By 02/07/2011 00:00:00
This is a very refreshing piece. It indicates that at least a number of Nigerians still do healthy thinking in spite of all odds. You may need to do a proposal to the Federal Government over this issue, or those with warped idea over how to combat it. It would put us all in trouble. The police took a false step in the beginning with the extra-judicial killing of the leader of the sect and some of his followers. And up till now, justice has not been seen to be done. Justice is the bedrock of any society. Let government consider this and other non-combative means of resolving this security threat first. But if that fails, and I pray it doesn’t, then...
Vincent, I read your comment in The Nation newspaper and I feel glad that there are still concerned Nigerians who are actually ready to fight back with their lives. I would like to tell you what I have observed about the infamous Boko Haram sect, which has been tormenting the peace of Nigerians for a while. if the sect is being led by intellectuals as everybody seems to believe, and it is opposed to western education, then their next major move would be against the Nigerian universities. And we all know that the few reputable universities are situated in the South-West region, which is Yorubaland.
I am using this medium to appeal to you to do anything in your capacity to alert the authorities and the Nigerian people about this. Thanks for your contribution today.
Emmanuel.
Vincent, I have just read your beautiful piece on Boko Haram. While I agree with you on the need for dialogue, I do not see the any reason why government should dialogue with criminals and terrorists. Rather, the dialogue should be with the rest of us who have had to bear the immeasurable brunt of having completely uneducated men and women occupying sensitive positions in government. Are the members of the Boko Haram sect more deprived than you and I, or the rest of the 130 million Nigerians who live on less than a dollar per day? Then we all need to take up arms or resort to act of terrorism, so that government can dialogue with us.
The dialogue with militants in the Niger Delta, labelled amnesty, has it solved the problem of kidnapping in the Niger Delta? Remember that the October 1, 2010 bombing was traced to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and not Boko Haram. Apart from the trial of Orkar in South Africa, what is the guarantee that members of MEND are still not in operation in Nigeria?
If the root cause of the deprivation in this country are not properly addressed, some of which are good governance, genuine and proper development, equal and adequate representation, electoral empowerment, employment and good education, to add to the numerous ones you mentioned, sooner or later, the uprising that will arise from the different geographical zones will be too much for even the security agencies of the United States of America to curtail. And that could eventually snowball into the disintegration of the nation called Nigeria, thereby fulfilling the prediction that in 15 years time, there will be no country called Nigeria. Fantastic piece. More ink to your pen.
Liborous Oshoma Esq.
Vincent, I found your article on Boko Haram too hilarious. It can be likened to Ali Baba's comedy. However, the import of the article was well understood. The truth is that the police institution is like the proverbial fly in a pot of honey who leaked and leaked until it got killed in the honey. Corruption, pleasure, money sharing, selfishness, lack of commitment to national duty is what the enemy needs to exterminate the police.
They are lackadaisical to national security. You can rest assured that with power from high through prayers, we will flush out Boko Haram with their evil plots.
Toyin, Abeokuta.
Vincent, many reasonable people have said it and they are still saying it, that only a national conference can foster stability in this country. For Nigeria to remain indissoluble, there must be a national conference. We must all rise up to confront the apostles of unitary system if we don't want to continue living in bondage.
Alhaji Adeboye Lawal, Felele, Ibadan.
A good piece at the right time. I just hope that our leaders who are educated and in positions to find lasting solutions to these man-made problems will be willing to do so. Thank you. God save Nigeria.
Omirinya, Makurdi.
I read your article in The Nation on Saturday and it was brilliant and humorous.
Keep it up.
Akin, Port Harcourt.
Vincent, I hope you will not kill somebody with laughter with your Saturday Flakes. Well, notwithstanding the presence of lanky, bearded men in kaftan around me, I will continue to answer Great! To every shout of Great Akokite! I will also continue to brand myself a learned fellow.
Olajide Olanipekun Esq, Oyo, Oyo State.
Vin my brother, your write-up on Boko Haram was quite apt. It is truth told in a lighter mood. I only hope that somebody is decoding them meaningfully to the President.
Tony, Silverbird, Jos.
Saturday Flakes with Vin is a must-read. It is prolific and spellbinding. But I am at a loss to confirm if your usage of the phrase "used to" in the context is all correct. Happy weekend.
Nkem.
You have given a sociological analysis of the avoidable security mess in which the country has found herself, no thanks to the quality of the leadership cabal foisted on the rest of us by the systemic inequality engendered by the kleptomania that has afflicted the rank and file of our leaders. The only fact that the Presidency cannot deny is that they have conceded a part of the North-East, at least Boorno State, to Boko Haram.
Marx Bayour, Lagos.
It is time for Mr. President to take the bull by the horn to say enough is enough with the Boko Haram boys and others who are planning to foment trouble through their sponsors to desist from their acts before the law catches up with them. Where there is crisis or insecurity, good governance suffer neglect.
Government should equip all the security agencies in order to make them effective in the task of securing the nation. Those who were responsible for the bombing of the police headquarters should be arrested and tried. The Inspector General of Police should retire honourably or sacked for disappointing the nation. Even when he was the Assistant inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 9 in Umuahia, Abia State, nothing good came out of him. Rather, kidnapping and other vices were the order of the day in Abia and its environs.
thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/politics/11107-re-before-another-president-emerges-from-boko-haram.html
Yomi Omoyele, Lagos.