Written by:
Rev. Fr. Clement Muozoba
Awka,
Anambra State,
Nigeria.
okochacm@yahoo.com
08060843010

SUNSET AT NOON: THE MUBI MASSACRE OF ADAZI 12
The highest number of corpses I had seen brought to the Church the same day for funeral mass was four. It was in the early 90’s. They died at different times and of different causes and were to be buried at different places. But it was just a coincidence that their corpses were brought to the Church the same day for the mass. It was as if the heavens had fallen that day as four coffins were brought into the church and lined up in the isle. After the mass, the chief celebrant cracked a joke. He advised the bereaved families to be careful not to mix-upthe coffins. There was a roar of laughter. He said this to point out the fact that the number of the dead was much. Of course such is rare. I never saw that number since then. It was years ago. Human life still had value then.
In the recent time especially with the inception of the Boko Haram insurgence and with its attendant harvest of blood as the result of the incessant bomb blasts, human life seems to have become less valuable. When the Boko Haram began, it was attack on the security agents and their offices. From there it graduated to attacking beer parlours and later it began attacking bigger places especially as its activities were unchecked by the government. The height of its attack was that on the Police Headquarters, a signal to the Nigerian Police that they are powerless. Another was the UN Headquarters in Abuja. The change was when it faced churches which culmination was the attack on St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla near Abuja on the 25th December, 2011. About 50 persons lost their lives in that attack. Still Boko Haram did not rest. With the same wave length, they shot and killed two indigenes of Adazi-Nnukwu town, Anambra State who lived in Mubi, Adamawa State on 28th December, 2011. It is of particular note that many Adazi-Nnukwu indigenes live in Mubi and were said to have contributed much in developing the town. Adazi-Nnukwu is religiously a very significant town. The town played host to the early Catholic (Irish) missionaries and served as their base. It was from Adazi that they embarked on their missionary journeys to other surrounding towns and villages. As early as 1912, Adazi had become a parish. This can account for why about 95% of the citizens of the town are Catholics. As many indigenes of the town settled in Mubi, they single-handedly built St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Mubi. This was so to say in commemoration of their home parish then which also goes by the name.
When the indigenes of Adazi-Nnukwu gathered to discuss how to take the corpses of their slain kinsmen home for burial, they were attacked again by the same Boko Haram insurgents with their sophisticated weapons and eleven more people were mowed down, one person from Agulu, a nearby town and the home town of Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State. It was a real harvest of blood. The tempo of the discussion then changed to how the slain people from the same town could be brought home for burial without reprisal attacks. It only took the grace of God and the reinforcement of the belief that the Igbo man holds the human life sacred and saves it instead of spilling blood like the devilish Islamic sect. The youths were also convinced that the Igbo people being killed in the northern Nigeria are prominent people who contribute meaningfully to the society. They are different from the northern cattle rearers and shoe menders in the east whose lives are not worth more than those of their cattle and shoes. These quenched the fire of vengeance burning in their hearts. To make sure the situation was perfectly brought under control, series of meetings were held and the date of the funeral had to be shifted. The intervening efforts and the managerial ability of the state governor, Mr. Peter Obi who is a pacifist, played a very important role as he met with the stake holders especially the town union executives and the bereaved families.
At the funeral on 2nd February, 2012 in St. Andrew’s Catholic Church field, Adazi-Nnukwu, the town stood still as the ambulances conveying the corpses brought them into the arena. They were thirteen, all lined up in front of the podium. What a pitiable sight! The Holy Mass was presided over by the Catholic bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Paulinus Ezeokafor. The priests numbered about 300. The Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi with his commissioners was there. Other dignitaries present included Chief Victor Umeh, the national Chairman of APGA, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, member representing Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia Federal Constituency, the Transition Chairman of Anaocha LGA, the representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), many traditional rulers and a host of others. The members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and their leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurike were also present. They all dressed in black. To signify the darkness that befell the town, the majority of Adazi-Nnukwu indigenes also dressed in black. The arena was filled to the brim. The security agents were armed to the teeth.
In an emotion-laden homily, Bishop Ezeokafor bemoaned the state of insecurity in the country caused by the devilish and bloody Islamic sect, Boko Haram. He noted that in the recent time, the sect which name roughly translates ‘Western Education is evil’ and is on the mission to Islamize the country, has consciously made spirited efforts to create dissension in the country by inciting Christians against Muslims and Muslims against Christians; one ethnic group against the other especially as they issued the warning that the southerners depart the north and that the northerners leave the south. He wondered what the leaders and the security agents have done to curb the security threats posed by Boko Haram. He encouraged the Christians not to be afraid of practicing their faith. He made it clear that the life of a southerner is as important as that of a northerner and that the life of a Christian is as important as that of a Muslim. He urged the Federal and Adamawa State governments to do something concrete to alleviate the sufferings of the bereaved families. He ended the homily with a note of warning, “Enough is enough!”
