<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, they came for the Communists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a Communist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for the Socialists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a Socialist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for the trade unionists<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a trade unionist<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for the Jews<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I was not a Jew<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they came for me<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there was no one left<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To speak out for me<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The above four stanzas, variations of which have been named \u201cFirst they came\u2026\u201d, are the poetic rendition of a 1946 post-war confessional prose by the German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892\u20131984). He made it on 6 January, 1946, in his speech for the Confessing Church<\/em> in Frankfurt. Even though it speaks about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergy – including, by his admission, himself – to speak out following the Nazis\u2019 rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group, one can relate it to Nigeria\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us take, for instance, when Boko Haram started their mayhem in Borno and Yobe States. A lot of the people were unconcerned because those being attacked were security agents. By the time they turned on the people, everyone knew something collectively should have been done earlier to nip the menace in the bud. But we didn\u2019t because it was the security agents that were being targeted. And by the time they came for us, we knew we had goofed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some years back, when kidnappings, killings and general banditry started escalating, leading to the worsening in insecurity in the North West, many of us started sounding the alarm, but to no avail. Those who should have come down heavily on the recalcitrant undesirable elements to save the nation thought it didn\u2019t affect them, but us. Now, nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On December 24, 2018, under the topic Insecurity: North Under Siege<\/em>, on this page, I wrote: \u201cThe North Central has become a traveler\u2019s nightmare from Rijau to Birnin Gwari and Gwanin Gora to Rijana through Kaduna and down to the suburbs of the Plateau. One travels at one\u2019s own risk as even four-star generals are being killed at will. Herdsmen kill every moving object and sack villages, burning everything down to ashes. Kidnappers are also having a field day. Are some of them, especially the herdsmen and kidnappers, another face of Boko Haram getting the much-needed cash for their operations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHardly can one confidently travel from one town or village to the next once it is 7pm. Travelling by road even in broad daylight is embarked upon with trepidation. Journeying by plane is no longer for luxury as for safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur security apparatuses possibly need a total overhaul and help from elsewhere. There has to be a synergy among the different actors, imbibe modern policing methods and revive community policing. Those who could overhaul our security system and make it more proactive didn\u2019t give a hoot because they thought it didn\u2019t affect them, but us. Now, nowhere is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also on this page, on 15 June, 2020, writing on the topic The North and Insecurity: What has changed?<\/em> I said: \u201cOur leaders and, of course, all men and women of goodwill must be concerned. We all need to help find a solution; Frankenstein-like monsters have been reared and peace is threatening to elude us. We live in fear of what fate awaits our children and our children\u2019s children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust recently, the South West established a security outfit named \u2018Amotekun\u2019, ostensibly to protect its people. But truth be told, Amotekun has been with us for quite some time. People hire private security guards for protection. That is Amotekun. We barricade streets at both ends and the inhabitants hire private security guards to patrol them. That is also Amotekun. Soon, the private security business will be the most flourishing, because more and more Nigerians will call for their services. It may well be that, soon, regions, states and local governments will all be setting up their own Amotekun because the centre can no longer hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCrime will become pervasive and entrenched in our society if we cannot do something about it now. Already, there are illiterate, semi-literate and even literate but hungry people who are ready to kill for a phone or a few thousands of naira. In the future, if this is not checked, they will kill for an earpiece or a few hundreds of naira or a morsel of food. The law-abiding can no longer sleep with even eyes closed and the rich will not find a haven anywhere, even with all their wealth. All shall be consumed. Wake up, we must.\u201d Those who could protect us didn\u2019t wake up because they believed they were safe, even if we weren\u2019t. Now, nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On March 1, 2021, still on this page, while making a comment under The North and the Effect of Janus<\/em>, I wrote: \u201cSince kidnapping for ransom became a fad on the Abuja-Kaduna Road and in the bushes of the northwestern and central states of Nigeria, I started shouting here that it is a financial drive by Boko Haram. The kidnappers belong to their economic arm. They are only ignorant foot-soldiers being used as cannon fodder.