Although Nigerians are beginning to heave some sigh of relief following the nation’s military’s success in dislodging the much dreaded insurgent Boko Haram from their camps and hideouts, much ugly memories of the past have remained fresh. Sincerely, life may never remain the same even with the total annihilation of this terrorist group and other forms of insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria. My reason is that although violence may cease, can the consequent sad memories be forgotten?
It is no news that one major antics of the insurgent terror Boko Haram is the act of suicide bomb. This is obviously the height of insecurity not only in Nigeria but in most other countries of the world including Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and even some Asian countries. However, some security experts have described the acts of suicide bombing as one of the deadliest mechanism of terror campaign in this 21st century.
An independent security analyst once said that of all acts of violence and insecurity involving terrorism, suicide bombing is most capable of leaving endemic fear in the minds of its victims. Wars may come and go, but fears or scars left by events of suicide bombing are most difficult to erase and most capable of influencing both personal and public lifestyles.
 
This is the situation which I found myself in the wake of terror and consequent deadly events of suicide bombings in the Northern part of Nigeria. I was resident in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria when news of strategic suicide bombings and other forms of insecurity and threat to life started filling the airwaves. At first, we felt less concerned and concentrated on our jobs and daily routine as those ugly incidents were only reported in the far North-Eastern part of the country. Little did we know that what started as mild dew would rise to become a torrential rainfall. The first major incident of bombing which completely changed my perception of personal and public strategy was the Mararaba – Nyanya Motor Park bomb blast.
Nyanya is a sub-urban town that shares common boundary with Mararaba, which is the closest town in the neighboring state of Nassarawa, North-central Nigeria. These two neighboring towns have a combined population of virtually one million people according to an independent source. Sadly, the bomb blast incident took place under a bridge which housed a very busy and popular motor park. The dead toll from was heart-rending.

Safe And Secure Nigeria Blog
Nyanya Bridge: Site of Bomb Blast
If you have been to Abuja, you would notice that the only form of shelter from rain or sunshine for pedestrians is the popular and strategic pedestrian bridges found in almost all major express roads in the FCT. Whenever it rains or sun shines heavily, you could only have shelter under these pedestrian bridges unless you are journeying in a car. Consequently, these bridges became popular with huge attendant crowd always taking shelter from the rains. They eventually became obvious targets for suicide bombers because of the presence of the crowd. However, when cases of suicide bomb blasts became incessant, the fear of staying in the midst of the crowd in the name of shelter from rain became pronounced.
I had to adopt a new personal security strategy. I had to start avoiding those pedestrian bridges which posed a great security threat to thousands of lives. You do not need a security expert to tell you that such sight could be an easy target with high precision for suicide bombers who could disguise themselves to join the crowd.
I walked under the rain, sunshine and started avoiding any form of crowd formation in public places. I was not the only person whose security strategy had to change. Several other residents of Abuja shared similar opinion with me and whenever it rained, one could see a large number of people getting wet by walking under the rain in a bid to avoid joining the crowd under those pedestrian bridges.
Till now, although the security situation in the entire Northern part of Nigeria has become a lot better, I have not thought about relaxing my security strategies. The memories of destruction of lives and property caused by suicide bombings are still fresh. When it shall fade, only time will tell.

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