Still on Faruk Abdumutallab

I opined that the young man to me is not a villain but a representation of conviction and strong will matched with character, which in my view are attributes that define the strength of humanity and the possibilities of crusading and advancing certain course in life among which is nation building. That view didn’t seem […]

I opined that the young man to me is not a villain but a representation of conviction and strong will matched with character, which in my view are attributes that define the strength of humanity and the possibilities of crusading and advancing certain course in life among which is nation building.

That view didn’t seem to have gotten well with quite a few people, among which is my teacher, Dr. Sanusi Abubakar who believes that my view of conviction is either misplaced or wrongly identified in this case in point. As usual, we do not say things in contradistinction with our teachers, at least in the open.

I am captivated to revisit the issue today for several reasons among which two stand prominent. One is the decision of the authorities in Washington DC to categorize Nigeria as a terrorist haven or nation and the resultant jitters from the response of the Nigerian government officials on that mere pronouncement which some other countries that are up and doing have never taken as any serious issue.

Secondly and importantly is the seeming growing paradigm of conspiracy theory to explain what really happen and how the young man is apparently becoming a causality of Euro-American imperialism. Capitalism has grown so sophisticated that it knows no boundary.

In the beginning and in its early stage, the emphasis of capital was on expansion and search for new territories for market and raw material. The second stage was marked by protectionism; after having achieved territories the need to protect these territories became necessary due to the intense competition in place.

In this third and last stage of capitalism which VI Lenin called monopoly stage or imperialism, the focus is on breaking down national economic boundaries where trading will be universalistic. That’s why we have WTO, AGAO and other such contraptions because capitalism goes into cartels and syndicates as the surest guarantee to continued relevance and substance.

In the process therefore, any reasonable or unreasonable strategy that may be put in place just for capital to remain afloat is deployed so that the end is met and thus the justification. I am excited that while Nigerian government and its officials as well as certain segments of the population were already hitting their heads on the wall on the guilt of this young man, groups from outside the shores of Africa are coming up with alternative explanations about the reality or otherwise of the attempted bombing.

I sincerely buy the thesis which suggests that the whole issue is a hoax and deliberately directed at the young man to achieve certain market ends by capital. So many inconsistencies are already emerging from the statements by the security apparatuses of the United States.

Initially, the world was told that the instructions Faruk received from his ‘al-Qaida’ sponsors was that he should blow the plain on American soil. That argument was deemphasized later by those who made it when they realized that in as much it takes more than five hours flying across the Atlantic Ocean en route any part of the United States, to get to Detroit, more than two hours flight within American territory is a must.

How then was it that Faruk could not detonate his devise mush earlier when most passengers were worn out and tired until a few minutes to landing in Detroit? As intelligent as Faruk is reported to be, and given the ‘importance’ of the assignment he was on, does it not sound contradictory that the attempt to detonate the devise only came when it did?

Several other issues are raised among which is the role which the ‘hero’ of the flight played in ‘subduing’ Faruk Muattalab. I am of the opinion that the theory which suggests that the whole issue might simply be a setup so that certain categories of machines are sold might after all be the truth.

In any case, this is a lesson to those who chose to shout on top of their voices that the young man was guilty even before the trail began. The need to be organized is necessary and Nigerians must be upright and mature in their approach to issues by staying away from sensationalism which seems to be the case of the moment.

Second item on this agenda today is the debate and cries over the placement of Nigeria and its citizens amongst those nations and nationals that are henceforth to be subjected to extra screening at US airports. Yes, some Nigerians may worry over this for whatever reasons. To the best of my little knowledge and experience of the US airports, I have always faced extra searching whenever am at the point of entry.

This has never bothered me because I knew and as has always been the case, I was with courtesy let in with a lot of apologies after whatever checks were conducted. Why should anybody be worried if he is suspected and searched thoroughly before entry is allowed? Is anybody carrying anything that is likely to be detected? This is no problem my countrymen and women.

The fact that Nigeria has been ranked amongst such countries as Sudan, Algeria, Libya, Iran Yemen et al in my view is not a reason to be worried. It does not matter what the government of the United States think about us as a people and a nation. Why should we continue to subject ourselves to the definition of others who do not care about us?

If the American government decides to say Nigeria is the best country in Africa, what purpose would that serve? Would it change the present level of poverty in the country for instance? This is serious. We must not worry ourselves about who the Americans say we are just because they are accusing one of us of a crime that is alien to us.

After all who said that the war over the control of Nigeria’s oil and its infrastructure is not sufficient reason for this stigmatization? It is apparent that the Chinese are winning the fancy of the nation’s oil technocrats and administrators. If the Americans feel very seriously about losing such a venture, which of course, they are, it is no surprise that they will place Nigeria AS A TERRORIST NATION because you are terrorizing their economic interest.

After all the long standing foreign policy goal of the United States has been that there is no permanent friend, no permanent enemy but permanent interest. We have seen that in several fronts. It is just economic interest.

The prayer is that please do not sacrifice that young man for economic reasons.