\u201d Those who should listen didn\u2019t, and now nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet still on this page, On December 24, 2018, I wrote: \u201cIn the North West, armed bandits, perhaps Boko Haram with a different face, are threatening to take over with Zamfara State almost under their control\u2026 they ransack communities at will, kill, maim and take as many as they can with them for ransom. The bandits can come to a marriage gathering and just demand the bride, who would be handed over to them, with thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFarmers and voiceless Nigerians are being abducted by those who have declared war on Nigeria, but we have allowed them to play the music while we dance to the tunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat has happened to our intelligence-gathering ability…? It is quite a wonder how scores of marauders riding motorcycles with sawed-off silencers can leave the bushes, come to towns, operate for hours and pick hundreds of students and return to the bushes unchallenged. In the not-so-distant past, our security agencies used to have operatives called \u201cstool pigeons\u201d. They were the backbone of human intelligence (HUMINT) gathering\u2026 Now, we can scatter such HUMINT operatives across the towns such that the moment insurgents or their economic arm, the bandits, come out, the operational headquarters of our security agencies will be aware. They could be farmers, hunters, villagers and even herders who are all over the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe way the innocent child sees its father as a superhero who will give it protection is the way the innocent citizen should consider his country. Unfortunately, we are learning the hard way that in Nigeria, no matter what happens, life goes on. The people\u2019s innocence has been deflowered, and sadly, their confidence in their country has been shot to pieces. We should fear the day when the citizens will no longer have respect for a government or society that cannot protect its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs long as criminals will not be brought to justice, as long as we continue treating them with kid gloves, so long shall we continue to play into their hands. They see how others were given \u201camnesty\u201d and \u201cderadicalised\u201d for taking up arms against the state, wreaking havoc on communities and letting blood flow. They see that the worst<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, nowhere is safe (1), by Hassan Gimba<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n First, they came for the Communists<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I did not speak out <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I was not a Communist<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then they came for the Socialists<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I was not a Socialist<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then they came for the trade unionists<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I was not a trade unionist<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then they came for the Jews<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I did not speak out<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I was not a Jew<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then they came for me<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there was no one left<\/p>\n\n\n\n To speak out for me<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above four stanzas, variations of which have been named \u201cFirst they came\u2026\u201d, are the poetic rendition of a 1946 post-war confessional prose by the German Lutheran pastor, Martin Niem\u00f6ller (1892\u20131984). He made it on 6 January, 1946, in his speech for the Confessing Church<\/em> in Frankfurt. Even though it speaks about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergy – including, by his admission, himself – to speak out following the Nazis\u2019 rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group, one can relate it to Nigeria\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us take, for instance, when Boko Haram started their mayhem in Borno and Yobe States. A lot of the people were unconcerned because those being attacked were security agents. By the time they turned on the people, everyone knew something collectively should have been done earlier to nip the menace in the bud. But we didn\u2019t because it was the security agents that were being targeted. And by the time they came for us, we knew we had goofed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some years back, when kidnappings, killings and general banditry started escalating, leading to the worsening in insecurity in the North West, many of us started sounding the alarm, but to no avail. Those who should have come down heavily on the recalcitrant undesirable elements to save the nation thought it didn\u2019t affect them, but us. Now, nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On December 24, 2018, under the topic Insecurity: North Under Siege<\/em>, on this page, I wrote: \u201cThe North Central has become a traveler\u2019s nightmare from Rijau to Birnin Gwari and Gwanin Gora to Rijana through Kaduna and down to the suburbs of the Plateau. One travels at one\u2019s own risk as even four-star generals are being killed at will. Herdsmen kill every moving object and sack villages, burning everything down to ashes. Kidnappers are also having a field day. Are some of them, especially the herdsmen and kidnappers, another face of Boko Haram getting the much-needed cash for their operations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHardly can one confidently travel from one town or village to the next once it is 7pm. Travelling by road even in broad daylight is embarked upon with trepidation. Journeying by plane is no longer for luxury as for safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur security apparatuses possibly need a total overhaul and help from elsewhere. There has to be a synergy among the different actors, imbibe modern policing methods and revive community policing. Those who could overhaul our security system and make it more proactive didn\u2019t give a hoot because they thought it didn\u2019t affect them, but us. Now, nowhere is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also on this page, on 15 June, 2020, writing on the topic The North and Insecurity: What has changed?