Dear MEND (Movement - supposedly - for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta),
While many Nigerians may share similar sentiments with you that there was no justifiable cause for squandering billions of naira in celebrating 50 years of decline and slippage, most Nigerians will also find your actions around the Eagle Square venue of the Independence Day anniversary celebrations, morally reprehensible.
Nigerians were brutally killed in acts of terrorism and these citizens have no verifiable, direct responsibility for the current rot and decay in the country which you claim to be your grouse. Your action has not in any way helped the cause of achieving a better life for these Nigerians. Rather it has cast a pall of gloom and deepened the pain and sorrow of the families of the slain bystanders at the Independence Day event, some of whom are the breadwinners of their grieving families.
These were hapless Nigerians already under the strain and yolk of 50 years of misrule. The lives that were violently taken are not replaceable no matter the remorse or apologies issued after this dastardly act. It is a popular Nigerian adage that where there is life, there is hope. That hope keeps the average Nigerian going in the face of the chasm and disconnect between the citizens and the often inept leadership. But even that life that they had, no matter how miserable it was, you have now taken violently. You have added death and more woes to their sad plight by those bomb blasts. The brunt of your actions was borne by the ordinary, downtrodden and long-suffering Nigerians. Your actions are no less despicable than those of the armed gang that held 15 schoolchildren hostage in Aba, after they hijacked their bus on their way to school.
Many Nigerians will agree that amnesty to militants is not the panacea to the ills of the Niger Delta region. There is a need to address the issues of environmental degradation, unemployment and lack of basic infrastructure. There needs to be improved corporate social responsibility and human resources development. But the struggle for a better Niger Delta and Nigeria goes beyond bomb blasts. It goes beyond arms running, kidnapping, blowing up oil pipelines, stealing massive amounts of crude oil, killing and raping of women. Peaceful methods with unshakeable commitment have transformed struggles. Martin Luther King, Jr. posited that, “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.”
There are a million and one grandiose, political conspiracy theories making the rounds over the actual mastermind of the Abuja bomb blasts. The spun conspiracy theories range from the infantile to the absurd. Even the President, Goodluck Jonathan, has waded in with his “Political Opponents Theory” – possibly colouring the outcome of the investigation by the relevant state security agencies who may now be working towards unveiling the expected answer. But you have claimed responsibility for the carnage and it is indeed a huge and blood-thirsty act of irresponsibility. Whatever the agitations or grouse, MEND should note that the destruction of a nation or any organization starts with the erosion of decency and decay of moral values as evidenced in this avoidable loss of precious lives in the Abuja bomb blasts.
If MEND has any ideas or suggestions to improve the way the country is being run or run-down for that matter, then it should offer such alternative suggestions in a civil manner. If such civil behaviour goes against the grain or natural inclinations of MEND, then they could adopt a political party which will serve as a platform to attain power by contesting elections and seeking the mandate of the people. That way they can right all wrongs in the Niger Delta. This wanton slaughter of Nigerians is despicable and totally unacceptable.
In the words of Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, we should make a habit of two things – to help, or at least do no harm.
Your disappointed countryman
Smokin' Gun
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