NOW WE CAN’T EVEN GO TO ABUJA!

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un! From Allah we come, and to Him we shall return! It has come to this: “…In light of all the above, and in recognition of the negativeness of the aforementioned aristocratic factor [and] the overall progress of the Nigerian state, a temporary decision to excise the following states namely […]

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un! From Allah we come, and to Him we shall return! It has come to this:

“…In light of all the above, and in recognition of the negativeness of the aforementioned aristocratic factor [and] the overall progress of the Nigerian state, a temporary decision to excise the following states namely Sokoto, Borno, Katsina, Kano and Bauchi from the Federal Republic of Nigeria comes into effect immediately, until the following conditions are met….”  – Coup Speech of Major Gideon Orkar, April 22, 1990

Add Zamfara, Yobe, Jigawa, northern Gombe, northern Kaduna and northern Kebbi to the above mix and you get what they now call “core” or “far North”, in contrast to a “Middle Belt” region whose constituent parts keep mutating at the whims of a certain blabbermouth who has actually benefitted from those he so hates; a ‘Belt’ that is trying to tie millions of people (in Niger, Adamawa, Taraba, Nasarawa and Kogi) who share more with the ‘far North’ than with any other part.

Sadly, and tragically, what Orkar and his ilk failed to do in 1990 (and this garrulous fellow all his life) is now manifesting in the near takeover of the Abuja-Kaduna highway by kidnappers. No one is safe; that is, no one is safe that plies that road morning or afternoon or any other time – indeed for so long people had given up plying it by night.

All people Northwest and most people Northeast use that road to go home from Abuja. Now, as armed robbers did so much damage to that road in the last decade, kidnappers are now making it unpassable, unusable. Unless, of course, one is a big shot or wife of a big shot with pilot and escort and spare car.

Almost all the states of the North West geopolitical zone use that road from Abuja; and after the Abuja to Jos road became very dangerous due to incessant murders of travellers, North Easterners started using the same highway to their own states. Now, it seems, it is the end of the road. Literally.

When those thousands of security personnel were deployed during the six-week closure of Abuja Airport, we had challenged authorities to show the masses their commitment to sustain that safe corridor. Alas! The security cordon was only meant for the elite and, as soon as the airport reopened, the security men left, tents and all, and left us at the mercy – or wickedness – of the kidnappers.

On Wednesday night, as I was thinking through this piece, I received a message from one of the good friends of this Column – that their father had been kidnapped on the very same road. We continued to recite inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un for his safety, and proceeded to give pieces of advice to the family to do exactly what the kidnappers wanted. Alhamdu lilLah a ransom was paid and by Friday morning the traumatised gentleman was reunited with his more traumatised family.

Allah Ya isa! This to the kidnappers and their collaborators and those who willingly exposed us to this state of calamity.

In these terrible and tragic incidences of kidnapping, most people are left to their own devices – no support whatsoever from any branch of government. No provision of counselling. No assistance or loan to pay ransom. Nothing. Many a victim family had at first rushed to the security agencies for help but ended up regretting it – in one instance, the kidnappers were said to have told the family that they were aware that they had spoken to such security outfit at such a time.

Let us say here that we do have confidence in the Nigerian security apparatuses, but not absolute. That must be said. For there is absolute and resolute determination on the part of the security agencies only when the families of the high-end elite are affected. That time, no stone is literally left unturned until the victims are rescued and reunited with their dear families. For all others, it is up to the millions you pay as ransom.

So, what is to be done? I’m talking here of the middle class, such as us, and not the elite. In fact, the elite have the plane to fly. They can afford it and continue to afford it despite anti-corruption and whistleblower. But of course they have Paris Saint Germain! Oh, Paris Club!

To wit, when recently a member of the NASSIAN Fraternity was kidnapped, it was not the quantum of the ransom that irked his honourable colleagues, it was his “mean-ness” to use road transport when he is spoilt for choice as to which airline to use to fly home. They reprimanded, chastised and upbraided him for bringing them into ‘kidnappian’ disrepute. They sighed a huge relief that he was released before the Northern Evans knew he had an honourable at hand.

So back to us who are honourable-by-dint-of-hard-work, and not by padding. For solution, there is the Abuja to Kaduna train service which, at present, is a great saviour. Many people have now given up driving on that road altogether and taken to the train. The only snag about the train is how to connect from Kaduna on to Sokoto, Kano, Katsina and beyond.

It must be stated that most of ‘us’ have only one car to use in Abuja when we visit, and in our home states when we return. Those with extra cars can of course afford to fly. And then also, many of us drive ourselves. All the same, better suffer the push and pull of commercial transport between Kaduna and home than the indignity of being kidnapped, Allah Ya kiyaye!

We are thankful to Allah and then to President Buhari for saving us, to a large extent, from Boko Haram. As we now look up to Allah against this new scourge of kidnapping, we then again expect our elected Buhari Administration to do the needful.

The Hausa are right in their universal saying: “Ruwan da ya dake ka shi ne ruwa!” (‘The rain that beats you IS the rain’.) For me, the Abuja-Kaduna road is the rain, as I ply it most regularly. But kidnapping is also rampant on the Lokoja-Okene and Kaduna-Birnin Gwari roads, both of which I know so well. Schools are also not safe, and only Allah knows how many people have so far died at the hands of these wicked scum of the earth.

Why are the police patrols on this road mostly stationary and not mobile? Again, one wonders why, several years after a suggestion was made on this very page for the erection of manned and lighted watchtowers every kilometre of this road (and even all national roads), the national security system is unresponsive. Only one explanation – suspected collaboration with the criminals.

A recent message on the social media advises: always keep a low profile; always delete financial transactions from your devices; take less valuables items with you when travelling; avoid late travelling; avoid sitting at the back of the vehicle (owner’s corner); and do not accept nor offer lift to strangers.

Should the worst happen, the message continues: remain calm; don’t attempt to escape; cooperate with your abductors; tell your negotiators (family and friends) to be friendly; do not look directly at your abductors’ faces; and never tell them you have no one to pay your ransom.

Finally, it seems they want us to leave Abuja for them. Okay then, take Abuja. But don’t dare come to me for anything in 2019.

May Allah protect us all.