UNLESS BUHARI WAS MAD AND SILLY Making a political point is the second character trait of any politician. Self-preservation is the first. Even in the most infinitesimal perception of physical danger that is remotely injurious, not to talk of fatal, a politician would normally maneuver himself to safety. Why else do they tread around in armored motorcades and platoons of security details? The survival instinct is a strong incentive for elaborate self-protection. Otherwise, the whole point of aspiring to, and competing for, political office would be unnecessary, even stupid. A dead body does not a president make. Only the living can occupy Aso Rock. Indeed, it is almost entirely inconceivable that a politician with quantities of ambition and gigabytes of desperation for presidential office would engage in potentially deadly incendiary theatrics, whose real-life outcome he could neither confidently predict nor control, just to make a political point. There are much safer ways to make a political point, arent there? Which makes the whole suggestion of masterminding a bomb attack on oneself a wee bit ludicrous! So the idea that Mohammadu Buhari orchestrated the Kaduna twin bombings to create erroneous impressions about his alleged connections with Boko Haram is both illogical and unreasonable. Unless he was mad, or silly or both, that would be a senseless and utterly deranged game to even contemplate, let alone play. But Buhari is neither insane nor terribly unintelligent. In fact, his military training implies that he is thoroughly abreast of the characteristic behavior of improvised explosive devices or IEDs. Bombs are erratic, delicate and unpredictable. They are not bullets or bayonets, which are designed both to penetrate and to kill. Bombs are structured and intended to obliterate, to destroy, to abolish entirely. How could you possibly manage, and safely predict, the outcome of, say, five hundred pounds of dynamite or TNT detonating and spewing shrapnel and debris over a wide area at two hundred kilometres per hour? Even the most versatile and astute stunt men would find that inconceivably challenging. Yet, the proponents of the Buhari-masterminded-it-all theory are thoroughly and implacably convinced of their correctness. They hinge their argument on a splash of luxury that is today an integral part of most politicians mobility regimen: Buhari drives a bomb-proof SUV. Perhaps. However, that argument is deflated by the superior counter argument that ownership of even a sprawling fleet of armored vehicles is hardly an invitation to idiocy. Again, it is impossible to foresee, to a reasonable degree of certainty, what the actual outcome of a bomb explosion would be. Besides, bomb-proof cars are not a foolproof shield against a terrorist determined to wreak maximum havoc. Makers of so called bomb-proof automobiles are themselves unsure exactly how bomb-proof their moving fortifications would be in the event of an actual suicide attack. Some of these mobile garrisons are even designed to withstand grenades - allegedly. And, although the rich and powerful around the world are acquiring them with a gluttons appetite, the roaming forts probably only give a psychological feeling of safety. There is as of yet no documentary evidence that these fortresses on wheels - some made into magnificent metals of rolling luxury - have been involved in actual bomb blitzkriegs. Still, it is not surprising that a volatile character like Mujahid Asari-Dokubo is fanning the embers of the conspiracy theory. His irrational attitude is familiar. Asari-Dokubos furious energy is easily ignited by arguments regarding Goodluck Jonathan and the alleged northern conspiracy to make the country ungovernable for him. People like Asari-Dokubo, who has sworn to make Nigeria uninhabitable for everyone unless Jonathan is retained in Aso Rock in 2015 by peace or war, consider Buhari the conceiver, inspirer and promoter of that conspiracy. In that same frame of mind, Asari-Dokubo believes that Buharis party, the All Progressives Congress, is nothing more than Boko Harams political wing. So, he insists, the Kaduna attacks were carefully orchestrated by Buhari to make himself appear in the publics mind to be a target for Boko Haram. That conclusion is laughable because it implies that a humongous public figure like an aspiring presidential candidate would turn himself into a guinea pig for some potentially self-obliterating experiment. It is utterly abominable just to contemplate it. Meanwhile, the rabid Boko Haram hasnt claimed responsibility for the attacks. Commonsense suggests that, had Buhari really masterminded those attacks, that should have been part of the plan. Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s leader, who has developed a particular notoriety for a ravenous appetite for public attention, would be bragging about it and posting pictures of his braggadocio all over the Internet. So far, apparently, we haven’t seen any of that. Those promoting the mastermind preachment should find a more convincing explanation for their inebriating obsession. The ethno-tribal complexion is all too evident.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 12:02:34 +0000
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