SIR: In the afternoon of Sunday, April 11, , a red mist descended on Kanam Local Government area of Plateau State when a number of communities which included Kukawa, Gyambawu, Dungur, Kyaram, Yelwa, Dadda, Wanka, Shuwaka, Gwammadaji and Dadin Kowa were attacked by gunmen who rode on motorcycles and wielded dangerous weapons. At the end of the attacks, at least 70 people lay dead while countless houses were razed to the ground.
The questions continue in the state and elsewhere as to why one state should suffer the asphyxiating grip of violence for years with no solution in sight. There is no doubt that the violent attacks which rattle Plateau State from time to time to leave families heartbroken are not the random acts of ragged criminals; they are too sophisticated to be. Instead, they seem the careful handiwork of killers who know how to mine the method in their madness and are only following the script perfectly as the actors of annihilation.
The government may be doing its best to secure lives and properties in the country. But for many, that best is the worst ever and it does not matter that many gallant security personnel continue to pay the ultimate price every day. There can be no question about it.
There is no question that as long as many Nigerians have to live in fear of ruthless criminals, something is gravely wrong with the way the country has been set up.
Plateau State is not at all in a school of its own when it comes to states devastated by criminal attacks. In that school of insecurity, there is Kaduna State, there is Niger State and even Benue State. But the most senior students of that school would seem to be Borno and Zamfara where terrorists have become so established that they now have the capacity to export terror to other parts of Nigeria.
All those who sow and sponsor terror together have become unbearable burdens onboard the ship of Nigeria‘s journey to nationhood. They are the reason the ship is threatening to break apart. To lighten the ship, they must be cast into the sea.
If there is anything vulnerable Nigerians who consume the dregs of poverty expect, it is that they be left in peace to eat the pancakes of privation served them by Nigeria. Instead of splaying them out like sacrifices to vicious criminals, Nigeria should do all it can to protect them.
Until Kanam and other communities ripped apart by terrorism are secured, Nigeria will continue to cry from the heart.
- Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com