A Close Shave For Us All

They also caused pain and unease all over this country. Yet, there was also relief of sorts that the bombers missed their two most important targets, former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, leader of the Tijjaniya Islamic order which has millions of adherents in Nigeria and beyond.As was his […]

They also caused pain and unease all over this country. Yet, there was also relief of sorts that the bombers missed their two most important targets, former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, leader of the Tijjaniya Islamic order which has millions of adherents in Nigeria and beyond.
As was his custom, the 85-year-old Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi had just rounded off his Ramadan tafsir for this year at a grand ceremony at Kaduna’s Murtala Square and headed for the airport, surrounded by thousands of his followers. A suicide bomber waited along Alkali Road and detonated a powerful bomb as the convoy passed by. Though it missed the Sheikh, at least 25 people died on the spot and many others were injured.
Thirty minutes later, General Buhari was driving out of town on his way to Daura, Katsina Road when another suicide bomber chased his convoy and exploded a bomb right behind the jeep in which the General rode. General Buhari escaped death and injury but five of his security details were badly injured while 17 persons were killed in the vicinity. Thirty others sustained serious injuries.
Condemnations of the bombings came from far and near. President Goodluck Jonathan denounced “the dastardly targeting of prominent political and religious leaders by terrorists and enemies of the nation in an odious attempt to inflame passions and exacerbate disquiet, fear, insecurity and sectional divisions in the country.” He said the attacks “provide further proof that the terrorists are nothing but blood-thirsty extremists bent on undermining the unity and progress of the nation.” He directed the police and other national security agencies to take all necessary actions to apprehend the perpetrators.
Others who condemned the attacks include Senate President David Mark who said “this resort to bestiality without human feeling is what cannot be contemplated or tolerated in a decent society.” Former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida in a statement titled “This Bloodletting Must Stop” said, “This and several other attacks have tended to portray our dear country as a terrorist nation that is grasping with insecurity. This bloodletting has to stop.”
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar also condemned the attacks, saying “a situation where a former Head of State and key opposition figure could be targeted by terrorists or hatchet killers is a dangerous development which should not be taken lightly by any responsible Nigerian.” The Jama’atu Nasril Islam [JNI] also condemned the blasts and prayed to God to bring an end to “this nagging evil and disgrace the perpetrators”.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties [CNPP] demanded for a thorough investigation, saying “Our recent history reminds us of the NADECO days when we witnessed series of bomb blasts in Lagos traced to then General Sani Abacha’s regime. This makes imperative it for thorough investigation.”
Other commentators were less restrained. APC national leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu used the opportunity to lampoon the Jonathan administration, saying “the attacks have confirmed that Nigeria is in the grip of terror and that sadly, Nigerians are now in the hands of a buck passing and blackmailing presidency.”  He added, “Under an increasingly incompetent and incoherent PDP government, Nigeria slips into a low intensity war. We are all marked people under a government that prefers to label and attack opposition rather than apply itself to providing security and good governance.”
The Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), comprising governors of APC controlled states, said it will henceforth hold President Goodluck Jonathan responsible for any violent attacks on Buhari or any of its leaders. PGF said in a statement that “the assassination attempt on Buhari came just two days after the former Head of State issued a statement cautioning President Jonathan against supporting or sponsoring the impeachment of opposition governors.” The governors said the incident confirmed their concerns that the lives of APC leaders are no longer safe.
Two days after the attacks, Police Inspector-General Mohammed Abubakar instituted a high-powered investigation team to unearth the perpetrators of the Kaduna bomb blasts.  Force Public Relations Officer Frank Mba said the team is headed by Commissioner of Police in charge of Legal Department DCP Nwodibo Ekechukwu and is to work alongside other security agencies, notably the military and the Department of State Security [DSS].
Many Nigerians are not waiting for the outcome of this probe to reach their own conclusions on the likely culprits. Most suspicion centers as usual on the murderous Boko Haram sect, which has carried out dozens of such attacks in several states in the last five years. That suicide bombers carried out at least the attack on Buhari also lends credence to the suspicion that Boko Haram did it. Only two days before the attacks, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi had devoted 15 minutes of his Ramadan tafsir to the murder of innocent persons, saying Islam abhors killings and bombings. General Buhari too has often spoken out against the insurgency, most notably after last May’s Nyanya bomb blasts.
The complicating factor in the finger pointing however was the fact that two days before the blasts, Buhari had a public altercation with the Presidency. He strongly condemned the impeachment of APC governors and the Presidency responded to him in harsh tones, hence the belief by some people that it could be behind the attack. This makes the task before the Inspector General’s investigation panel doubly significant. Unless it moves fast and conclusively unearthes the perpetrators of these attacks, the finger pointing could continue with deleterious effects on the nation’s peace and security.
While commiserating with the families of those who died or were injured in these dastardly attacks, we join fellow citizens in offering thanks to God that the two prominent victims of the attacks both survived without injury. Providence has spared this country further misery and destabilization, but the rest of the task is up to us all.