We are getting more & more frightening news about the Zamfara killings. Two things standout:
- It is complicated
- It has been brewing for a long time
The long period it was allowed to fester must have gradually enriched it with a high degree of complexity.
Now the question is: how was it allowed to fester for so long enabling it develop a soul of it’s own? Do we still have leadership in this country? I mean leadership at all levels. Do we still have citizens in this country? In this case however the president, Muhammadu Buhari, has been specifically indicted by the revelation by Senator Kabir Marafa of Zamfara state that he has discussed the Zamfara crises a number of times with him(Buhari).
What could be Buhari’s reason for doing nothing about it until it got out of control? This is really not peculiar to the Zamfara crises or to President Buhari. Most of our big problems in this country are what they are because they were not nipped in the bud.
Be it Maitatsine crises in Kano, Boko Haram, Niger Delta crises, Aba robbery crises and what have you. Is it part of our intractable maintenance culture problem? Indeed, they are similar: doing the right things at the right time so that problems do not occur, or when they occur, fixing them early before they become major problems. When shall we then improve our maintenance culture? Now note, we are all guilty!