The heavens were let lose as tears rained down even from the eyes of the angels when the widows and the widower of the deceased and their relatives in the company of the governor and some government officials brought the gifts to the altar during the offertory procession. Many people especially the women wept uncontrollably. Some hot drops of tears escaped my eyes. The atmosphere was so charged and the sun stood still. In fact, it was as if the world had come to an end. Yes! The physical world of the 13 victims was abruptly brought to an end by Boko Haram.
At the end of the funeral mass, Gov. Peter Obi, in his speech, condoled with the bereaved families and awarded their children scholarship in addition to the sum of N1m compensation to each of the families. Again, he donated the sum of N10m to the Church where they were buried to erect a marble where the names of the victims will be written for they died a heroic death. He made it clear that Nigeria will remain one but not on the blood of the Igbos. He said that he has been working with his counterparts in other south eastern states and the president to ensure the safety of the Igbos wherever they are. He urged everybody once again not to take vengeance. He also closed his speech with “Enough is enough!” Any person can imagine the situation at the burial ground as the bodies of the deceased were being lowered into their graves. The previous day, 1st February, the bodies of more than 20 victims of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla Christmas Day attack were also interred in a similar atmosphere. The massive congregation which had remained calm during the Holy Mass, went mad with anger when the emir of Suleja, Alhaji Awwal Ibrahim, who was outside the church throughout the mass, was invited to address the crowd. The deeply hurt congregation continued to shout and boo the emir on top of their voices that even the bishop himself could not stop them. The only option was to ask the emir to leave the vicinity in his own best interest.
It is true that it has been said many times especially from the government circles that the mission of Boko Haram is yet unknown and that their attacks are not limited to any particular group. The Mubi attacks and others make it difficult to convince an average Igbo person that the Igbos and Christians are not particularly targeted. There is also this suspicion that there is a high level conspiracy by the northern elite. This assumption rises from the fact that some known but untouchable northerners threatened to make the country ungovernable for the president should he win the April 2011 presidential poll. Are Boko Haram attacks the way to make the country ungovernable for the president? Another surprise is that no serious voices have risen from the north to condemn Boko Haram. It is believed that the powers that be make use of whatever means possible to achieve their aim of discrediting the Jonathan administration. This is why, according to this school of thought, they have made sure that Boko Haram infiltrated the security agencies too, a fact which the president alluded to in his speech and which the escape of Kabiru Sokoto, the mastermind of the Madalla massacre on the Christmas Day confirmed.
The Boko Haram sect seems unstoppable in spite of the threats from the FG. On January 20, 2012, the sect masterminded unprecedented coordinated attacks simultaneously in many places in the northern city of Kano. The official figure of 186 was given as the number of the casualties. But a source from Kano told me the number was a huge joke. He placed the number in thousands. The sect also rebuffed the president’s call for dialogue. Each day we don’t hear of at least one attack is a day of grace as the sect continues to expand its battle lines. Though other tribes were affected, the truth remains that the Igbos are the most affected because of their entrepreneurship. If the Igbos should leave their property to flee as is being suggested by some groups, we may witness a replica of the “Abandoned Property” saga of the Nigeria-Biafran War era when the properties of Igbos were confiscated in the Port-Harcourt area. I think what the FG must do is to secure the lives and property of all Nigerians wherever they are. Then every Nigerian should know that we have assented to the One Nigeria project for which the Igbos were mercilessly decimated during the Nigeria-Biafran War. Therefore, wherever anyone sees himself, let him live there and defend his life even if it involves the use of force commensurate with that of his aggressor. The Igbos have borne the brunt of the major crises in Nigeria and it will be unwise to continue suffering and smiling in a place I call my home. The 1966 Coup was misconstrued to be an ethnic agenda. That led to the massacre of innocent Igbos in the north then. The Biafran War that later followed was an unconventional one in which bombs were thrown even in the market places, killing many people including women and children. The then minister of finance, Chief Obafemi Awolowo advised the head of state, General Yakubu Gowon that “Hunger is the best weapon of war”. The Gowon led government then blockaded the shipment and airlifting of relief materials into the Biafran territory. This led to malnutrition and death of many Biafran children. After the war, the Igbos who went to the banks for withdrawal were just settled with 20 Pounds each no matter what they had in the banks before the war. Since then, the Igbos have been suffering the civil, ethnic and religious disturbances in the north where they have either been killed or maimed, their properties destroyed and their shops looted. I join in saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! If Nigeria is really a home for all Nigerians and not some, the Mubi massacre and other Boko Haram madness should not have happened in the first place.

Rev. Fr. Clement Muozoba
Awka,
Anambra State,
Nigeria.
okochacm@yahoo.com
08060843010

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