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Several months ago,
as a direct result of the seeming futility of constantly complaining
about the state of affairs in my dear nation, I swore off commenting on
Nigerian political affairs. I also decided that the celebration of
independence was not for me.

I made these
decisions based on my assessment of the Nigerian nation. Having looked
back at my own life and the achievements therein and discovered that
those failures that stared me in the face were not necessarily personal
failures, but the effects of the continuous propagation of governments
that place little faith in the accomplishments of its future leaders.

It would not do to
start recalling the myriad of ways that the leadership of the Nigerian
state has got it wrong over the years, as those instances have already
been documented and commented upon by better-informed people. However,
I think it would serve this commentary some measure of service if I
talk about why I decided to break my silence and again comment on the
Nigerian question.

I broke my silence
because of the audacity for violence, which seems to be the new mantra
of an organisation for which I used to harbour some form of sympathy.

As I write this,
the apology tendered by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger
Delta (MEND) is circulating in the media. I do not much care for the
fact that MEND’S belated apology casts doubt on the efficiency of our
security forces as presently constituted, especially as the
announcement by MEND effectively counters President Goodluck Jonathan’s
assertion that the bomb blast that caused the death of several
Nigerians and cast a dark pall over the independence day celebrations,
was not of MEND’S doing.

I agree with those
who want to give the president the benefit of doubt and read between
the lines of what many called his defence of a violent organisation
that claims to represent his home region.

I base my argument
on common sense, especially since the deaths of fellow Nigerians would
serve the organisation little. A bomb exploding away from their home
region, at a time when they can be said to have control of the Nigerian
state through the office of the president, is nothing short of shooting
themselves in the foot.

As it stands now,
by attacking Abuja and killing innocent Nigerians who have nothing to
do with the situation that the Niger Delta found itself in, MEND has
proven beyond all reasonable doubt that it is nothing more than a
terrorist organisation and should be treated as such.

For an organisation
that effectively gifted its catchment area the much sought after
presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (some might disagree, but
it is my belief that Jonathan became the vice president as a result of
the activities of the militants and the need to calm nerves in the
Niger Delta), MEND acted very much like the clueless winner.

I know the reasons
given for the attack were viable grounds for dissent, but using bombs
to stress a point was taking it too far. MEND should have followed the
examples of those of us who chose to boycott the event or the example
of the majority of Nigerian commoners whose apathy to the whole wastage
made it seem like an elitist Halloween party.

MEND and other
militant groups have cried about neglect loudly for a long time. They
have spread the news of the degradation of the Niger Delta for years;
they have brought the pain of the citizens of the Niger Delta closer to
us, but in doing this they have also got rich and bold, too bold if one
might say so. In their quest to push their agenda, which I used to
subscribe to, MEND has emboldened itself to begin seeing us as
acceptable collateral damage. To this I am forced to say no. No, we
cannot be collateral damage for an issue that we have no hand in.

By making us
collateral damage, MEND is forcing us to take sides, forcing us to
strike out at them as we seek to defend ourselves. MEND, by killing us,
is effectively making itself the enemy of the Nigerian people, not just
the government, especially now that it has all the reasons in the world
to keep the peace.

MEND’s desire to
shift the blame of the deaths to the Nigerian security agencies, which
it claims did not respond to its calls to evacuate the areas around
Eagle Square cuts less cheese than a knife made of air. The fact is,
they set the bombs, primed them to go off at a certain time. Had they
not wanted the bombs to go off and cause casualties they would have
told the authorities the location of the bombs, and kept the goodwill
of Nigerians. MEND messed up big time and deserves little or no
sympathy from Nigerians.

As it stands, my
heart goes out to President Jonathan, for surely the question would be
asked; “how come he can’t keep his boys in check? “

Fred Nwonwu is the online Editor for Business in Africa magazine and culture and travel editor for Side View magazine