Red Cross volunteers collect victims’ bodies after the Jan. 20 bombing. PHOTO COURTESY OF NIGERIAN RED CROSS
Samina Esha
Senior Reporter
“I have family back home and I am worried about their safety,” said Adesuyi Adeleke, a 29-year-old Humber resource management student from the state of Ekitim, Nigeria. “These terrorists have killed hundreds. In the last two to four years they have moved from the south side of Nigeria to other parts of the country, so who knows what’s next.”
As the turmoil in Nigeria continues, both the Canadian-Nigerian community and Nigerian students at Humber question the action of the Nigerian government, which some believe has failed to address the underlying social causes of the strife and even plays a manipulative role in the conflict.
Humber has 50 Nigerian international students and can help network them at a time of crisis: “We let students know about various counseling supports and help them reach out within their community,” said Kim Smith, manager of the college’s International Centre.
Nigeria has slid into chaos after the latest major attack on Jan. 20 when Islamist insurgents coordinated a series of bomb blasts and shooting sprees. The assailants targeted police headquarters, the state security office and the office for Nigerian immigration services in Nigeria’s second largest city, Kano.
Over 185 people were killed that day, with many injured. The attack sent over 10 million panicked residents in Kano running for cover.
According to Umar Abdu Mairiga, the head of programmes and disaster management of the Nigerian Red Cross, much of the wreckage has been cleared. The organization helped the government to sift through the rubble, burying bodies.
Echoes of gunshots and bomb blasts haunted the streets of Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city. PHOTO COURTESY OF NIGERIAN RED CROSS
“Right now it’s calm. But there is growing tension because people are wondering what may happen next,” said Mairiga. “All the volunteers are at standby. The volunteers are taking care of those that are injured, taking them to the hospital, assessing the damage and reporting to us. In fact, I am on my way to the location.”
The extremist group responsible for the attack is known as Boko Haram. Its origin is thought to be from northeast Nigeria. The group believes that the existing secular system should be abolished and replaced with an Islamic state. According to Human Rights Watch, Boko Haram has killed over 900 people since its rise in 2009. Approximately 250 people were killed in the first weeks of this year.
Charles Musa is a 29-year-old Nigerian and graduate of Humber’s marketing management program. Over the years, Musa has personally felt the impact of the unrest, as his family has lost their two hotels during election violence and he thinks these attacks stem from political aspirations.
“This is not the first time this is happening to my family. Whenever there is a political issue or propaganda, the country has riots, deaths and attacks from Boko Haram,” said Musa. He believes politicians manipulate even terrorist activity.
“As far as I am concerned, the [Boko] group doesn’t even exist,” said Musa. “I come from a family of Muslims and Christians and it is a country for all. Poverty and illiteracy makes it easy for politicians to control and motivate these poverty stricken people. Religion is just used as a tool.”
On the other hand, Adeleke hopes addressing the social issues will dismember the terrorist group.
“I don’t think the government took the right steps. They should have looked at the situation from a social point of view,” he said. “High illiteracy, corruption and poverty in certain parts of the country make it easy for political, religious, or any other groups to control these people. If these social issues were tackled then these people would not be diverted to join this extremist group.”
For Kenny Gbadebo, president of the Nigerian-Canadian Organization (Windsor), it is a combination of things that has lead to the attacks.
“Our country is full of wealth and resources but it is in the hands of less than one per cent of people. So people are frustrated and don’t have control over their own destiny. And the government doesn’t have control over the people,” said Gbadebo.
He believes that while the situation in Nigeria is complex, the solution might lie within.
“Yes, religion and politics are a problem but our number one enemy is corruption and exploitation. It is eating our country from the inside out. Everyone from the rich to poor is corrupt. If we demolish corruption, the country would be united,” he said.
Dr. Jerry Ugokwe is the former Nigerian representative to United Nations and the current international spokesperson for Nigeria. While Nigerians are typically critical of their government’s actions, Ugokwe offers assurances that the government is taking appropriate actions to control the situation and adds he hopes for people’s faith in the government.
Humber student Adeleke Adesuyi (right) and friend during peaceful times at a wedding in Ilorin Kwara State, Nigeria. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY YONG
“The government is doing everything in its power to control the situation. We have the direct cooperation of almost all the international agencies and the United Nations to fight these acts of terrorism,” he said.
Ugokwe noted that innocents are being killed regardless of their religious affiliation and that terrorist attacks are new in Nigeria: in order to fight them, the government needs the help and support of the public.
“The government has changed the leadership of the Nigerian police to make it more vigilant and dynamic. The government has also closed and tightened the borders as some of the ammunitions were coming in from outside the country,” said Ugokwe. “Recently the national assembly passed an anti-terrorism bill which has now been signed by the president to be an act of the parliament. With that it will be possible to apprehend these people and [judge] them under the new law.”
Listen to Et Cetera interview here.