Has the sniping begun?

The merry Christmas and happy New Year hasn’t died down yet, but the promise of 2014 has begun to unfold. The promise is bloody. It’s happening in Bornu, Kano and Rivers States. All the signs are that Nigeria is becoming violent. On Tuesday January 7, 2014, unknown gunmen targeting Alhaji Musa Kwankwaso, sprayed a mosque […]

The merry Christmas and happy New Year hasn’t died down yet, but the promise of 2014 has begun to unfold. The promise is bloody. It’s happening in Bornu, Kano and Rivers States. All the signs are that Nigeria is becoming violent. On Tuesday January 7, 2014, unknown gunmen targeting Alhaji Musa Kwankwaso, sprayed a mosque with gunfire, but missed the prize. Kwankwaso is the head of the village that bears the same name and also the father of the Governor of Kano State. Three worshippers weren’t lucky as they were shot dead while twelve others wounded. Kwankwaso’s supporters have already interpreted this to mean that some people want to kill his father as punishment for defecting from the ruling party along with four other Governors in November last year.
Last weekend on his way to Gwoza, Bornu State, Senator Ali Muhammed Ndume, escaped death by whiskers when “massive bombs dropped from a military fighter jet” missed him. Senator Ndume had just finished exchanging pleasantries with some soldiers at the village of Pulka when the incident happened. The explanation he got from one of his military escorts was that the bombing “might be an operational blunder from the Nigerian Air Force”. Senator Ndume said although he had complained to the military high command, only Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Azubuike Ihejirika responded immediately; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh didn’t reply. Meanwhile, Ndume was being escorted by both police and military personnel during his journey.
If Senator Ali Ndume was attacked with bombs from the Nigerian security agency from the air and he escaped unscathed, Senator Magnus Abe, the Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) wasn’t so lucky on the ground in Port Harcourt. Senator Abe, a staunch supporter of Governor Rotimi Amaechi had gone to College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt to help coordinate a rally being organised by a non-governmental organisation, the Save Rivers Movement, when he was shot in the chest with a rubber bullet allegedly by Rivers State police. Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu, who deemed the rally illegal because his permission was not sought for, was said to have ordered policemen to disperse the crowd. Accordingly, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets to get the job done. A front page story from a national daily mentioned “unconfirmed reports also said two children who were going to church in the company of their mother were choked to death from an overdose of tear gas”. The Rivers State Police Command has already denied shooting Senator Abe or even using rubber bullets. But who would have shot the Senator who has already been flown abroad for further medical attention?
The situation in Rivers State in particular is becoming desperate. President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife continue to deny their involvement in the growing disorder in Rivers State. Still if the President wants to live up to the oath of his office which demands that he treats citizens as equal irrespective of their religious, ethnic or political persuasions, he needs to urgently intervene and end the political crisis in that state. Police powers are being misused in Rivers and one wonders who Mbu Joseph Mbu reports to. Is it Mbu’s brief in Rivers to “checkmate” Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi by suppressing his political activity and unfairly promoting that of others? How comes that Mbu Joseph Mbu is contesting power with the governor who is supposed to be the chief security officer of his state? How comes that the Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI) of Nyesom Wike is given all the police protection to hold rallies all over Rivers but same is denied other groups? How comes that a Police Commissioner who cannot prevent kidnapping is ever ready to disrupt a peaceful rally by citizens of this country? How comes that in a democracy the police are still asking people to apply and get permit before they can peacefully assemble with like minds? What are the police in Rivers afraid of that they have to deploy hundreds of their men to disrupt a peaceful rally?  
It is easy to see that the second term ambition of President Jonathan could put this country asunder. It will therefore be a noble decision if Jonathan can rather than wait any longer simply bring forward his declaration on the matter, and the declaration should just be that he is not interesting in running again. This way the likes of Bamanga Tukur, Ahmed Gulak, Doyin Okupe, etc, who have been deceiving him could then relax. If the President Jonathan opts out of the next election, it may likely bring down political tension in this country.
The truth is that the president has lost considerable support since 2011 and is incapable of winning a free, fair and peaceful vote in 2015. Since we’ve begun to witness these bombings from the air and shootings from the ground, only Allah knows what will happen by this time next year if the equation remains the same. The attempt on the life of the father of Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and the attacks on two serving and opposition Senators portend serious danger to the polity, no matter what spin the government comes up with. Or is this the beginning of the much feared conflict and country-wide conflagration?  Are the snipers here already?