It is ridiculous to suggest, as did your news contributor on Sky news in the morning of 27th December 2009, that international students admissions into UK universities are processed in just seven seconds. That time of seven seconds, by any reasonable thinking is absolutely ridiculous. The authorities responsible for international admission process irrespective of defragmentation are not as sloppy as to fail in their duty of ensuring the suitability of applicants before admission is granted. I would like to believe that your said news contributor failed to cross check her information before her comment concerning the time.
Nonetheless, let the critical issue of the subject matter not be derailed by the admission process which rightly check mated this individual, found him not credible in his application thus rightly declined him, but examine how he almost succeeded in slaughtering innocent lives on board North West Airliner.
Who is Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab? He is a 23 years old Nigerian from an affluent background, privately educated. He is from a good and well grounded family from the district of Funtua, Katsina State in Nigeria. His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a prominent banker, was the chairman of one of the foremost banks in Nigeria – First Bank, now retired. He had his secondary education at British school of Lome in Togo, West Africa, a very prestigious school for the children of some of the worlds rich, especially African’s rich and powerful people and then proceeded to do a three years course at the University of London – 2005-2008, where he read mechanical engineering. Until recently, he was studying for MBA in business in Dubai but dropped out, severed relationship with his family. He was in Egypt for some time, visited Yemen twice for short Islamic course, there he converted to al-Qaeda and was equipped to replicate the British shoe bomber Richard Reid, who equally failed in his suicide attempt to blow up Boeing 767 in 2002 . He was an intelligent young man until he became a terrorist and committed the act of attempted homicide of 289 people by arson and that of destroying property (airplane), including further damages that could have possibly followed, since the plane was about landing. As a person of Nigerian origin, it is beyond belief that such thought, being a terrorist, would even develop in our sub consciousness let alone attempt it. My first reaction was... he is not a Nigerian! Nigerians loves life too much to want to die especially by such cowardly and barbaric act of blowing oneself or an airliner up. One thing is certain, I believe, he is definitely not alone in the venture. All his associate from his early days in London and thereafter should be closely examined, only to the extent of fishing out those suspected of having indoctrinated him.
How did he almost succeed in carrying out the act of killing 289 people? That is the question that begs answering? Let’s take it that the Nigerian security lacks such sophisticated security detection equipments, but surely the substance he carried between his legs or any part thereof, should have been detected in Amsterdam. Or could it be that he was assisted unknowingly in Nigeria? I used the word ‘unknowingly’ because no one there would have assisted anyone on such mission knowingly. Instead you will be arrested and God only would anchor your release. No human right law, however well it is advanced the argument, would save you, as the authorities will ignore all those enshrined rights you are entitled to, in an attempt to redeem a possible shattered national image.
Or was he assisted in Amsterdam? Otherwise, how could he have evaded the security screening or detection systems there?
Outside of the failures by airport security to detect the explosive substance the culprit carried through the aforementioned airports, the intelligence community equally failed in their responsibilities to us, in that, they were fore warned of the extremist views of this individual, additionally that he was talking with extremist and had visited these extremist in Yemen.
Why was his father plea for help ignored, when he expressed concern and alerted the intelligence community about his son’s extremist tendencies?
It is clear from the accounts of what we know now, that the intelligence community failed in discharging their duties of safe guarding us all. Had they taken the intelligence they had more seriously and circulated that information within the global intelligence community, my guess is that, Umar Farouk Abdulmutaliab would have been arrested in Nigeria the moment he set foot on Nigerian soil before embarking on the KLM flight which took him from Nigeria to Amsterdam, where he subsequently boarded the flight to the United State of America. Neither would he have been able to step on any other Trans Atlantics airline with the aim of carrying out a potential terrorist act, of almost blowing up North West airline 253 with 289 people on board.
CIA and Nigerian NSA and other intelligence agencies that failed to activate adequate measures should take responsibility for the lapses that almost resulted in the destruction of lives and properties had Umar Farouk Abdul Mutaliab attempt to commit multiple first degree murder by an act of terrorism not failed.
-By Elias Edetanlen-Elliot
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