The deed indeed has been done, but what next? Obviously the precautionary measure taken by the US caused a dramatic distraction and horse trading. Back home in Nigeria, top government officials are bemoaning, berating and tongue lashing. But where will that take anybody?
Given the incident of September 11, 2001 in US, the traumatic or psychological dislocation that singular act or carnage has a caused the entire American people calls for any action that will prevent its reoccurrence. Granted that subjecting Nigerians and other nationals to dehumanizing checks at entry points into America, wouldn’t have been the best solution, but in all honesty, the attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab re-echoes history and at the same time sends jitters or shock into the spines of the American people. Thus, what Americans need now is soothing words, and anything that can possibly calm their nerves. That alone will even take some tile to flee from their memories.
Indeed the fact still remains that no one in the world except in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Parlistine would anyone expect a boy of of Abdulmutallab jnr.'s age to emback on such a deadly adventure. However, his well planned but aborted suicide venture raises both global and national questions.
The global questions we need to ask are: i.) When all of a sudden did we relax our war on terror to have allowed such a defenseless enemy penetration?
ii.) Could we have concentrated on the far front so much so that the home front is vulnerable?
iii.) Have we as parents lost control over our children?
vi.) How much monitoring, educating and enlightening of our wards about the evil of terrorism have we done...?
v. Who are the American enemies within the American security or government agencies?
vi. Can the evil of one Nigerian be justifiably used to punish 150millions Nigerian along millions of “tagged countries” nationals?
vii. Are there like-minds or misguided kids like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab?
viii. Can true Moslems join hands in educating and enlightening devotees about Islamic values, tenets and morals?
ix. For how long can we go on fighting terrorism especially when it seems like a patched basket we’re managing to draw water from a power fal tidal wave quaver from a high spring?
x. Is there a lasting solution we can collective find, inner to bring peace which terrorism has robbed the world of?
xi. Can the whole world in unison fight this was on terror?
xii. Can the innocent people of this world who often fall victim of terrorism be told the truth about the real thing behind terrorism and the gospel truth about the cause, the perpetrators and/or beneficiaries.
The national questions our government needs to answer are:
i. What lesson can we learn from the action latter by the US?
ii. Is Nigeria not truly a security risk, when some government agents are often buy during the wrong thing at the right time or doing the bribery and corruption spoil, thereby leaving the pure danger slip between their eyes unnoticed?
iii. An attempt on about 300 American citizens has shown how deeply concerned the American government is about the security and welfare of its people. Yet how many died in Bauchi, Borno and other states the Boko Haram Crisis spilled over to? What has government done to prevent the its reoccurrence in Niger State last year and December of the same year in the same Bauchi?
iv. Can the Foreign Affairs Ministry now do a just N2billion trip spend on getting the Hilary Clinton and others that matter, be on the same page with the blame sharing of security lapses and eventual do listing of Nigeria?
v. Does Nigeria government really care about the welfare and security of its citizens? Or are we just crying woe because our collective neglect of our various responsibilities both as parents and custodian of public trusts have boomerang?
vi. Does the people in-charge in government know anything about effective communication, true diplomacy and public relations?
vii. For how long shall we keep deceiving ourselves, shedding crocodile tears and pretending the be active when we’re actually sleeping?
viii. How much have we done to quell internal crises/actions fit to be Christine act of terrorism?
ix. Have we ever bothered to proof to the world our there that you cant toil with a Nigerian and get away with it.
x.) Where have we missed the link between parenthood and guidance?
xi.) What has happen to our education system, value system and moral education?
xii.) What has our Muslim or Christian parents done to inculcate religious tolerance, and to discourage the hate that exist among us?
xiii.) Where went our communal spirit and brotherly love, and that respect for human dignity with which Nigerians were known for?
xiv.) Does my senior professional colleague - Abike Dabri know the implication of her statement concerning the court where Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should be tried given the present situation of a yet to be recovered Xmas shock of 2009?
xv.) Can we for once be objective and leave politics out of this matter and concentrate rather on soothing/doucing the pain of the shock from that attempt on the Americans?
xvi.) Would it not have been better, if we apply diplomacy and astute communication skills in this matter?
Whether these questions are left on unanswered or not, the next thing to do is to find a way out of the dehumanized subjection of Nigerians at entry points in US and the rest of the world. It goes further to tell how we can exhaust all strategies at our disposal to remove Nigeria from the list, because even the devil can bear witness to the fact that terrorism is never a Nigerian culture, neither do we do nor condone terrorism.
Therefore, we have to apply full diplomacy and proper image laundry, and not the frivolous type we've been doing. In fact, what Nigeria can best do is to go the Saudi Arabia government way in the aftermath of 9 - 11 terror attack in America, who hired Patton Boggs and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld.... Nigeria government must as a matter of urgency hire the best Public Relations (PR) firms in America and elsewhere to burnish Nigeria's image and to tactically remove Nigeria from the black list, terror tag and horrible rating. And above all assure America and the rest of the world that almost every Nigerian except Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab abhor strongly every act of terrorism.
Finally, in all honesty or to say the gospel truth, Nigerians don't deserve the kind of checks the Americans have resorted to, because terorism is never in our character QED!
