Buni Yadi as metaphor for unity

AYODELE ADEGBUYI X-rays the remarks of Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal on the FGC Buni Yadi massacre in Yobe state, describing it as a metaphor for unity

The misadventure of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents in the North Eastern part of the country is no longer news. The attendant woes visited on Muslims and non Muslims, as well as young and old alike is a sad tale that has become common talks and thoughts among Nigerians,
But last Tuesday, the House of Representatives under the leadership of Aminu Waziri  Tambuwal made a remarkable move that truly portrays the lower chamber as true representatives of the people. In a rare show of solidarity with families of the deceased children, the House declared the day as a day of mourning.

Besides, the lawmakers also observed a minute silence in honour of the slain children. Most remarkable however was the speaker’s speech which propped up the patriotic sense of all Nigerians.  Originally, his speech was meant to set a tone for the debate on the way out of the insurgents. However, by the time the speaker was done, no member was willing to say anything. The message was already delivered.
Welcoming his colleagues to the plenary, he said: “Whatever grievances the terrorists harbour against the government of Nigeria, Nigeria’s innocent children have nothing to do with it. Nigeria’s children bear no responsibility for either policy making or policy implementation in Nigeria.

“It is therefore an act of cowardice worthy of ringing condemnation to target the children, to strike at those who are not only innocent but are also unable to strike back or defend themselves. There can be no reason, no justification and no acceptable excuse for this act of mindless brutality. Whatever message the terrorists set out to send to the Nigerian government has been drowned out by the cries for justice by the blood of these innocent martyrs.”
Declaring the day “a day of mourning,” Tambuwal said it’s was a way of expressing “their collective outrage on these killings that have gone on for far too long.”

Taking his colleagues on what he called an imaginary journey to FGC  Buni Gyadi, he tasked them to “ picture the scene as the terrorists creep into the hostels and the children begin to wake up one after the other, with their eyes heavy with sleep, each of them convinced that this is some nightmare.
“ Picture the chaos in the rooms and the terror on the faces of the children as they watch the murderers attack the first set of students, the ones nearest to the entrance, and the students begin to realize that what is happening is not a nightmare but a reality far harsher that any nightmare the mind of a child can construct.

“ Hear the panic in the voices of the children as they begin to scream for help, from God, their parents or security. But no help will come tonight.  Feel the unbearable horror of this night, and hear the fading cries of these children as they finally succumb to the murderous onslaught.
“Finally, my dear colleagues imagine that it is your own child in the hostels at Buni Yadi on this hellish night.  I can still hear the voice of the father of Aliyu Yola, one of the victims of the school massacre crying, “Aliyu was scared to go back to school after the last holiday. I forced him to resume not knowing he will never come back to me again”.
Recalling Jodi Picoult in her book “My Sister’s Keeper”, “In the English language there is orphans and widows, but there is no word for the parent who loses a child.”

While  saying it was not a day to apportion blame, but seek way out of the shame of a nation,  he further recalled  his immediate response after the attack when he warned that “Nigeria is running out of excuses for our failure to live up to our responsibility to protect our citizens.
“Today I wish to amend that comment and declare that we have run out of excuses. We no longer have any excuse for our inability to protect our innocent defenseless children from gratuitous violence.”

“ In recent times, it seems the nation wakes up every morning to the sad news of one gory tale of bloodletting and killing of innocent Nigerians or another: in the North East States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe; in the North Central States of Benue and Plateau; and in other parts of Nigeria.
“ We wake up to the disturbing news of daring and dastardly attacks on our military establishments resulting in the dissipation of our military infrastructure and the destruction of the lives of the heroic Nigerians who have committed their lives to the defense of our territorial integrity.

“ In Maiduguri for instance, expensive military aircraft and equipment and whole military barracks have been lost in addition to the loss of men and women of our military and other law enforcement agencies.
“ We wake up to the chilling news of the total annihilation of innocent, law abiding families and entire communities in the most callous, reprehensible and bizarre fashion. This cannot continue. We must rise up collectively and decisively to stop these orgy of deaths, destruction and waste,” the speaker added.

The speaker further noted that 100 years after, it will be absurd to still blame  the British for the nation’s woes, stressing that ”at this stage of our journey of nationhood, all Nigerians should be highlighting the ties that bind us. We should be promoting the elements of our common heritage and emphasizing the imperatives of our common destiny.”

“ In the light of a heart-wrenching tragedy like this, our people must now see that those political, sectional and sectarian differences that have made it impossible for us to present a united front against our challenges are petty and self-absorbed.
“If a tragedy of the Buni Yadi magnitude does not bring us together as one nation, if the loss of our innocent children whose only offence was that they went to school to gain education and wisdom in preparation for a future of service to Nigeria and humanity does not unite us in grief, then we need to ask ourselves if we truly meet the basic spiritual requirements of nationhood.

“ We cannot claim to be one nation, if we cannot find unity in grief; just as we cannot claim to be a great nation when we are incapable of preventing horrendous attacks on our children peacefully asleep in their beds,” the lawmaker stressed.
Facing his fellow lawmakers, he said: “My dear colleagues, our nation is in mourning, and it is in urgent need of consolation. Our nation is in pain, and in urgent need of healing. Our nation is puzzled, and in urgent need of answers. Our nation is disillusioned, and in urgent need of reassurance.”
What else can one say? It is just hoped that all Nigerians will draw from this lesson of tragedy to forge a common front against terrorism. Certainly, the Buni Yadi should be a metaphor for the nation’s unity.