by Joachim MacEbong

This is not the first time the terrorists have done this, but it is the first time enough people have paid attention. Now, they demand action from their government, whose primary purpose is supposed to be their security and welfare.

One of the biggest pit falls with occupying high political office, is the possibility of entering a ‘bubble’. This ‘bubble’ consists of layers and layers of aides and advisers who often tell you what you what you want to hear, or what they think you want to hear. The result is a leader who appears ‘out of touch’, ‘tone deaf’, or whatever such phrase appeals.

When that leader is the president of a country as diverse as Nigeria, that possibility becomes even more distinct. Recently, I have begun to view the Presidential Villa, cut off as it is from the rest of the capital city, as a metaphor for the increasing gap between the leader and the led.

There have been many examples of this ‘reality distortion field’ (apologies to Steve Jobs) over  time, but as a nation struggles to deal with a new normal of terrorist attacks, there is more and more evidence that the Nigeria’s number one citizen is unable to adequately feel the pulse of his people and react accordingly.

The Boko Haram insurgency presents Nigeria with what is essentially a war situation. Thousands of innocent people have perished as a result of their attacks. Apart from stemming the violence in the short term, and ending the insurgency in the long term, there is also a need for those affected to feel their president shares their concerns.

Most of the attacks pass without a word from the Presidency, or it comes so late and is so banal, that it is likely to cause more irritation. This is manifested very clearly regarding the girls kidnapped from Chibok in Borno. Nearly three weeks passed, and much pressure applied, before it was even talked about. The response, when it came, was woefully inadequate, in the shape of a 26-person committee to find the girls. It was Ross Perot who said “If you see a snake, just kill it – don’t appoint a committee on snakes”. Alas, that is exactly what President Jonathan has done. This committee will only be inaugurated tomorrow, while there are credible reports that the girls – 223 of whom remain missing – have been split up and sold off.

This is not the first time the terrorists have done this, but it is the first time enough people have paid attention. Now, they demand action from their government, whose primary purpose is supposed to be their security and welfare. What first began as stonewall silence and later as an attempt to paint the abduction as a hoax, has become an exercise in damage control.

Apart from the flurry of meetings with security chiefs and Borno state officials, President Jonathan also had the opportunity to speak directly to the Nigerian people in a media chat. While he has gotten incrementally better at an albeit heavily scripted exercise, and while he offered the customary assurances, a series of gaffes were not far away.

In response to a question about the location of the Boko Haram group who kidnapped the schoolgirls President Jonathan said: “I don’t know where they are […] there is no confirmation of the location of the schoolgirls, you are a journalist, you know more than me.” He also compared the Boko Haram terrorist attacks with Pakistan’s security challenges: “Pakistan [terrorists] has been fighting terrorism for over 10 years now so it’s not something that a 6 months State of Emergency can solve.”

These are just two of the perplexing comments from the Presidential Media Chat, and they reveal a President who either still struggles to strike the right tone, or simply cannot be bothered. History is filled with leaders who used words to inspire their people to overcome difficult times, but these were also leaders who were first able to feel the pulse of their people and knew the right balance to strike.

It is hard to imagine any of the parents of the abducted school girls, or anyone affected by two bomb explosions in Abuja in two weeks, drawing much comfort from knowing that Pakistan have been fighting terrorism for years. What they want to know is that those responsible will be brought to justice. What they want to know is that the violence will be stopped.

What they want to see is an urgency, conveyed in words and actions, that mirrors the gravity of the situation. Nothing else is good enough. Without the urgency which started from social media, the grieving parents of Chibok would have had no recourse whatsoever. President Jonathan, this is not good enough, but whether you know it or not is another matter.

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