None of the over 50 (mostly worshippers) that lost their dear lives in the Christmas Day bombing by outlawed Islamic sect, Boko Haram at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, saw their untimely and painful deaths coming.
Not even the many families that were trapped inside their cars and burnt beyond recognitions.
They had gone to Church, like most Christians around the world to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, only to be killed by some cowards masquerading under the guise of religion to perpetrate evil and unleash terror on the land.
What on earth would make a right thinking man or group dare going to a sacred place like the Church to commit mass murder? Pure insanity!
Killing defenseless people, including children inside a Church, on a day the entire world is celebrating and showing love to one another, in the name of religion is the worst sin against God and humanity. Families and loved ones that joyfully went to Church on Christmas Day to pray, celebrate and thank the good Lord, for a wonderful year were turned into human barbeque after being roasted alive by the raging inferno ignited by the explosion.
They will never see their loved ones again; neither will they ever witness any Xmas on earth again.
They went to Church to thank God for a wonderful Xmas not knowing that death was lurking behind through the infamous sect that is currently threatening the peaceful co-existence of this entity called Nigeria.
God, please where are you? Father, rescue your vulnerable children before this madness devours our once peaceful nation? Please show us your face of love and mercy since our leaders can no longer protect us.
They are busy enjoying life to the hilt in their Abuja fortresses, while our nation burns and innocent souls are being killed and slaughtered like Sallah rams.
In the words of the great Cicero: “The welfare of the people is the highest law.” But for our greedy, edacious and rapacious leaders, reverse is the case. They cater for themselves alone. What a big shame!
With the incessant bombings by Boko Haram, our nation with its visionless and mission less leaders is fast plunging into a failed state.
Sincerely speaking, if we truly have leaders with guts and biceps (apologies to Prof. Tam David West), we would not be experiencing incessant bombings. In fact, with the spate of bombings and insecurity going on in Nigeria, war-torn nations like: Somalia, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan and the rest of them are far better than us in terms of internal security arrangements.
Now, the US said they will help us fight Boko Haram, while waiting for Washington, can’t the government on its own do something about the lack of security in the country. We are tired of rhetoric and empty promises from Jonathan and his Service Chiefs. Will their usual cliché of: “we will fish out the perpetrators”, bring back the lives of the innocent citizens that were killed in the explosion? The explosion wiped out several families and loved ones. Will the boring and belated speeches of Mr. President and his confused Service Chiefs bring back the deaths? Do they know the agonies and pains those left behind by the victims of the evil blast are going through at the moment? No amount of words or material gifts can bring back the dead or assuage their families and feelings. Imagine an entire family being roasted alive inside their car on Christmas Day in a raging inferno that defied human solutions all because of poor security measures from those who are supposed to protect our lives and property at all times. With the current spate of bombings, it’s now obvious that the Service Chiefs are clueless and completely bereft of ideas. They should either shape in or shape out, because if this were to be a civilized clime, by now, all of them would have tendered their letters of resignation and covered their defeated faces in shame for failing the nation woefully. That can never happen in Nigeria; most public servants do not have shame and operate with impunity ably aided with tax payers’ money.
Sadly, security, which had been enjoying robust votes in previous budgets, also got the highest amount in the current budget presentation, yet that same security is now at its lowest ebb in our polity.
Jonathan and his team should be reminded that they cannot build their reputations on what they are going to do about our security challenge in the future. This is the time to act; they should hit the ground now and start running, because Boko Haram will definitely want to strike again, especially as we approach the New Year. The time is now Mr. President, Nigerians are tired of your crawling style of governance.
A government that cannot provide jobs should at least provide adequate security for its citizenry. Failure to do this means you are openly inviting anarchy, which is conspicuously looming in our polity today.
It’s quite sad that even the government is also playing politics with the issue of Boko Haram. But for how long will they continue to toe this inglorious path at the expense of ordinary and hapless Nigerians, whom Mr. President swore to protect with the constitution at his colourless inauguration? Visibly angry and despondent Nigerians need an urgent answer before the entire nation is consumed by the carnage and cowardly act of Boko Haram and their financiers.
As I end this article with tears in my eyes for the heroic Nigerians who lost their precious and priceless lives in the Boko Haram orchestrated Christmas Day bombing in Madalla, Niger State, I leave you with words of wisdom from the Holy Book: “Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with many counselors, there is safety.” (Proverbs 11: 14.).
Adieu the victims of Madallah bomb blast, may your souls find eternal rest and peace in the bosom of our Lord. Amen!
