There are countries that wake you up with birds singing. Nigeria wakes you up with breaking news. You rub your eyes, switch on your phone, and before your morning tea has cooled, your blood pressure has already attended three meetings.
Maybe Nigeria should start awarding medals for emotional endurance. Not national honours — those have become too political.
I mean genuine medals. Bronze for surviving one year without relocating. Silver for raising children without losing your sanity. Gold for running a small business for ten years. Platinum for reading the newspapers every morning without developing hypertension.
Every new day arrives carrying a fresh trailer of unbelievable stories.
You begin by saying: “Surely, today will be peaceful.”
Nigeria just smiles that mysterious smile and says: “Sit down first. This country is not for the emotionally fragile, or the lilly-livered. It is an endurance competition disguised as a nation. This week alone has been enough to leave even the strongest optimist searching for aspirin mixed with those bottles of orisisi that they sell at motor parks.
How do you explain the news surrounding retired Major General Rabe Abubakar and his wife?
Kidnapped.
Then the heartbreaking report that he died in the kidnappers’ den.
His body, according to reports, was eventually brought and handed over by a group representing the kidnappers to a group representing the state government . No arrest. No gunshot. Just ‘ Take his body, we kill, you bury.’
While we were still reeling from the shock of that handing-over ceremony, another twist was squeezed into the mix.
His wife was reportedly rescued alive.
Every Nigerian celebrated that rescue.
But beyond the relief, difficult questions are hanging in the air, like stubborn harmattan dust.
How exactly do these criminal gangs operate? How do armed men move victims from one place to another?
How do they feed them?
How do they transport bodies?
How do they negotiate for weeks?
How do they seemingly melt into forests, mountains and villages without leaving enough traces?
Do they suddenly become invisible?
Who sells food and daily provisions to them? Nobody sees them throughout these evil operations? Their bag men just don’t care who dies as long as they make plenty of money?
What are the critical pieces of intelligence, logistics and community cooperation we are still missing in this unending war against terror and kidnapping?
The scale and persistence of these crimes are totally exhausting.
One retired general.
Tomorrow, a professor.
Next week, a farmer.
Then a school pupil.
Looks like everybody is within reach now. Nobody should consider himself beyond reach or isn’t that the message these dark souls are passing across?
That itself has become one of Nigeria’s greatest enemies.
Just when your heart is trying to process that tragedy, another headline arrives from Kano.
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