Adeola Aderounmu

One Abdul Mudallab has been named as the Nigerian Terrorist that tried to blow up a passenger plane arriving in the US.

I will make this a very short response because details are still emerging that will throw more lights on the incidents (and even the precedents).

But I want to assure all friends of Nigeria and Nigerians that this is totally an isolated incident. Nigerians are not terrorists. Nigeria is a country where Islam and Christianity are the dominant religions. Muslims are concentrated in the North and Christians in the South.

Religious riots are common in the North and sporadic in the South but above all we try to overcome our differences and live in peace. It is hard because of poverty and ignorance especially in the North where it is relatively easier to lure people into violence or acts of violence.

Nigerians are generally peace loving, warm, friendly and very tolerant. If any Nigerian is caught as a terrorist, it will be mostly due to ignorance and personal ideology rather than a common trait. We are not terrorists and we don’t plan to become a terrorist nation. True, the North of Nigeria may have been infiltrated but still it doesn’t reveal that this is an accepted ideology.

Surely I will try to write more about this as details unfold. AND this particular incident is giving me a shift away from the focus of my blogging. I have never thought that a day will come that I will write about terrorism on my blog. But the day is here now as a “Nigerian” Abdul Mudallad has been caught and this is a very reckless attempt to give the rest of us a bad name.

The Nigerian Press must ensure a fair report of this incident and together we must do all we can to restore our image: Nigeria is not a country of terrorists!

Profile of suspected Nigerian Terrorist

Name: Abdul Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab
Age: 23-year-old
Father: Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, former First Bank chairman, former minister and prominent banker
Family Homes: Katsina/Kaduna, Northern Nigeria and home in Central London
Education: British International School, Lome, Togo, University College, London
Countries visited/ residence: UK, Egypt, Nigeria, Yemen, Dubai