ovember 27, 2008 happened to be the fourth Thursday of the month and therefore the day set aside in America for Thanksgiving. The history and origin of Thanksgiving are traceable to the early Pilgrim immigrants and the Native American Indians, what they did to observe harvest and celebrate the success of the cropping season. If harvest was poor, the feasting was usually low-keyed often cancelled with prayers held for the return of better times. The Puritans among the early English settlers also had their own ideas. They found the need to give thanks to the Almighty for surviving one crisis, illness and misfortune after another in a strange place they had come to call their home. Over the years, Thanksgiving has taken its turn and significance in capturing the mood of the people and circumstances of the prevailing seasons and situations in accordance with customary practices that have endured the test of times. For example, the history books confirm how Abraham Lincoln employed the concept in 1863.

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The American civil war (1861-1865) was raging and the president wanted to boost the morale of the Union soldiers by proclaiming the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. The war ended and the U.S Congress decided to formalize the day as a national holiday with distinct American values. Thanksgiving Day has since become everything American, starting with the apple pie, cranberry sauce, turkey meal, booze and fun; Macy's parade beams from New York City and Gimbel's from Philadelphia, showing off the giant floats and colorful balloons and decorative ushering in the pleasantries of the holiday season, the coming attractions of Christmas. The national football league makes it a date with its fans, perhaps the most recorded viewership outside the Super Bowl games (America's own World Cup Soccer). For some reason, it has always been the Detroit Lions and any other team playing on Thanksgiving Day with so much energy expended, egos bruised and enough to melt all the snow in Motown. The disappointment is that the home team loses more often than it wins, but it all happens as everything else, on Thanksgiving Day.

On individual and personal levels, everyday one wakes up to behold another day should be cause for thanking the Almighty. That was the message from cousin Chikere; he and his family are spending their first Thanksgiving Day in America. They are among the new arrivals that came through the U.S. Diversity Immigration Visa Lottery. Obviously, he has had to learn firsthand whatever he was hearing and being told about life in America. With all things considered, he has every reason to be thankful to God and was happy at that on his first Thanksgiving in America. Chikere was still telling his story, but the images on television though blurred from a distance seemed to be telling much more; the voice-over was a narrative from the anchor-lady relaying some "breaking news" unfolding from faraway place in the country of India. There has been an attack on Mumbai, India's financial hub and one of the free market centers of South Asia. It was perhaps another Al Qaeda-like terror attack reminiscent of the 911 event in New York. Could it be the "Obama Test" uncle Joe was asking Americans to brace up for? With divided attention, making sense of the emerging and potentially ugly scenarios required everything but more of the phone conversation. Chikere was glancing through the TV screen at his own end several miles away, equally as curious and trying to figure out what was amiss as we disengaged to call back later.

In the moments, hours and days following, the news coming through provided more graphic images of the horrors on the streets of Mumbai. The details kept changing minute by minute, hour per hour, consistent with what would be expected from a siege, terrorists running amok in the middle of a crowded city of nearly 20 million people. It has been over a week since; the Mumbai massacre has been a tale of many more horrors depending on which the world news outlets, language of broadcast notwithstanding. The conscience of humanity across the globe seemed to have been held captive with every passing moment; everyone sharing in sympathy was essentially an Indian in spirit despite the distance of separation. That seemingly common bond was further transfixed and transformed into bouts of emotion by the aura and limiting power of death. That power brought closer the realities of terror from a distant place into the living rooms of so many, strangers who perhaps came to know Mumbai and India for the first time.

Americans could identify with those images, the ugly feeling and the state of hopelessness; they watched with confounding awe as those Twin Towers came down on 911; the people of Spain, in the city of Madrid saw the train wagons explode and burn with their occupants on March 11, 2004; the sight was as graphic as it was revolting; the people of London in England had their own share of the baptism of fire on that July 7, 2005 morning; they could recall that day if only to imagine the horrors on the streets of Mumbai. Wherever people were, India was there to behold; everybody found a friend among the victims; it was easier to reach out to touch the TV screen if only to render a helping hand to the one in need, to stop the pain. All the sound and fury, the wailing and screaming, the deafening noise of disaster could only be imagined from the pictures; the expressions and lacerations on those faces told only part of the story of innermost anguish and pain. Mumbai was no doubt turned into a sorry and sad place to be; with innocent victims lying helpless, glued in the pool of their own blood, abandoned to the harsh elements, the vagaries of chaos and madness, the world was once again mourning its own.

