Nigeria Jihad?
Cornelius Hamelberg
It’s always the concern of our post-independence nations to embark on
media campaigns aimed at re-branding the flagging or tattered image of
some of our African countries – often with a spin on not the real
situation but a slightly more enhanced version of what’s really goin’
on. Naturally.
In the meantime one is constantly worried about how easily Nigeria
could be destabilized along the fault lines of religious or ethnic
violence.
This is a chilling article by a non-Nigerian, about our Nigeria and in
my opinion, the points that he makes must be engaged by the Nigeria
men (and women) of letters, failing which Nigeria would be losing the
(foreign) media war on Nigeria, starting with what may appear to be
some pointedly flippant remarks by Mrs Clinton, just the other day, to
the effect that “extremism” in Nigeria must be blamed on the poor
quality leadership that Nigerian leaders provide for their beloved
country.
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/01/29/nigerian-jihad/
The Nigeria media is mostly for local consumption whereas every time
the BBC or CNN brays, the world hears it, to the extent that Umar
Farouk Abdalmuttlab is more famous outside of Nigeria than he is in
Nigeria – and whereas the equally chilling reality of the Boko Haram
was discussed in this forum, the massacre of several hundred members
of that sect - not to mention the bloodlettings in Jos this year and
last year, did not receive the same kind of media attention by the
international press, and therefore there was no great international
outrage about these tragedies.
During the European Development Conference here in Stockholm I met
Kano’s ( Murar Jama’a) Freedom Radio’s Station Manager, Musa Mamman
who was the sole Nigerian representative at that conference and
actually had lunch with him on Friday October 23rd 2009, during which
he gave me his own perspectives on the Boko Haram debacle.
http://www.freedomradionig.com/
I wonder what he would say about this article, just as I wonder about
the kind of poetic fervour that’s likely to erupt or leap out of Chidi
Anthony Opara’s fountain pen, or what strong words will appear on Pius
Adesanmi’s blog, in The Zeleza Post, when he reads this:
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/01/29/nigerian-jihad/
In my view the image of Nigeria should not be held hostage by a
foreign press – and Nigerians ought to try to respond to - modify some
of the images that the foreign press wittingly or unwittingly creates
and propagates about Nigeria…