A YEAR AFTER MOSQUE MASSACRE, KANO STILL WIDE OPEN

Kano Grand Mosque

Today, November 28, is exactly a year since that dastardly kamikaze attack on Kano Grand Mosque where scores were killed and countless more were injured. Almost every family in the vicinity of the Mosque and even Greater Kano was bereaved or suffered some pain one way or another. But, with the recent bombing at the Farm Centre GSM Market here in Kano, it seems that, like Maiduguri, Damaturu, Yola and Abuja (cities under constant attack), Kano has not and does not learn its lesson.
The recent attacks in these cities point to one fact - that we are almost always wide open for more attacks. And the attackers understand this quite well. The fact that our intelligence-gathering mechanism doesn’t seem to work is now a given. And it is only cold comfort when we justify our lackadaisical attitude to security with statements such as ‘even well-secured cities like Paris come under attack’. Yes they do, but cities like Paris are NOT fighting a simmering insurgency like we are, and so they come under ‘the element of surprise’ category which we cannot claim by any justification.

And then, invariably, the perpetrators of similar attacks in those cities such as Paris and countries such as France are almost always tracked down and fed the same medicine they fed others. But here in Kano, the security agencies are still looking for a certain “Sharon vehicle” which was alleged to have dropped off the female suicide bombers at the Farm Centre Market. And Sharon is a female name too, for effect!
It is not rocket science that whenever cities abroad are attacked, somehow an e-fit (as they call it) of a suspect almost immediately appears. How do they do it? Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera networks, of course. Whatever the price of CCTV, however expensive it may be, it does not cost up to a single finger of a human, let alone his life! But this is the country where a project to install such CCTV surveillance camera networks in some of our cities was sabotaged, and the monies stolen.
Recently, according to a Vanguard newspaper report, disturbed by the current spate of insecurity in the nation, two members of the House of Representatives, Adekoya Abdul-Majid and Abiodun Faleke jointly presented a motion tagged: ‘For the Reactivation/Installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras in Abuja, State Capitals and Major Cities and Investigation of the Failure of ZTE Corporation to Complete the Contract of Installing the Cameras in Abuja and Lagos”. It may be recalled that such a contract was awarded at the cost of $470 million (then about N76 billion) by the Federal Government, but it never saw the light of day.
Contributing to the motion, House Majority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila in his submission argued that the subject matter had come up on the floor of the House in the 7th Assembly and was debated with resolutions passed, but nothing seemed to be done. He said: “We had documents and paragraphs with damning revelations at that time. When it relates to the security and welfare of this country, it’s our concern, and we have to start asking real questions…”
Our markets and motor parks are the most horrible places to conduct any business in Nigeria. They are dirty, unkempt and unsecured. And many of our mosques, which have also been under incessant attacks recently, do not fare much better. Anyone can enter at any time and do anything. The Farm Centre attack, like the incessant market/motor park/mosque attacks in Maiduguri and other cities, should be a wake-up call. Sadly in Nigeria, we never wake up.
It may be impractical to install bank doors at the entries of all our markets and motor parks and mosques, for that may significantly curtail, or even kill business, temporal and spiritual. But isn’t it better to kill business than the business people losing their own lives? Yet we have to admit that the state of those markets and motor parks and mosques cannot justifiably be fit for such swank projects as bank doors. So what does that leave us with? The CCTV, of course! Wouldn’t that gadget have ‘caught’ that ‘Sharon’ which still being looked for?
Therefore, as a matter of emergency, and as a matter of urgent national importance, the Federal Government must unearth what happened to that CCTV contract and arrest and prosecute who ‘ate our money’. And, though we wish no man (or woman) any ill, one would not be overtly sad if those stealing rogues meet the same fate as the countless citizens who perished because of the thieves’ greed and corruption. Amin!
And for those who say ‘it cannot work because of the lack of electricity and our attitude to all matters important’, we say to them there is something called CHANGE in town. The Good Lord did not give us the Sun to only warm us; it is the most brilliant source of electricity, something the Germans (one of the most un-Sunned nations on earth) have been telling us for millennia (and shame on us!) Now, since mostly our markets and motor parks operate during the day, the solar solution, and a CHANGE OF ATTITUDE, should do it. SO, for all the millions we spend AFTER the event as aid to victims, we must immediately allocate something for this CCTV business. And hide it when you mount it - not brazenly displayed to be stolen!
Finally, you may recall the two people I particularly mourned after the November 28, 2014 Kano Mosque Massacre: Alhaji Muhammad Hassan, Deputy Chief Librarian here at Bayero University, Kano (a friend and colleague), and Alhaji Sarki Lawan Yakasai (my headmaster at primary school who, among all my teachers, had the most impact on my life). I asked their children to write and tell us what they miss about their departed fathers, a year on, despite having found some closure, perhaps.
Ummi Muhammad Hassan wrote first:
“I miss everything about my father - his smile, his laughter, his jokes, his teasing me and, most especially, his advice. He always offered me a shoulder to cry upon and always seemed to have a solution for all my problems. When I needed a father, he was always there; when I needed a friend, he was always there, willing to listen; when I needed help, he was always willing to lend a hand. All in all I miss my father because he was a father, a friend, a sibling and a role model. He remains my most valued treasure and the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Shamsuddeen Sarki Lawan also wrote:
“This day is much more than just any other on the calendar. It’s an unforgettable day. I miss my father so very much. The whole family does. His absence is a permanent pain. I miss his presence and priceless counsel. He was a pillar to all the family, all friends and all associates. He was tolerant of different views and always focused on the solution, not who was right or wrong. The entire family is coping, but with difficulty. We are trying to instil those values he instilled in us on to the younger ones. We try to find ways to make sure we carry on with his vision and mission. He will always be in my thoughts and prayers. I visit his grave every week. Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un!”
May Allah forgive them and grant them paradise. May Allah protect us from these heartless and indiscriminate attackers, whoever they may be. May God deal severely with who stole our CCTV money. Severely O Lord! May CHANGE come into this matter, amin!

Credits: DAILYTRUST