By Japheth Omojuwa:


Omojuwa


Had we lost the General, the reaction from his supporters and fanatics could easily have plunged Nigeria into its worst chaos in a long time.

Nigeria is a land of the absurd, the strange and the illogical. So last Wednesday, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) organized to kill himself? Well, that is what those who see Nigeria through the lens of the 2015 elections want us to believe. There are many things wrong with politics and politicians in Nigeria but General Buhari is well and truly above that. Even his opponents admit he is well and truly above board when it comes to the shame and corruption that accompany Nigerian politics. There was clearly a suicide bomber and the bomber was obviously desperate to ensure the retired General was part of his eventual carnage. The incident has since happened, scores have died and Nigerians in their usual way have moved on. Had we lost the General, the reaction from his supporters and fanatics could easily have plunged Nigeria into its worst chaos in a long time.

We have a problem on our hands as terrorists continue not just to maim and kill but to set us against one another. Following each terrorist attack are the accusations and counter accusations. “They know only Igbos sell in that market, so they chose that market to bomb of all places in the north,” is a classic response from a bomb blast that ripped through Kano in northern Nigeria. It did not matter to the person who wrote the words that there is no way anyone would bomb a public place in Kano and not kill more northerners. Even if we took for granted that only a particular ethnic group sells wares in a selected Kano market, should we also assume all the customers and buyers are from the same place? When bombs go off in a church, you are likely to read, “this people are only killing Christians, it is a war against Christians.” You are not likely to read anything from such people when a Mosque gets attacked or when the insurgents kill a revered Islamic scholar. Those who see the world through their bias often times do not see it through the eyes of logic. So they are not likely to remember than bombs are not capable of separating people into ethnic or religious groups, bombs kill and maim everyone within the radius of impact.

That is the same logic to apply when someone like General Buhari survives a major attack that had his vehicles destroyed. That if the terrorists could strike right at a point where one of the nation’s could easily have been killed, they can get anyone. If they missed a major Islamic cleric by a matter of minutes and have killed some other ones, they certainly do not discriminate in terms of their intent; they want to kill anyone not open supportive of their evil and they are not afraid to go after high profile targets just as they kill the poor every other day if not everyday in the northeast.

We need a bi-partisan approach to the war on terror. We are of course not likely to get it soon if someone as highly involved as the minister of state could share an article link claiming one of the major opposition parties is supportive of Boko Haram. This is despite the fact that Boko Haram predates the party by at least 10 years. How can we have a bi-partisan approach to this war if politicians across the board insist on making this more about the 2015 elections than about what it is; a war on our country, our people and our way of life?

And if politicians insist on making it political all the time, what is the role of citizens and civil society? If the numbers get crunched, Nigeria’s poor masses have suffered a lot more in the hands of terrorism. The least we can do is to stop echoing the voices of those who insist on making this about politics and nothing else.

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Japheth J Omojuwa lectures at Berlin’s Freie Universitat and can be reached at jj.omojuwa@fu-berlin.de and @omojuwa

Yes, Buhari tried to kill himself.

As far as this Buhari tale goes, only time will tell.

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ewarriors please be seated:

You Are Welcome To The Office of the S.I.C to the F.T.C.

(Second In Command to the F.T.C)

This issue has been thrashed over and over again. If he tried to kill himself, that's perfectly alright, i can understand that . If not then i think it's high time he joins hands with President Jonathan to move the country forward. There is no law that says you must be a serving leader before you make an impact!

God know say Uncle Jona must complete e tenure after which we go handover to the East then back to South South again, then to the East, na so we go pass d baton round till we tire, . Na all of us get Nigeria afterall. Who nor gree, make e go hang himself. Kpatakpata we go scatter everything make everybody answer e papa name. The one North oppress us don reach, who dey cry dey see road.

Another Daft Blogger or Columnist or whatever he his called.

This guy annoys me. I feel like choking this phone into his mouth and force him to eat it. Rubbish

Let Buhar..i go to hell for all i care

I'd rather keep quiet than jump into conclusions.

Bombers bombing, Scammers scamming, Politicians politicizing, Kidnappers kidnapping, Writers writing... They all gat something in common; They think with their anus, heartless, throwing caution to the wind and not minding the consequences of their actions... Welcome to Nigeria!

I hate when people give this silly boy called Omojuwa audience.A young boy filled with bile about his own country.Nonsense

nah it was disclosed from a suspect that he(buhari) stoped financing BH...that was the reason for the attack.

who knows

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Look, Speaking of which, Whether peeps like it or Not that Nigga @Omojuwa is a Twitter warlord.He sure knows how to e-bully and also usually made some reasonable points in some of his tweet

If I was Mr.President, I will likely make him my Minister for Defense to see if he can walk his talk.

He once tweeted that , "RT if you give up on Nigeria

Favourite if you are confused about Nigeria

Comment if your Current state is black blah"

Sometimes his criticism of anything but Goodluck Johnathan effort is somehow virulent, At most, maybe he just has this "stereotypical visceral dislike for Mr.President".. He sounds quite learned though but I just don't think there is any anecdotal evidence between what is happening and reality

Sori nigeria

Lmaoooo

What r u talkin abt? APC spokesman!!!

Buhari, a man that has been seeking public sympathy since 1960

Jonathains are highly delusional.we thank God 4 saving GMB a true patriot,peoples General

Rada rada

Did this just make the front page?
I need to see this admin

One day I have a feeling we will all look back at this and laugh .... one day.

What in heavens name is dis doing on fp

Another bomb blast at ZOO road behind shoprite in Kano. Any confirmation?

Nigga be writing shi all the way from USA, chilling in front of his computer and allowing his fingers to roam free like he knows shiittt bout what's going on here.

And people here will be taking him seriously and giving him levels. The day kasala burst on top the guy matter, niggahh will still be in US typing his shiiit while y'all will be hiding inside Olumo rock

when they aimed at kidnapping d chibok girls they didnt miss, they did numerous bombing and they didnt miss, now you telling they bombed others and missed there aim(Buhari) by mistake. mtcheww! Let him kip decieving himself.

Communizing a national threat issue like boko haram to a difference between Moslem and Christian is sheer stupidity.

every body is seeking attention dis days

What's my concerns me?? Mtewwww. #Greatken

A reasonable fellow has spoken. He who has ears let him hear!

God bless General Muhammadu Buhari

Are u asking me?

Who cares if he did or did not. They are the originators of the problems. The blood of innocent christians killed in the course of their senseless religions riots are hunting the north. My only disappointment is; what are southerners still doing up north? Staying there is like offering urself as a living and willing sacrifice, to be butchered any time.

I don't know why we always try to read meaning to everything in Nigeria. Thoughts am not a fan of Buhari but I strongly conderm the saying that Buhari tried to kill himself. I am in Kaduna and u knw how these people behave. God has just spared us from another war that would had split this nation. God bless NIGERIA.

That sympathy he initially planned
to gain from nigerians so as to
aquire votes..he is now getting
it....they did not bomb him since...its
now that elections are round the
corner..that re nw bombing him....Buhari is one of the sponsors
of BOKOHARAM!....enuf said.