COMMENTS ON BOKO-HARAM

Boko-Haram is a cancer, a huge malignant and ugly cancer that shows how bad things can get when you allow religious extremism, illiteracy, poverty, tribalism and corruption to breed together. 

It is such a shame that when we finally thought we were on the right path and headed somewhere this trouble raised it's ugly head. I think the major issue is one where you have rightly hit on the head: the silence of those who feel they are not affected by this i.e. the northern Muslims. At this junction because I don't like to talk behind the backs of people I will like to invite Usman Bala Mohammed.

Please listen carefully to what I have to say first.

Let us remember when there was intense racism and segregation in America. Imagine you had a white friend in those times who kept saying "I am not racist" but did nothing to stop racism, did not join in protests, did not help the police fish out members of the KKK, did not say anything or help out when you were being beaten but just kept quiet and said to you as you licked your wounds or as your family members and friends lay dead; "I am not racist" - Don't you think that person would be a big hypocrite?

Now let us bring it home; Remember that quote "The world will not be destroyed by those who cause trouble but by those who do nothing when evil is being done". i.e. it is not my business so let me just continue doing my own.

That is exactly where we find ourselves, I keep telling my Muslim friends everywhere and I am telling you all right now: 

"We have misplaced our priorities". People are being killed and no one is even bothered to take a stand but then someone posts a video about Prophet Mohammed on YouTube and what happens? There are riots and even killings in Libya and Egypt and so on.

What happens in Nigeria? Where children, women and men are being killed everyday in the name of religious extremism and not one person has protested or carried a placard; where I am sure these people have not even watched the movie (Do they even have electricity to power their TV's and laptops? Some of them don't even know what YouTube is) - over this film there are protests. (Maybe because some Iman said so; an Imam that is moved more by a movie than by the murder of human beings - whatkind of world do we live in.)

So here is the crux of the matter: Our Muslim brothers and sisters cannot extradite themselves from this mess and just stand aloof saying it has nothing to do with them. As I am typing this post now, I AM AN ENDANGERED SPECIES. Being a Christian is hard in Nigeria now. Some fanatic might walk in ready to blow us all to bits. Last week those murderers entered into a school where there were kids and started calling out the register. If you had a Christian sounding name; you were automatically shot. And then all my Muslim friends want to say that this does not concern them? NO; that is not acceptable at all.

Is it not 9ja? We are all connected and if we really want to fish these crazy people out it can be done. Those same Imams and religious leaders have the power to turn the minds of the people against Boko-Haram. They cannot be preaching peace to us but take no action "Faith without works is dead". If these religious leaders take away thier moral support and tell people to cooperate with the security agencies in fishing Boko-Haram out; we will have those murderers.

Also guns and bombs are not cheap; they are also not made in Nigeria. You need to have heavy money and connections to get them. So let us follow the money and investigate known sponsors like Ali-Modu Sheriff and Yusuf Sani Yerima. I would like to add that in other for us to truly have "One Nigeria". Then Sharia law will have to go away in the North - but that is another discussion for another day. 

We all know that there is a political dimension to this, but let us not forget that innocent people are being killed by fanatics. That must not be allowed to happen. It is bad at all counts for us. God bless you all.