The facts remain subjective, the truth objective and in between lies the motive of a suicide squad that came from far and near and by any means. The Mumbai Central Train Station was attacked; a number of five-star hotels including the land mark, the Taj Mahal Hotel came under fire. A Jewish Center was taken over and at least two of its residents, a young rabbi and his wife were hounded, tortured and eventually killed. After nearly 4 days of siege, occupation and hostage-taking, the city of Mumbai has remained in a lock-down, terrorized and traumatized. The number of the dead is placed at 200 and counting; the injured number in several hundreds but the emotional assault and injury, the trauma to the nearly 20 million inhabitants may never heal, certainly not any time soon.

All attention was focused on India for the prime time coverage, with many questions being asked but very few answers. The terrorists were said to have come from neighboring Pakistan. They are supposedly Islamic militants on a mission perhaps with similar jihadist ideologies of Al Qaeda worldwide. They are said to share religious kinship with India's nearly 140 million Muslims who claim oppression from the majority Hindu population. The brotherhood of "Islamofascists" has solid base in Pakistan, a country nearly 98% Muslim. Thus using Pakistan as the nursery for this kind of terror on India could only exacerbate the degree and extent of ugly relationship hitherto existing between the two neighbors with no love lost. Islamic fundamentalism never takes prisoners it does not intend to destroy; never gives up the opportunity to create mayhem so long as it is done in the name of Allah.

Again, the Mumbai massacre, just as America's 911, reflects on the strange relationship between the so-called "Believers" and "Non-Believers", the ultimate struggle for the conscience of the world.

Like what has been said, everything happening on Thanksgiving Day tends to linger on. Certainly if there was one other place in the world that would never ring in another year without its own share of wild violence, count that milestone for Nigeria. It was not long, the Associated Press and its wire service broke the other news. Another riot was just shaping up; the indomitable lions of semi-arid, the recurrent performing artists of doom and gloom are at their best one more time. There was yet another fire on the Plateau. The city of Jos was burning. What supposedly began as the usual post-election squabbles in Nigeria suddenly assumed the raging proportion of a monster fire, with bellows of smoke. Obviously it would hardly be any news that the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Nigeria rigged yet another election in November 2008; would such news be any different in pattern or scope to supersede the experience of the April 2007 elections? What then would be considered too special about local government elections in Plateau State this time around to warrant another rumbling in the mine-shafts? Again, it is all about the "Believers and No-Believers" and why they cannot get along no matter how much they pretend to tolerate each other and one another. By the time the dust and smoke had cleared a little, the streets and allies were colored in human blood, littered with body parts. According to news report, over 300 bodies had been deposited in the nearby Mosques by the last count, giving some tacit but cursory indication the score was just for the dead Muslims; the rest of the count in the morgues, the wounded in the hospitals could only be an eye-balling estimate on the fate of the Christians.

The irony is as confounding as it is intriguing; the Mumbai terrorists clad in chain armor of AK-47 and all kinds of sophisticated weaponry killed 200 plus, but the Nigerian "native" Muslims fighting with machetes, cudgels, sticks and clubs left thousands unaccounted for in less than 24 hours. The Plateau state governor is said to be blaming "mercenaries", claiming they came from neighboring countries. Unfortunately, he did not say they were election observers. If not, would Nigeria be holding any of its neighbors responsible for the Jos Mayhem? It surely could not be other "Maitesine" preachers from Pakistan?

Life is expected to go on for those who live to tell their stories until a repeat performance, somewhere sooner than later. Those Christians killed in Jos are believed to be innocent by-standers, many of them from the Southeast, mostly Ndi-Igbo whose offence is residing in another part of their "own country" considered foreign land by those who choose to hate them. There is tension in the air stroked in part by the fear of reprisals as people in the Southeast contemplate contingencies and options; they nurse anger and frustration as they struggle with the temptation to avenge the death of their loved ones by any other means necessary and possible. Insecurity, fear and distrust have gripped people from the North residing elsewhere, particularly in the various Southeastern urban centers. The news has it that the population exchange, human movement and unrestrained dislocation have already begun; people have abandoned their homes for government shelters and military barracks. This temporary expediency and its attendant pathological damage to the content of self-worth and psychological health of the people can hardly be rebuilt or restored in time, certainly not before the next cycle of violence.

