Saturday 1 June 2019

Invasion of the Bandits...Be Prepared!

By Olawale Olaleye





If you've not read the story of a certain woman and her family, who visited Nigeria recently and were taken hostage by a group of alleged Fulani bandits for six days and only regained freedom after parting with N8 million, please, go and read it.

It is good you read the story and be terrified by the reality of the Nigerian situation than continue with the facade of "e go beta". Nothing ain't getting better, folks. Na like this we go dey go. If you don't like the sound of this, I'm sorry, I do not owe anyone an apology for it. You may as well not pass by my page.

The reason for this intervention is to alert us to the danger that is nearer home than we can ever imagine. That particular kidnap operation reportedly took place along Akure-Ilesa road, South-west, Nigeria.

Recall there was one earlier, involving an OAU lecturer along Ife road, who also parted with some money before he was released? Thus, if you are neither worried nor thinking in my direction, you may be a collateral damage, even if you are walled up to the heavens.

However, if you've read the woman's story very well and could recall the experience of the professor, the takeaway from it is that these alleged Fulani bandits are fasting building operational bases in the South-west and gradually too. They are no longer herders but terrorists currently glorified as bandits.

Are you therefore not more terrified that this is going on without as much a tingling in the security sector? Isn't it unfortunate?

By the time they are fully established with their sophisticated weapons stashed everywhere and signals from their counterparts in other parts of the world firmly situated, I shall be waiting to see where we'd all run to. America kuku don dey deny us visa more now.

As you ponder this, make no mistake about the extension of their operational bases to both the South-east and South-south, knowing full well that they had taken over the whole of the north being their natural home from where this insurrection took off ab initio.

I worry for the future of this country, because I see none in the remotest projection. The immediate is gone completely and the foreseeable hope has been mortgaged through leadership deceit. So, what more is left?

This is my personal opinion, you can choose to believe what you know and like. But I thank God and happy that I'm close enough to some of the political actors to be able to truthfully say to myself and my close ones that: "Nigeria has no future; start pondering your options".

When former President Olusegun Obasanjo raised the alarm recently about an alleged plan to Islamise Nigeria, the latter day patriots of this infallible government would not even properly digest his perspective before shredding him into pieces, just because it was Obasanjo.

I may not agree with baba to a very large extent, because I too do not also think that Nigeria will be or could be Islamised by anyone and under whatever guise. He is certainly not one whose words I'd dismiss with a wave of the hand, because I can always link the dots of his fears.

The Insidious invasion of the bandits, which has not been challenged in any form or shape is both suspect and potent enough to damage Nigeria's fragile unity. The nation's democracy is still very sensitive and lacks the requisite shock absorbers to withstand the current pressure.

How do you even know that this gradual setting up of operational bases by these criminal elements is not part of the plans by the Boko Haram sect and other anti-social agents to scale up their game and take over the rest of the country the way they had successfully taken over a larger part of the north?

You would be delusional if you think Boko Haram cannot reign here in the South. They have all it takes including strategic planning to invade anywhere, not even with the poorly equipped and remunerated security agencies in Nigeria. I want to believe that the ransome being collected from kidnap victims are monies being saved somewhere for their full operations soon. They are here already.

Brethren, don't get it twisted, we are sitting on a time bomb and honestly, I think the explosion is inevitable at this stage. It is beyond prayers. In fact, it is foolish to think this case is answerable to prayers. Not only do we lack the wherewithal to stop it, we have never deployed to good use, the intelligence required to stay on top of such challenges. Not the Nigeria of today.

For me and sadly so, I think it is finished here already. If you sit back, nursing the hope that "e go beta", and the conflagration catches up with you unawares, honestly, there would not even be anyone to sympathise with you. Better think and ponder your options.

Even if you are like me, who is going nowhere but ready to die here, be prepared for the worst. What is not excusable or forgivable is to let this waiting disaster catch up with you unprepared.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

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