Terror alert in Abuja: should Nigerians be worried?

Covid shutdown to Terror?

When the Covid pandemic and associated lockdowns began to ease at the end of 2021, many Nigerians hoped for a better year ahead. But 2022 has disappointed. There has been unabating stress and increasing misery month after month. Skyrocketing inflation has increased poverty in the land. Youths are idle and restive, a consequence of the very high unemployment and prolonged university (ASUU) strike. As if the state of affairs weren’t bad enough, foreign governments started issuing travel advisories suggesting a very high probability (Level 4) of terror alert in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

These foreign governments have started moving their embassy staff out of the country and there is a visible presence of Nigerian security forces on the streets. These images have startled many Nigerians and they are very worried. The question on most lips is – how deep are we in this s!!t?

Reassuring Nigerians

Perhaps, in an effort to reassure Nigerians, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, retorted that the Federal Government would not be stampeded by the terror advisories. However, Nigerians see the increased arrests of suspected terrorists – so, is there fire burning beneath the smoke? True, issuing a terror advisory is not an exact science, and many times nothing happens. Surely that does not mean the advisories can be dismissed. The Federal Government also has an interest in preventing panic in the country while taking steps to resolve the security challenge.

Will we be safe?

Recent raid on the Kuje prisons in Abuja by terrorists have not helped the confidence level of Nigerians. Nigerians are a resilient lot, but then everything has a limit. Our plight can be likened to that of a building whose foundation is constantly inundated by flood waters. The building will weaken. The foreign government can do better. Issuing the terror alert in Abuja without talking to the Nigerian government is like a smart kid who hides answers to class exams from not too smart kids (don’t get me wrong – cheating is bad). America should do more in helping us, let us in on the gig and how to it resolved. The Federal Government should also be more humble and receptive. Nigerians need reprieve, and we need it urgently – the pressures are too much.