<<Print>>

Yesterday was Independence Day � it was a time for celebration of our emancipation from the British, but also a time of somber reflection. How well does our country �work�? Some people say you can know how safe somewhere is if you can walk on the streets, but how about when you�re sleeping? Before you say we are late, we thought it best to talk about it on the one day in the year dedicated to Nigeria � are we truly one? � {keep in mind, most of the students slaughtered, if not all, are thought to be Muslims}. Is our country worth celebrating? You decide. As you probably know, a deep tragedy struck three days ago � Sunday September 29, 2013 � in Damaturu, in Yobe State � in the North East of Nigeria. Alleged members of the extremist Islamic terrorist sect Boko Haram � dressed in camouflage attacked male hostels at the Yobe State College of Agriculture, specifically avoiding the female ones � and awoke a sleeping group of students, aged between 18 and 22, forcing them to huddle into groups, slaughtering each group with a stream of bullets. Around 40 male students were initially reported dead. Now the death toll has risen to the 70s, as some were also hacked with cutlasses and machetes. Here�s an eye witness account, from Reuters: �They started gathering students into groups outside, then they opened fire and killed one group and then moved onto the next group and killed them. It was so terrible,� said one surviving student Idris, who would only give his first name. �They came with guns around 1 a.m. and went directly to the male hostel and opened fire on them � The college is in the bush so the other students were running around helplessly as guns went off and some of them were shot down,� said Ahmed Gujunba, a taxi driver who lives by the college.� Parents and families were found mourning at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital mortuary in Damaturu in Yobe yesterday. We pray for all the victims� families to find solace in this tough time. Losing young men so full of promise � not even being able to bury their full bodies. The Yobe state governor addressed the issue yesterday in a statement - Ibrahim Gaidam said it was �devastating, heinous and barbaric,� and called for increased protection from the military. Survivors and relatives also seem to echo that sentiment. The president - Goodluck Jonathan said on the tragedy, �The people they killed they don�t even know them. This is the creation of the devil � No Boko Haram or any group can frustrate this country � I assure Nigerians we�ll do what is required to protect them.� We have to to say, we were not impressed by President Jonathan�s Independence speech. He didn�t truly allay our fears on the lack of security and powerlessness we feel every single day. He said he will institute a national committee � but we have had many of those � what do they solve? For the governor of Yobe to call on militant force, what confidence does that say we have in the investigative powers of the police? For the the President to say this is the work of the devil, I can only say God save us.