The Unsafe Abuja-Kaduna Journey

By Kayode Komolafe

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974                  

It was most appropriate  that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu cancelled the colloquium organised yesterday to mark his 70th birthday anniversary in honour of the memories of those killed in the terrorist attack on an Abuja-Kaduna passenger train. A number of the   passengers were kidnapped while some others sustained injuries.  The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) aptly described the bloodletting as a “national tragedy” while calling for a “sober reflection” on the state of insecurity in the country. It would be insensitive  to be celebrating just  hours after such a disaster.

In a related  act of  responsiveness, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was to be part of the  Lagos colloquium made a detour to Kaduna  to be in solidarity with the  injured victims in the hospital. Osinbajo had been one of the organisers of the earlier 12 editions of the yearly Bola Tinubu Colloquium. 

The gravity of what happened on Monday evening  was further demonstrated by the visit of the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya to the scene of the attack, a few kilometres to Kaduna. The army chief, of course,  ordered troops to intensify the operations for the  rescue of those kidnapped while going after the terrorists.

In the face of the climate of insecurity enveloping the nation,   the significance of the appropriate response  goes beyond the  optics.

The government and the people must continue to demonstrate in words and action that our collective humanity is assaulted and diminished  by the killings. Every attack should be treated as abnormal. Even symbolic gestures would, at least,  serve the purpose of  keeping  the plight of the victims  alive in  the public consciousness.

The point at issue is that it is  important to deliberately  humanise the responses to the unfolding tragedy at the official and unofficial levels.

With  the daily horrific  reports of killings and destruction, it would be a sad commentary for the society itself  to appear unshockable.

Indeed,  shocking things happen. But it is sometimes as if the  torrents of the tragic news of killing  and kidnappings have become a routine. For instance, today is  the 270th day that some students of the Bethel Baptist High School at  Kujama in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna  State have been in captivity. They were kidnapped in their school. The agony of the parents still awaiting their children who left home to be in school 270 days ago could  only be imagined.  On April 14, it would be eight years  that scores  of the kidnapped Chibok girls have been in the den of terrorists. In the north-eastern  states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa  about 26% of schools has been targeted by suicide bombers in the last  10 years and the basic education of 1.9 million  children is in jeopardy, according to UNICEF.  But who is talking about these poor children in the  public sphere anymore?

The attack  on the train two days ago has proved again that travelling  between Abuja and Kaduna is one of the most dangerous things to do at the moment. Some passengers avoided  the   Abuja-Kaduna Highway because of the activities of terrorists and other criminals on the road. The rail option became more attractive for travellers largely because of security reasons.  With the Monday attack, however, not a few travellers  would  henceforth consider boarding a train from Abuja to Kaduna or vice versa a grave risk. 

In a way, the terrorists are actually restricting the freedom of movement of the people by targeting  all modes of transportation.  The attack on the train was particularly gruesome  in the way it happened. Among the eight persons  who have died from  the attack was the young Dr. Chinelo Megafu. She was said to be billed to leave Nigeria on Friday to pursue her career. Another victim was Comrade Musa Lawal Ozigi , the general secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). His wife was also shot in the attack and she is receiving treatment in the hospital. The stories are deeply sad. The fate of some of those kidnapped is yet unknown as the details of the tragedy are still emerging.

With the road and rail becoming increasingly unsafe, the Kaduna airport was reportedly attacked by  terrorists last week.  One person was killed during the attack and an aircraft was said to be prevented from flying. The military authorities have, however, denied the story of the  attacks. Garrison Commander 1st Division Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Uriah Opuene,  and the Airforce Base Commander in Kaduna,  Air Commodore Ademuyiwa Adedoyin,  assured the public that the airport was “protected.”  The assurance itself raises some worrisome questions. For the  Garrison Commander put the matter this way: “As you can see, this place is about six kilometres away from the airport terminal. The bandits were only passing behind the airport perimeter fence when they saw the security man engaged by NAMA (Nigerian Airspace management Agency) and fired at him. They just took advantage of that to pass a message that they have attacked the airport.’

According to the army officer,  with air strikes 12 of the terrorists were killed. One of the troubling questions is this: how much confidence  should a passenger have in the system  given the fact that the terrorists  could pass “behind the perimeter fence” of the airport?

Beyond the  extremely unsafe journey between Abuja, the nation’s capital, and Kaduna, the political capital of the north, is the fact that parts of  Kaduna state are being attacked  virtually on a daily basis. This is despite a host of defence  and security formations located in the state and the efforts of the government of Governor Nasir el-Rufai. In fact, a federal legislator said yesterday on the floor of the Senate that security and defence authorities should do more to tackle insecurity in the state. In the last few days, scores of persons have been  reportedly killed in the rural areas of  the  Giwa Local Government  Area of the state.

All told, the challenge still remains that of the Nigerian state to fulfil its constitutional responsibility of putting an end to the activities of the mass murderers. There may be a need for a rethink of strategy  and the mobilisation of all stakeholders for security purposes.

President Muhammadu Buhari expectedly had a meeting with the security chiefs yesterday afternoon. Among other things, he told them: “My earlier directive that the military should deal ruthlessly with terrorists stands. Anyone found unlawfully wielding AK47 should not be spared. No one should be allowed to hold this country to ransom.”

The situation doubtless demands talking tough. More important, however, is getting the job done as the President has directed. There was a popular clamour for a change of service chiefs. The incumbent  service chiefs should  justify the confidence reposed in them by the President and the public. To be fair to them, they have made some initial good impressions. But the service chiefs  should be wary of the cynical psychology  being peddled by  some security experts that terrorism is a thing that has come to stay with the modern state. No, Nigeria must never surrender to terror. A visionary  state armed with competent apparatuses and humane social policies  can defeat terrorism. The nation is definitely not helpless in the task of ensuring security.       

With sincerity of purpose on the part of the security and defence authorities, it is possible to reverse the trend of worsening insecurity in the remaining  14 months of the Buhari administration.  And that is far from being unduly optimistic.