the World Update, Nigeria is officially declared the worst place to live on earth and a place with the lowest quality of life in the world. For long it has been the poverty capital of the world and now it is the most terrorized country in the world and yet those in charge seem not to care, their only concern being how to destabilize the opposition, cover up their failure and hold on to power at all costs.

In the last six weeks more than 1000 Nigerians have been murdered by rampaging bandits and terrorist without any affirmative action to turn things around from the government. The frequency of the attacks and mass killings perpetuated by bandits and terrorists in the Northern villages is not just about the strength of the armed group but also about the marginalization, poor policing and absence of a coherent state strategy to protect vulnerable citizens.

I am not just worried; I am distressed about the state of affairs in the country especially in the North where different terrorist organizations like Bokoharam, ISWAP, ISIS and others are operating without let or hindrance while the Northern leaders and politicians seem unperturbed. The Northern religious leaders too, seem to be secretly happy about the state of insecurity in the North as they have been hoodwinked into thinking that it is meant to spread Islam. This to me is delusional. They claim that the killings affect both Christians and Moslems and yet they seem not worried about it. The worst of all is the apparent nonchalant attitude of the government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s concerning the state of insecurity in the North and its unwillingness to fight insecurity in the country in order not to anger the Northern establishment. And it is quite unfortunate that the government could play politics with our national security. Thus, as the 2007 election beckons, Nigerians must decide whether to vote out insecurity or remain in it.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK