Culture, tourism as antidote to security

Ozubulu, hate speech mongers, satanic voices cum artistes, violent agitators and their very lot seem to have occupied our national discourse and space in recent times. In fact, we have suddenly forgotten Evans and the kidnappers of the Epe, Lagos, school students and systematically fallen into a state of despair and gloom.
I had sat down through last week to watch the IAAF World Championship games in London and could imagine the peace and joy it brought to Londoners and lovers of global sports tourism. When Manchester was bombed recently, the city and its friends and citizens responded with a massive concert and outpouring of love for victims and their families, with volunteers falling over themselves to offer help and recovery from shock and despair.
The Nigerian nation’s response to haters of our unity and future progress leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Nigeria is now the face of violence and bloodletting. Our leaders, from all indications, have no solution and cannot respond like progressive and voter-conscious leaders in Europe and America.
Our police have no answer to the daily killings and threats to our peace and future. All security agencies are deaf to intelligence and one wonders if it is rocket science for our security minders to unveil and apprehend the hoodlums that have chosen to toe the path of Satan.
In Nigeria, violence is a regrettable business done per second and there is no denying that Nigerians are now their own policemen, providing their own security in whatever way or means. We have lost our roads to robbers and kidnappers, our high seas and waterways to pirates, our hospitals to shylocks as doctors and our air corridors to oppressive foreign airlines.
Suddenly, the peace in our remote and once unreached villages has flown away in the face of a group of gun-toting demons whom even the ministers of God cannot arrest and disarm.
Even the notable culture of our people to look out for the next man has flown away. The truth is that these things happen elsewhere too but are quickly arrested; here in our clime, they are allowed to fester and become a national pasttime.
I had thought that National Orientation Agency (NOA) would respond to the hate speech mongers through strategic open concert of love and peace initiative with our popular musicians falling over themselves to appear pro bono.
At Ozubulu, I wondered, where was Father Mbaka and the praying Catholic priests and gospel singers, all gathered to praise God to have mercy on the living and touch of healing for grieving hearts of families of the departed?
A three-day open air mass at Ozubulu to remember the dead and cast away fear would have attracted the attention of the world to our doorstep as a nation determined to win the war against terror, fear and anxiety. It was done in London, Manchester and cities in the United States and elsewhere, where there are human beings in charge of the affairs of those countries.
Many years ago, when Jos, Plateau State, was burning and people were killing themselves, Otunba Segun Runsewe, then DG, Nigerian Tourism Corporation (NTDC) went to Jos and convened a peace concert that went a long away to bring the warring youths together. The wearied security operatives joined in jubilation.
If government has lost its voice and sense of purpose, where then are the private sector? Chris Mba, Tony Okoroji, Tuface, Davido and the so-called attention-seeking Nollywood actors and actresses should get together and say, no more crude violence as unleashed at Ozubulu, by putting together a peace/memorial concert to challenge the possible return of these invaders of our peace and progress. Nigerians must learn to hold hands together to resist the growing crime in our land. We must respond effectively to engender domestic and international visits to our land. Nigeria is a lovely country, more in many ways than we all can imagine!
To the mongers of hate songs, we need to strategically respond to them with Onyeka Onwenu and Sunny Ade’s songs on peace and love among our people. The National Broadcasting Corporation should drive the biggest all-time awareness on our airwaves to project our position to reject satanic music or concerts that will crash national unity and peace. Let all upcoming and famous disc jockeys sign up and stand up to be counted.
Let all our newspaper and newsmagazine editors and their counterparts on television send out reporters to hunt for developmental reports on Nigerians toiling day and night to bring about change at the grassroots and not dwell on issues and hubris that set wrong examples.
No doubt, Ozubulu and other such places have entered the records of national calamities but we must be strong to say they are not part of our culture and, therefore, must throw it back to the Devil and his ugly followers who want to cow us to our knees. Can somebody out there do something to help Nigeria?