WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-06-08 Time: 13:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Stevens A. Wisdom Okoro
The fear of terrorism is the beginning of wisdom. ‘Terrorism is not in our culture’. Meaning what? Whose culture, then, is terrorism? How do Nigerians classify the letter bombing of eminent journalist, Dele Giwa, in 1986? How do these patriotic commentators want to classify the bombings during the days of IBB and Abacha? The killing of journalists by hired assassins, the attempted firebombing of The Guardian newspaper’s head office in 1996, and the failed bomb planted recently in the Edo State House of Assembly in Edo State? Are these not all forms of terrorism?
How can people say Nigeria is a nation of peace, when criminals keep kidnapping oil workers, and northern Muslims in Nigeria keep killing Christians whenever they have the opportunity? If Nigerians had respect for human life and liberty, there would have been no need, at the beginning of the year, for America to put Nigeria on the list of terror nations to watch. Besides, our so-called leaders have continued to plunder the Nigerian treasury, while our citizens commit fraud all over the world.
However, nemesis has caught up with us. Remember the December 25, 2010 failed attack on an American airliner by Al-Qaeda agent, Farouk Abdulmutallab? The disgraceful incident exposed afresh the motionlessness of Nigeria and her overdose of false national consciousness. In fact, there is so much talk about terrorism not being our culture, about its being un-Nigerian, as if terrorism is part of any people’s culture.
The Abdulmutallab fiasco has had a legion of negative effects on the country. From the sociological angle, it has limited the free flow of social interaction between Nigeria and United States, and even beyond, to other nations. Nigerians travellers to the western nations have had to endure more embarrassing body searches. Visa issuance to Nigerian applicants has also become subject to more rigorous screening.
Nigerians living abroad, particularly in America, are also paying the price. Among other liabilities, their opportunities to seek, obtain and keep jobs have shrunk as a result, which in turn has affected their remittances back home.
Another effect, from the economic viewpoint, is in the area of business transactions. These are largely based on reputation and how citizens of a particular country are perceived. If our national reputation is perceived as negative and unstable, foreign businessmen will be more cautious in dealing with their Nigerian counterparts. For years, Nigeria’s image had been unattractive. Now, the old issues of trust have become even worse, with the heightening of concern about the safety and security of persons person doing business with our nationals.
The speed of transactions has also been a casualty. Foreign business partners often want to carry out a thorough feasibility report and due diligence before carrying out any business in and with Nigerians. Such potential investors now have more cause to see the country’s environment as a tough area in which to conduct business. It is not impossible to have a similar terror incident in the future, and if it should happen, it might seal the issue as to whether Nigeria is a terrorist nation, which will profoundly affect our international relations. It will slow down foreign aid, and might provoke more sanctions.
In conclusion, terrorism is evil. Nigerians have been paying for the sin of one man. The Nigerian government, at all levels, must take every necessary measure to repair our battered economy so that there will be no need for our citizens to be escaping for succour to other parts of the world, only to be treated like dirt.
Stevens A. Wisdom Okoro Dept. of Banking & Finance, Lagos State Polytechnic, Kosofe Annex.
Original date published: 7 June 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201006080364.html?viewall=1