What a preposterous question!

Although there was a statement that sought to clarify or explain her position, with, in my opinion little success, Nigerians were obviously disconcerted by the remark credited to Dr Kema Chikwe, a former Aviation Minister and currently Peoples’ Democratic Party Women’s Leader, concerning the abducted secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State. She was quoted as asking; “Who saw it happen?” What a preposterous question? This statement would exacerbate the anguish the parents of those girls feel.

It is appalling for a public figure of her calibre to allude to news of the abduction and reaction of parents of the abducted girls and the security agents as phantom. When her utterance was reported in the news, she went on further to make more inflammatory remarks instead of apologizing. This would however not come as a surprise when we recall the lesson learnt from the words of our wise men of the past, describing highly educated people who act impulsively. The late Alhaji Mamman Shata Katsina composed his song titled “Nagode wa Ahmadun Gaya”. Ahmadun Gaya was a hypothetical medical doctor of whom Shata said:

Ankira shi Daktan, ya amsa; Daga ganin kurji sai ya jefa wuka.

(Shata) concluded thus: Kaji ilimi babu hankali; Kaji ilimi babu natsuwa.

For those behind the abduction of the girls, be they Muslims, Christians, Northerners or Southerners, Dr Mamman Shata must have them in mind when in another track of his titled “Gargadi mai gina ramin mugunta”, he warned: Ka gina ta daidai kwaurin ka; Baka sani ba ko kai ka fada.

Succinctly put, there would be a time for reckoning.

Abbas Liman<limanabbas@gmail.com>