IN recent times, Nigerians have witnessed with disbelief, the horror the Boko Haram elements have inflicted on innocent Nigerians and foreigners by their acts of indiscriminate bombings of churches, public offices and recreation centres.

These dastardly acts are being observed with astonishment all over the world, as Nigeria has for decades been known to be a peaceful country, where people of diverse political, religious and ideological persuasions have lived in harmony and have shared things in common.

One particular part of the world where these distressing developments are being followed closely is the Caribbean region, where millions of people of African descent live. This is because we have a common ancestry, and they believe that what happens in Africa, especially in West Africa, is of great interest and concern to them.

In churches and mosques, special prayers are being offered for Nigeria. In fact, the Islamic Council of Jamaica has sent a letter to the Federal Government, expressing their deep sympathy over the bombing of churches and condemned the Boko Haram sect and their sponsors for what they describe as an un-Islamic behaviour. The letter was transmitted to the Federal Government, and it has since been acknowledged. I  do not want to get into the details of how our kith and kin got to this part of the globe from their motherland, but will only discuss my first-hand knowledge of their feelings in this short article.

 I have lived in the Caribbean for a period of four years, and so, I am in a position to know what they feel about Africa. The recent inexplicable mass murder of innocent Nigerians and Nigeria’s friends by the Boko Haram, has caused the Caribbeans deep sorrow and sadness, especially as these acts are taking place in Nigeria- a country which they have long regarded as the hope of the black man.

These concerns have been expressed to me by the Foreign Ministers of Jamaica and Belize, including other well informed Jamaicans and Belizeans. They fail to understand why such wanton destruction of lives could be taking place in a country like Nigeria from where great men like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and the Sardauna of Sokoto and giants like Hubert Macaulay, Maragaret Ekpo and Alvan Ikokuare known to have come.

The first black African to win the Nobel Laureate in Literature came from Nigeria. Nigeria also has produced literary giants like Chinua Achebe, whose books are read in schools all over the Caribbean region. For a country that has given the world such great men and women like Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Margaret Ekpo and Gambo Sawaba to have become a death theatre, where Boko Haram sect take delight in slaughtering human beings with careless abandon is beyond comprehension.

My stay in the Caribbean region for four years as Nigeria’s Ambassador to four Caribbean countries has given me the opportunity to interact with the nationals of the region at every level. I know how highly Nigeria is regarded, because of her contribution to the educational and the health delivery systems of some countries in the region. They are therefore astounded and flabbergasted that Nigeria can be in a stage where a tiny minority will attempt to destabilise the country through acts of wanton violence, for no apparent cause.

Many Caribbean leaders whom I have interacted with, have asked me questions about what could have been the motivation of these people who go about destroying lives and creating havoc in some parts of Nigeria. I find it difficult to give an appropriate answer, because the Boko Haram, who have publicly admitted to be behind these heinous crimes have not published any manifesto or agenda to let the world know their real demands. Apart from their stated abhorrence of western education, no one clearly knows what alternative plans they have for Nigeria’s progress and development.

Do they want a civil war to engulf Nigeria? Do they want to establish a Sharia state in the whole of Nigeria? Do they want all Nigerians from other parts of the country to move out of the North so that everybody in the North could be Islamised?

There appears to be some very intelligent and educated people behind the Boko Haram. They should know that any desire of any group to impose their will by force on a country as big and vast as Nigeria cannot work. Do they want a civil war in Nigeria? They should know that no part of the country can come out of a civil war unscathed.

To break-up Nigeria? The backers of the Boko Haram will be the first to feel the effect. How really can you break-up Nigeria without consequences for everyone, including countries of the West African sub-region in particular? These people should realise that Nigeria, which is the creation of British colonisers has now existed for over a century. All our services are integrated. How then do we share the assets?

How do you demarcate the boundary lines without exciting inter-communal conflict even among members of the same ethnic group?
We should remember that the military men who divided Nigeria into states did so without due regard for the culture and ethnicity of the people. This is why today, the Kwarans are not pleased with their boundary with Niger State. The people of Delta consist of different groups and tribes who have their kith and kin in states like Bayelsa and Rivers. In Plateau State, people are quietly grumbling over the creation of Nasarawa State and the Jos North Local Government. People appear to be silent now, because they are all in the same country.

If Nigeria should break-up, all these quiet grumblings will be given an open expression which can lead to violence.

To establish a Sharia state? Any reasonable person will know that this is unattainable in Nigeria. In a country where you have millions of Nigerians who share different religious beliefs, no section or group will quietly agree to allow another religious order to be imposed on them. Apart from a few states in the North, where we can say Islam is predominant, the largest part of the North itself has strong Christian communities that will stand ready to defend their faith.

Are the violent elements demanding that all Nigerians in their states move back to their states of origin? Any intelligent person will know that this is impossible at this stage in view of the fact that there has been a lot of intermarriage among different tribes in the country.

If Nigeria should break-up, some sections will feel the pain more than others. All over the North today, we have people from other parts of the country providing services that are vital to the existence of the Northerners. If they were to suddenly leave, how can they be replaced overnight?

Is it the question of the Presidency of the country that has incensed some people? This is quite simple to solve. Let us sit, discuss and decide how the rotation should be arranged. Sponsoring acts of violence and mass murder is not the solution. It will only lead to escalation of violence, because sooner or later, those who are absorbing the pain now will react, and no one is going to win in such a situation.

My advice to the intelligentsia behind the Boko Haram is to take a deep breath and think about the consequences which the Boko Haram’s murderous action could unleash on the corporate existence of Nigeria. I believe that Nigerians should now sit down and convene a National Conference and discuss the future of their country. The path of nation building is a long and torturous one, which requires patience by all concerned.

While our kith and kin in the Caribbean continue to get worried about the future of their cherished motherland, let us prove once again that Nigeria is a blessed country, where God intervenes in her affairs before the problem becomes irredeemable.

In conclusion, I appeal to the sponsors of these ‘foot soldiers’ as the former Inspector General will call them to, in the interest  of us all, adopt another strategy which will facilitate dialogue and save us the national tragedy that may engulf us all, if these senseless killings should continue.  I am a Nigerian, who has served Nigeria in many parts of the world in the last 40 years and who is worried about the
direction in which our country is headed.
 •Ambassador Oyedele, (COMN), Nigeria’s High Commissioner, wrote in from Jamaica.

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