Corruption: The face of terrorism -By Ngozi Alexander

The nonchalant attitude of our leaders to the continuous loss of lives and property in the country, especially the North-eastern region, is a cause for concern.

They sit back and watch our country slowly becoming a battlefield while the common man languishes in fear.

As we approach the festive season, there is palpable fear in the air. There’s so much fear that the insurgents, whose activities have gone unchecked, will give us a black festive season.

Are we going to let them divide our nation? Or are we going to fight with all means available to us to give our children a secure future?

Kudos to the local hunters and vigilante groups, who took their destinies in their hands and stood their ground to fight the insurgents.

Sadly, the common man now has to do the job our leaders who were elected into office have failed to do – providing security.

What is most obvious is that the current administration seems more interested in winning the 2015 election. Many have criticized the United States for refusing to help Nigeria with weapons, but we forget that on August 26, 2011, the US after the attack on the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, provided President Goodluck Jonathan with the list of sponsors of the dreaded Boko Haram sect. He was also advised to act fast before the sects’ activities create more havoc in the country.

In the case of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, the US volunteered to help Nigeria rescue them from the insurgents to avert conflict. Through intensive research, the US military informed the government and the world that ten (10) generals in the Nigerian Army were passing sensitive information to Boko Haram, but nothing was said or done about this information given the government.

The refusal of the US to “help” Nigeria stems from one word CORRUPTION. They fear that lethal weapons given to the military might end up in the hands of the terrorists.

Even the South African government has refused to help our nation. This says a lot about the integrity of Nigeria, and how the outside world views its leadership. Who can blame them when our leaders have refused to face the truth or act on it?

We have seen and heard professional experts tackle various issues on corruption and terrorism and they proffer solutions to these problems. I beg to ask, how many of these experts have been called by government to help proffer solutions to our nation’s problems?

These insurgents keep throwing sand into the eyes of government, the latest being their confidence in taking a whole town as their own and terming it an Islamic caliphate. The government of this nation does not know or understand the implication of their actions.

Their laissez faire attitude greatly affects the growth of our nation.

They care less about the common man. With the ongoing onslaught especially in the North East, how many senators in that region have taken the time to go to their various states to sit with their governors to proffer solutions or visit its citizens?

The Nigerian government should take more proactive actions to check this scourge. It is also their duty to fish out these corrupt leaders who loot from the nation’s purse to fund these criminals.

If the Nigerian government can tackle corruption in our nation, poverty will be greatly reduced, so will terrorism.

Long live Nigeria.