Written by MICHAEL ILORI
Iya Kayode the bean cake(akara) seller screamed and dropped the phone.
Kayode her only son had just been killed. The boy she gave all her sweat
for just died few weeks after getting a bank job in Enugu with promises
to repay his mom gone with the winds. A death caused by a needless war.
Mama Nonso couldn’t even console her neighbor iya Kayode. Two days
earlier, Nonso her second child was beheaded in the North.
Trying to escape the madness of a war which had just began, Nonso and a
few others bundled themselves into a bus and tried to escape from the
North. After 5 hours taking several dangerous routes in the middle of
the night and about 30 minutes to safety, they were spotted by a group
of angry Northern youths who vandalized their vehicle, took all in the
bus and beheaded. They didn’t even spare the 2 year old daughter of
Margaret. The leader of the gang killed both mother and child with the
same sword.
The leader of that group is Abdul Azeez. 5 days ago his elder brother
Abdul Rahman was one of seven people beheaded by Kanu’s IPOB who shared
the video on YouTube with the caption ‘Now the Zoo would know we are
serious’. Until Azeez saw the video where his brother was beheaded, the
only thing he had ever slaughtered with his sword were rams and cows
during the Islamic festivals. Now within days he has killed scores of
people and vowing to kill a thousand score more.
Chinedu(Kanu’s cousin) and his partner Usman are happy and smiling to
the bank. Both of them are the major suppliers of arms and ammunition
into the country. Both are outside Nigeria and pray the war never ends.
For the longer it is, the richer they become. While Chinedu is the chief
supplier of the South & West, Usman is in charge of the entire
North zone. Buy my special guns to kill your enemies they say, yet the
funds go into the same account managed by both.
Chief Anyanwu(PDP) and Alhaji Aminu(APC) are in the UN calling for peace
and a need to raise millions of pounds to help the needy back in
Nigeria. One month ago, both had relocated their entire families to the
UK knowing fully well that their hateful inciteful speeches in the name
of political parties would set the stage for war and take away the
attention of the EFCC closing in on them to account for the billions
squandered by them before the no nonsense Buhari came in to power.
While the Nigerian army is fighting the Biafran army, the children of
the poor are ambushing and killing themselves across the nation. The
rich and mighty are watching with their families in safety from nations
abroad. It’s been only one week of the war, and the carnage and spilling
of blood is shocking as reported by CNN.
I have taken timeout to paint a picture of an avoidable war. Only the
poor would suffer the carnage by paying with their lives. Biafra youths
are threatening, Arewa youths have spoken, Niger Delta youths are
warning and Oduduwa youths are aligning. In all of these, I am yet to
see the Nigerian youths.
The Nigerian youth who needs to see the potential dangers ahead and rise
up to prevent the many deaths ahead. Those who need to rise up above
regional, religious and political affinities. Those who truly believe
that our past cannot be used to judge our future and must do all
necessary to prevent the shedding of innocent blood. We must say a big
NO to those who clamor for war and raise an army that shall be bigger
than all the forces trying to destroy our nation for their selfish
gains.
My name is MICHAEL ILORI, a firm believer in the ONE NIGERIA project and I just want to make logical sense.