<\/em> I said: \u201cOur leaders and, of course, all men and women of goodwill must be concerned. We all need to help find a solution; Frankenstein-like monsters have been reared and peace is threatening to elude us. We live in fear of what fate awaits our children and our children\u2019s children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust recently, the South West established a security outfit named \u2018Amotekun\u2019, ostensibly to protect its people. But truth be told, Amotekun has been with us for quite some time. People hire private security guards for protection. That is Amotekun. We barricade streets at both ends and the inhabitants hire private security guards to patrol them. That is also Amotekun. Soon, the private security business will be the most flourishing, because more and more Nigerians will call for their services. It may well be that, soon, regions, states and local governments will all be setting up their own Amotekun because the centre can no longer hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCrime will become pervasive and entrenched in our society if we cannot do something about it now. Already, there are illiterate, semi-literate and even literate but hungry people who are ready to kill for a phone or a few thousands of naira. In the future, if this is not checked, they will kill for an earpiece or a few hundreds of naira or a morsel of food. The law-abiding can no longer sleep with even eyes closed and the rich will not find a haven anywhere, even with all their wealth. All shall be consumed. Wake up, we must.\u201d Those who could protect us didn\u2019t wake up because they believed they were safe, even if we weren\u2019t. Now, nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On March 1, 2021, still on this page, while making a comment under The North and the Effect of Janus<\/em>, I wrote: \u201cSince kidnapping for ransom became a fad on the Abuja-Kaduna Road and in the bushes of the northwestern and central states of Nigeria, I started shouting here that it is a financial drive by Boko Haram. The kidnappers belong to their economic arm. They are only ignorant foot-soldiers being used as cannon fodder.\u201d Those who should listen didn\u2019t, and now nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet still on this page, On December 24, 2018, I wrote: \u201cIn the North West, armed bandits, perhaps Boko Haram with a different face, are threatening to take over with Zamfara State almost under their control\u2026 they ransack communities at will, kill, maim and take as many as they can with them for ransom. The bandits can come to a marriage gathering and just demand the bride, who would be handed over to them, with thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFarmers and voiceless Nigerians are being abducted by those who have declared war on Nigeria, but we have allowed them to play the music while we dance to the tunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat has happened to our intelligence-gathering ability…? It is quite a wonder how scores of marauders riding motorcycles with sawed-off silencers can leave the bushes, come to towns, operate for hours and pick hundreds of students and return to the bushes unchallenged. In the not-so-distant past, our security agencies used to have operatives called \u201cstool pigeons\u201d. They were the backbone of human intelligence (HUMINT) gathering\u2026 Now, we can scatter such HUMINT operatives across the towns such that the moment insurgents or their economic arm, the bandits, come out, the operational headquarters of our security agencies will be aware. They could be farmers, hunters, villagers and even herders who are all over the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe way the innocent child sees its father as a superhero who will give it protection is the way the innocent citizen should consider his country. Unfortunately, we are learning the hard way that in Nigeria, no matter what happens, life goes on. The people\u2019s innocence has been deflowered, and sadly, their confidence in their country has been shot to pieces. We should fear the day when the citizens will no longer have respect for a government or society that cannot protect its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs long as criminals will not be brought to justice, as long as we continue treating them with kid gloves, so long shall we continue to play into their hands. They see how others were given \u201camnesty\u201d and \u201cderadicalised\u201d for taking up arms against the state, wreaking havoc on communities and letting blood flow. They see that the worst that can happen to them is \u201ccondemnation\u201d. But condemnations, like rebukes, are meant for those who recognise your authority over them. This class of criminals does not recognise the condemning authorities.\u201d However, those who mattered kept condemning, and now nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n that can happen to them is \u201ccondemnation\u201d. But condemnations, like rebukes, are meant for those who recognise your authority over them. This class of criminals does not recognise the condemning authorities.\u201d However, those who mattered kept condemning, and now nowhere is safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First, they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9],"tags":[4225,4153],"class_list":["post-3237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-opinion","tag-nigerian-newspapers","tag-political-columnist"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/modusoperandum.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Hassan-Gimba-2-1.jpg?fit=618%2C516&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modusoperandum.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}