A Ticking Time Bomb

As Christians and southerners flee in droves from the north following Boko Haram attacks on them, a lot of Nigerians are worried about an imminent outbreak of war if the southerners avenge the killing of their kith and kin in the north. The prevailing situation is reminiscent of the events that led to the Nigeria-Biafra civil war in the late 60s that claimed at least one million lives.

What appears to be ethnic cleansing in parts of the north began after the expiration of the ultimatum Boko Haram, the fundamentalist sect, gave Christians and southerners living in the north to leave. The extremists began to systematically attack churches where Igbo are predominantly the worshippers.

At least 20 Igbo were killed on 6 January in a hall in Mubi, Adamawa State. Similar massacres have also taken place in Gombe as well as in Damaturu in Yobe State. These occurred all came on the heels of the Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State during which over 40 worshippers, mostly Igbo, died.

Many Igbo leaders have insisted that the killing of their kinsmen in churches in the north has not been a mere coincidence and have frowned at the development and the ominous signs it portends for the peace and stability of the nation.

Although Igbo have been dissuaded from avenging the killings, how long will they hold their peace in the face of the unabated attacks on them in the north?

We are worried that if Niger Delta militias, OPC, Ogbunigwe Ndigbo and other ragtag outfits carry out their threat to retaliate, the reprisal attacks may snowball into events of cataclysmic proportions that could be difficult to contain by security agencies.

To avoid these, religious leaders and traditional rulers should intensify efforts at dousing the tension in the land and appeal to their people to allow peace to reign. No nation has survived two civil wars, and Nigeria can’t be different. For this reason, security agencies should devise better ways of stamping out the Boko Haram menace, whichever way they can.

The task becomes even more daunting, with the revelation by President Goodluck Jonathan that the extremists have infiltrated all arms of government.

The exodus of southerners from the north was stirred by the Boko Haram attacks and the failure of security agencies to protect those fleeing. The people’s confidence in the security agencies can be won back if they stamp out the Boko Haram menace.

Nigeria has been too close-knit since the civil war ended in 1970 to break up just like that. In this regard, agents of destablisation like the Boko Haram sect must not be allowed to foist its secessionist agenda on the people of Nigeria.

The signs are too ominous to be ignored by the government, traditional rulers and religious leaders. This tripod hasn’t done enough to douse the tension across the nation.