Fierce debates and accusations are flying across Abuja’s skyline as I write on what really triggered such a sensational and brutal genocide against the people of Baga, a sleepy village in Borno State. A complicated and dense web of blame game between Jonathan’s government and the decent people of Nigeria is gathering rapid pace. Even Doyin Okupe’s incoherent ranting on the television as to the real figure of the dead provided no perceptive elucidations.
In a rapid fire rebuttal, the Red Cross has accused Okupe and bluntly called him a shameless liar. The Red Cross said that 187 innocent and defenceless villagers which comprised elderly men and women and children were murdered in cold blood. I saw burnt bodies of babies across the killing fields of Baga through the pages of Nigerian newspapers and the Internet. The Red Cross has said that the military prevented their personnel from gaining access to Baga to provide relief to victims most of whom were badly burnt beyond recognition. The spokesman for Red Cross Nwakpa O. Nwakpa said: “Our volunteers were on standby but we were not given clearance.”
Commenting on the genocide, the Commander of the JTF, Brigadier General Austin Edokpaye, put the blame for the mindless killings on the doorstep of Boko Haram jihadists. He accused Boko Haram Islamic separatists – faceless ghosts according to the Aso Rock dotard – of using civilians as shield. Meanwhile, the ACN in reaction through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said: “No matter what defence the military may put forward, the mass deaths and destruction in Baga during the JTF-insurgents’ clash portray the Nigerian military as having little or no respect for human rights and the sanctity of lives. This is not a flattering portrayal for a military that has made its mark in global peacekeeping.”
It also criticized the Federal Government’s handling of the killings, calling it slow and disrespectful to the sanctity of human lives. It added: “In the first instance, it took the government almost 48 hours to comment on the killings, as the presidency only issued a statement on Monday evening over the clash and the deaths which reports said started on Friday. “Secondly, even the tone of the statement amounted to further victimizing the victims of the clash. Saying that the death toll was ”grossly exaggerated”, as the presidency statement claimed, is simply wrong, because the killing of even one innocent person is one killing too many.”
This genocide has provided the defining moment to the lacklustre and bloody legacy of Jonathan’s tenure. Judging by the long lists of bloody obituaries and sea of tears that are being shed in Baga village and all over Nigeria, we are now saddled with a leader whose bemused emergence is consistently marked by plane crashes, auto accidents, communal clashes and ongoing bloody Boko Haram culling of innocent blood.
Yesterday when Jonathan entered office, it was with a joyous sound of hosannas from party members to plain ordinary Nigerians. Today those hosannas have given way to cries of pain and even horror of his bloody tenure. The harsh realities of his government are reasserting themselves and suddenly our mood is changing to crucify him. Yes, we have to crucify this dotard (oridota) whose government has continued to flounder bloodily on the rock of inaction. The cold, miserable truth is that Goodluck has brought Badluck to the Nigerian space. Millions of Nigerians gave him the rare chance to work out a new salvation for a nation that had become a horrible edifice, but no, he hitched our destiny on the cross roads of bloody killings, impunity and tears.
Not to be outdone, Reuben “Otapiapia”Abati gave absolute poppywash in his official reaction to the Baga genocide. This turncoat is fast becoming a restless junkyard dog in the villa. He has learned all the tricks on how to bark new tunes. He said that Jonathan was interested in knowing if the JTF followed the rules of engagement in the Baga genocide.
Pray, in a civilised nation, what are the rules of engagement between armed soldiers and defenceless civilians.? What are the rules of engagement between notorious Nigerian “godogodo” , “mopol” or “kill and go” and defenceless wretched of the earth of Baga? Who are the animals who draw up these rules of engagement if there are any? Is Baga a theatre of war or a flat, plain desert of ordinary, peaceful nomadic race? Is our bloodlust soldiers trained to incinerate an entire village at the loss of one fallen soldier? Are we to regard Baga merciless massacre as human collateral to winning the war against faceless ghosts, aka, Boko Haram Islamic separatists?
The talk of probe of the genocide is nothing but sentimental guff to stem the tide of widespread charge of genocide against Jonathan and his bloody legacy. Even the most optimistic believers will feel a slight frisson of hopelessness at the outcome of the probe. Any probe against Nigerian military especially in a period of soulless genocide will be dead on arrival. Odi genocidal charge sheet still hangs on Obasanjo’s ugly neck. Baga genocidal charge sheet will also remain as Jonathan’s legacy untl he is brought to justice. Odi and Baga have both provided their own social democratic hubris for our lessons. We are now witnessing how a ruler with zero vision can use the military to turn on powerless citizens/voters and in the process encourage a soulful re-interpretation as to whether there is ingrained bestiality in Africa’s brand of democracy.
The awful harvest of unending obituaries, bloody encounters and now genocide under Jonathan’s bloody legacy offer a paralysing quandary as to why we elected a man with demonic foundation as a ruler. He has brought a harvest of bloody badluck on Nigerians in a space of two years. Baga has sealed his Dracula’s desire for more bloody harvest. Baga will not go away.
Jonathan should be framed for genocide in the court of law. The pictures of burnt innocent babies on the plain of Baga is my evidence. They brought tears to my eyes. He is the commander in chief of Nigeria’s military. This nation is sick and tired of his bloody legacy. We should be prepared to escape from his dark, bloody regime into a new dawn. Baga has given us a long awaited pretext to dump a bloody dumb Jonathan for the sake of democracy.
tajutijani@hotmail.com.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
