12th October, 2010
While we should be mourning the deceased victims of the Independence day bomb blasts close to Eagle Square in the nationâ€
Some northern political leaders, including Adamu Ciroma and Lawal Kaita, stirred the hornetâ€
Ironically, a group called Northern Political Summit took up the fight on behalf of Jonathan against Ciroma and his Northern Political Leaders Forum. The Northern pro-Jonathan group has warned Ciroma et al to desist from making inflammatory statements that could undermine the unity of this country. As if that was not enough warning, what Ciroma and co. said has attracted an equal measure of virulent and belligerent reaction from the South-South, Jonathanâ€
We are worried that anger and vitriolic attacks have trailed the bomb blasts even as the incident has been politicised. Should the country go up in flames because of the inordinate ambition of some political leaders? We wonder who the political gladiators will preside over if the country disintegrates before they actualise their ambition. Although we do not subscribe to the doomsday prophecies of some clerics that Nigeria may soon cease to be one geographical entity because of political intolerance and other divisive tendencies championed by some conservative elite, the reckless manner in which the nationâ€
If fifty years after independence we cannot speak with one voice on national issues or issues that threaten national security, can we say we are united as a people? Our so-called leaders are so hypocritical, myopic and self centred that they see everything from the prism of ethnicity or religion. They use these divisive tendencies to mask their parochial political and economic interests and use same to hoodwink their gullible followers. They have played the hackneyed ethnic and religious cards for the past fifty years yet this has not taken the nation anywhere. They are at the same vile game of deceit again. They should stop playing the spoilerâ€