On The Road To Perdition

'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. For Thou art with me: Thy Rod and Thy Staff, they comfort me' Psalm 23 vs 4.

Nigeria, how did we get here?


In 1967, the drums of war sounded across our land. What followed were three grueling years of  carnage that would send over a million human beings to the great beyond. The bone of contention then, was the attempted secession of the Igbos spearheaded by the enigmatic Dim Ojukwu. The Igbos simply wanted autonomy and at the time, this looked like too much to ask for. That war ended 42years ago. Did we truly ever recover from that dark period?


Nigeria, how did we get here?


Since the first bomb went of in 2010 in Abuja, things have spiraled out of control. Lately, the news in never complete everyday without reports of a few people killed in some part of the country either by a suicide bomber or by armed gunmen. Now, Sundays in the North are like visiting Iraq. You are almost sure a bomb would go off and a few more Nigerians would lose their lives. 


Many theories have been propounded as to what birthed Boko Haram. Some say the Northers want to truncate Jonathan's government and thus have sworn to make the polity ungovernable. Others say, the South-South want secession and have gone about this agenda by unleashing terror on the North. Many conspiracy theories, many names murmured, many fingers pointed. Still, the fear is palpable in the land. Things have gone haywire.


Nigeria, how did we get here?


A few years ago, suicide bombing was particularly alien to us as Nigerians. Today, the SSS is asking us to watch our neighbors and be extra-cautious when we sight strange objects and people. Today, churches all over the Nigeria have deployed all sorts of metal detectors  in a bid to forestall any attacks. Today, people in the South and West of Nigeria, urge their Christian brothers in the North to stay away from church until further notice. The same Nigeria.


When the civil war started in the sixties, it was solely an ethnic war. It was thus a specific war as you could tell what tribe was at war with which. Today, all the ingredients for another war are on our kitchen-top.  We just need to start throwing them into the pot and start mixing. All the elements of a classical war are staring at us in the face. We are on the road to perdition.


I am not going to attempt to share blame. No, No at all. The truth is, we'll never get anything done if we keep searching for who owns what and who rules who. Rather, I wish to warn the simpletons in our midst who still believe all is well. To be forewarned, is to be fore-armed. The forecast is gloomy and the outlook is eerie. 


The Yoruba adage that says a pre-announced war does not kill a crippled man captures it very well and aptly. We can pray from today till tomorrow, as long as we have all those pro-war ingredients and elements on our worktop, a war is what we will get. Only a crazy fellow lights a match inside a refinery and expects there won't be an inferno.


Nigeria, how did we get here?


Some of my colleagues now refer to me, albeit precociously, as Nostradamus. The prophet of doom of our era. It is certainly not a title I take pride in, but my cynicism and pessimism are not baseless.


The elements of religious bigotry and intolerance were not present when the 1967 war sparked. In 2012, we have all the rudiments that set off the Biafran war saga in addition to  the religious angle. The religious part is more worrisome as there are two culturally and socially accepted creeds in the land, Christianity and Islam and these very two are those set on this collision course.  


I don't care who started it. I don't care who rules Nigeria. I don't care who swallows his pride and becomes selfless. All I know is that we are in reverse gear and are at the edge of a cliff. Something urgent and drastic must be done if this entity called Nigeria is to remain as a unit.


Unfortunately, some of my friends from the South-South have openly admitted to me  that they will have it no other way. They maintain that the oil is from their land and they have been marginalized for so long. Now they are at the helm of affairs and they intend to ride the horse and their luck as far as, sanely and insanely, possible. An interesting point of view, if you ask me.


To those of you who have the means to flee, please keep that outlet patent. Ensure you have a valid international passport with an entry visa to any country at all. Ghana, Kenya, Grenada, wherever. Just have it. Rain it shall...salvation lies in building the ark.


Nigeria, how did we get here?


I don't know and I honestly don't care. 


I just know we are on the road to perdition.




Follow 'Wole @drwalls28 on Twitter.