What the gun cannot kill

On the other hand, National House of Assembly Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said that the country has run out of excuses for its inability to defend her citizens against “an orgy of deaths, destruction and waste”. Sahara Reporters had reported on March 12, 2014 that Jonathan, ahead of the conclusion of his two-day official visit […]

On the other hand, National House of Assembly Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said that the country has run out of excuses for its inability to defend her citizens against “an orgy of deaths, destruction and waste”. Sahara Reporters had reported on March 12, 2014 that Jonathan, ahead of the conclusion of his two-day official visit to Katsina said that the soldiers should get rid of the militants who are launching deadly attacks on Katsina and surrounding states from the Rugu forest that borders four states of Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna as well as the neighbouring country of Niger Republic.
This euphoria of the dawn of peace and the end of terror was disrupted on Friday, March 14, 2014 with the terrorist attack on the a Maiduguri military base, Giwa Barracks, Maiduguri. Sahara Reporters had reported on March 12, 2014 that Jonathan, ahead of the conclusion of his two-day official visit to Katsina said that the soldiers should get rid of the militants who are launching deadly attacks on Katsina and surrounding states from the Rugu forest that borders four states of Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna as well as the neighbouring country of Niger Republic.
The difficulty in of putting a permanent end to terrorism with the weapons of war means that there is a limit the gun can go in the pursuance and attainment of peace and security. It is difficult to kill an idea you may supress it temporarily with a gun. An idea can be sown and is as a living organism that it grows. What we have as terrorism in Nigeria today did not start yesterday. It is the maturation of an idea that is as old as Nigeria or older. Once upon a time, the a child was told, “treat whoever does not practise your religion as an infidel. Stone their places of worship. Do not respond to their wishes of peace because we cannot give the infidel peace. When you become a king, do not give land to any body to build a house of worship except those who practise your religion to build a house of worship. No body outside your nucleus family must rule over the community as king. If any member of your family converts to another religion or refuses to practise your religion, he forfeits with immediate effect the right to be a leader in our community”. Little did the parent / teacher who is indoctrinating indoctrinated the child (with these terrible erroneous ideas) know that one day, the child would grow above beyond the throwing of ordinary stones at the “infidels” and their places of worship to detonating bombs to maim and kill innocent people. The teacher did not know that one day; , the child would operate a Buffalo Truck and an Armoured Personnel Carrier as a terrorist. How I wish the teacher knew that he was breeding a suicide bomber when he told the child that killing is a way of honour and the fastest way to reach paradise. The teacher did not know that the child he had brainwashed would one day see human life as a walking shadow devoid of meaning. The parent / teacher did not know that one day; the child would turn against his own progeny when “the ashes would return to its source”.  Yes the false teacher with erroneous ideas has destroyed a whole generation for his selfish interest.
An idea is like a seed that can grow into a mahogany tree. An idea lives transcends from one generation to the next even when the original owner of the idea dies. An idea is a product of mental activity; it gets rooted in the memory. It starts as a notion, fancy or opinion. Then it progresses into a conviction and then becomes a principle that goes with a plan, scheme, or method. In the philosophy of Plato, the physical reality is a reflection of the world of ideas;  in  Kant’s, an idea is a concept of reason that is transcendent but not empirical; in  Hegel’s, an idea is absolute truth, the complete and ultimate product of reason (for the owner of the idea). For other thinkers, “Human history is in essence a history of ideas” (H.G. Wells). “Language is the dress of thought” (Samuel Johnson). For some French Thinkers, “Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when you have only one idea” (Alain, Propos sur la religion). “A stand can be made against invasion by an army; no stand can be made against invasion by an idea” (Victor Hugo, L’Histoire d’une Crime). “It is better to entertain an idea than to take it home to live with you for the rest of your life” (Randall Jarrell, Pictures from an Institution) “Right now it’s only a notion, but I think I can get the money to make it into a concept, and later turn it into an idea” (Woody Allen, Annie Hall). An idea is thus the content of the conscious mind that forms an opinion, view, or belief. For an idea to become an act of faith the proponent of the idea must appeals append it to some revelation and claims that it is God who spoke to him directly from heaven. This often gives rise to proliferation of sects in religion religious sects and the other categories of false, professional and true Prophets.
One of the simple and authentic ways to kill an erroneous idea is to use the weapon of fashioned from a more reasonable idea in the form of dialogue ad intra. A reasonable idea does not contradict universally accepted values, such as respect for human life. The battle field should be a dialogue forum within the same faith tradition (intra-religious dialogue). Perhaps the following contradiction may further explicate this conversation.
Perhaps there may be some contradictions in the beliefs and operations of these terrorist groups. On February 26, 2014, the terrorists attacked and burnt down St. Joseph Minor Seminary, Shuwa in Maiduguri Diocese, Adamawa State. God saved the teachers and seminarians who ran into the bush and spent the whole night there for safety. In the course of the terrorist operation, the only person they met was Andrew Mshelia who could not run into the bush because he is on a wheel chair. It is reported that the terrorists called their commandant to inquire what to do with Mr. Andrew. The commandant told them not to kill him because “invalids” are not killed during jihad.
Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja and Consultor for the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (C.R.R.M), Vatican City ([email protected]).