NIGERIA AND TERRORISM

The past week has been a shocking one for Nigerians. An attempted terror attack by a Nigerian and the loss of our former First Lady, Dr Mrs Maryam Babangida. She was a woman loved by all who met her, a wife, a mother, a sister, an aunt, a leader in her own right. She will be sorely missed and we pray God grants her eternal rest and her family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Nigerians, in the deepest part of their subconscious, would never have thought we will be in the news for an act of terrorism- though I should rephrase; international terrorism. It was such a shock to see the breaking news ticker about an attempted attack. Half an hour later, it was updated to reflect that a Nigerian national was the suspect. I simply didn’t believe it. We were all convinced that come morning, we will be proven right when they discover it was some African who had obtained our easily-obtained passport and used it. Then the name came up, still disbelief. No way would someone from my country do that! By the next morning, rumors were flying about the identity of the suspected terrorist. It was even more unbelievable. While not particularly close to the family, I have met a number of them and am friendly with one. They have always impressed me with their demeanor, humility, modesty and just being “them”. It couldn’t be true! But then confirmation came. The shock was simply too much. How could that have happened? Where could it have happened?

After the initial shock, I still couldn’t hold it together. I actually started feeling physically sick. My thoughts kept going to the parents. How do they feel? How on earth do they reconcile the son they brought into this world 23 years ago with this act? When it was made known that the father had reported his son’s activities to the authorities, that hit me really hard. What kind of pain must the father have gone through? It takes a strong, deeply religious person with unshakeable faith to be able to accept his son could even be thinking such and report his activities. He put his religion above his family and did the right thing. Oh Lord, how it must have hurt him. How difficult it must have been for the family to accept that was the best thing to do. Parents by default are programmed to save their offspring. In a manner, he did save his soul. It would have been unforgivable, taking the lives of 289 people. Somehow, I tell myself that the actions of the family, the parents somehow reduced the enormity of it. Allah knows best but he is a God who listens to our cries and prayers.

I sat down on the 25^th, watching television while my niece played and jumped around me. Every time I looked at her, I felt a shiver down me. I kept thinking of my own kids. Imagining Umar Farouq’s mother looking at him as a new born baby, as a toddler, learning to walk, talk, run. Grow up, talk to her, laugh with her, hug her and I couldn’t stop crying. She never imagined this, never asked for this but it happened. It’s easy to condemn him but I prefer to condemn his actions. I tell myself that no parent should be able to condemn him because though in the eyes of the west he is a man, in my culture, he is merely a boy. I feel a mother’s pain, a mother’s anguish every single time I see his face on the news. How could it all have gone wrong for him? His siblings, their extended families, his extended family, the list goes on. Despite everything, despite all that could have happened, I still find it hard to blame him as a person. I so admire his father’s strength of character and I pray Allah soothes his pain, makes his burden easier to bear through his faith. I pray Allah gives the mother the strength to bear this, soothes her pain and heartbreak, and gives her solace in her children and grand children. May he strengthen her faith. And to his siblings, I pray to Allah to also lighten their burdens, give them the strength to bear peoples talks, looks and judgment. Remember the good in him, pray for him and above all, be strong for your parents and remain by their sides to strengthen them. No one can ever know what they are all going through but we can all pray for them.

There have been various responses and outpourings from all over Nigeria and the world. There have been mixed reactions understandably. I was watching situation room on CNN and while reporting on the case, Wolf Blitzer himself had to speak about the kind of courage Alhaji Umar Mutallab has to be able to report the activities of his son. I wished I could go on TV to let everyone know, that is My Religion, My Islam, the Religion of Peace. It abhors violence and dictates that you must uphold that tenet, even at the detriment of family and self. Of course it’s not surprising to note that non-Muslims have been the most critical, being downright insulting in some cases. That is a product of ignorance but it saddens me that we are so obviously divided in Nigeria that something like this only brings up calls for Secession from certain groups. We are first and foremost human beings and to think that this people cannot sit and ask themselves how this could have happened, sympathize with his family. All I want to say on this is, we need to all find love, forgiveness and understanding in our hearts. Enough said.

May Allah help him find his way back, forgive him his intentions and actions. May Allah continue to provide succor for his family. And may we learn to love ourselves as a people irrespective of religion and ethnicity. AMIN.