Whether in India, Spain, England, Nigeria, the Middle East or elsewhere, "Believers and Non-Believers" among the differing and many faiths in the world have come to the fork on the road; separating one group from another is a very big gulf. Given the implications of the prevailing crisis in the world's financial market, it is obvious each group has something the other needs to sustain its interests and survive. That collective linkage towards a shared purpose in humanity though following separate and unequal trajectories of destiny tends to define in part the positive concepts of Globalization. The irony is perhaps the negative, the fact that those modifying influences and the redeeming attributes of Globalization have not succeeded in bridging the gap between free-market induced modernization principles and the pace of transforming the dogmas of a faith-based ideology. The Islamic faith has remained impervious and resistant to the concept of the separation of church and state. In many countries with Muslim majority political power derives from royalty or a band of clerics which in turn becomes the custodian of the people's sectarian belief, their "universal" faith. The differing variants in Islamic sect, for instance the Sunnis and the Shiites as is currently emerging in Iraq would make the case for an Islamic "Democracy" based solely on sectarian interests, essentially resource sharing.

While the blue print for "Theocracy" would not be an absolute necessity in the case of Iraq, the separation of church and state would still be resisted to the extent required to keep at bay the so-called "corrupting influences" of western values. The desire towards conservatism and principle of purity in faith values could still engender resentment, strong enough to renew agitation for control and fundamentalist activities. However for a country like India with a very large Muslim population, estimated at 140 million, the Hindus are invariably in the majority, with their own sense of nationalistic exuberance and control. India's Muslims are thus in the minority and therefore under-represented in politics when compared to the Hindus. In situations where political power also translates into economic power, the minority is exposed to the perpetual struggle within the sphere of limited and ever dwindling resources and opportunities. There is bound to be agitation, uneasiness and frustration. To find the political voice towards controlling its own destiny, the Muslims often seek solidarity for faith-brotherhood and kinship wherever they can be found; the least would not be radical elements in Pakistan or sponsors from the oil rich states of the Middle East.

It is perhaps a different scenario for Nigeria. The Northern part of the country is predominantly Muslim. For lack of any reliable census figure, the assumption would be Nigeria is divided equally at 50% Muslim and 50% Christians for an estimated population of 140 million people. This number or any census data relying on faith-based affiliation would be considered essentially irrelevant since none has ever determined Nigeria's political structure and power sharing profile since October 1, 1960, Independence. But for reasons and circumstances antecedent to the scope of this discussion, the Muslim North has been controlling political power in Nigeria 80% of the time ever since. Why then would these impenitent, and seemingly uncontrollable radical elements in its ranks still insist on killing the rest of the people whose resources they rely on for holding power? Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria while being motivated by special conditions unique to that country, the bigger picture is all about "Control and Intimidation", the universal resistance to the separation of church and state. One evidence is the clamor to institutionalize "Sharia" law and by implication making "Separate but Equal" the corner stone of the "Equal Protection Principles" of a Constitutional Democracy. Unfortunately, such constitutional principles have never been recognized by the Muslim North; if they have, the attempt must have been just glibly but never been seriously enforced.

Muslim North has deepened its belief in "Unitary Federalism" an arrangement that attempts to legitimize power in the office of an "Imperial Presidency". It is not only the dictatorial tendencies inherent with such an arrangement that is worrisome, it is also the institutionalized philosophy that has been transformed into a statutory code; by that code "What is mine is mine, what is yours is ours" therefore becomes the symbol of control trumping unrestrained penchant for radicalism and militancy. For instance, the sale of alcohol in Nigeria attracts value added tax; revenue accruable from such a tax is shared among the 36 states including those in the North Country where the sale of alcohol is regulated and banned under the Islamic code. Offenders have often been attacked, stoned to death and their retail stores and businesses destroyed. To the extent this irony prevails, every other Nigerian residing in the North is a non-indigene, an unbeliever, whose safety of life and property would never be guaranteed under any law; the rights of such individuals could then be taken away wind and weather permitting.

In Nigeria taking away people's rights would not be about the intent of the law or any law but the power of the controlling authority to cede the rights of enforcement to the clerics. Thus, the fork on the road is that radical Islam has become the world's most dangerous common cold, never to be cured but has to be managed. Nobody knows exactly from where to begin this crooked but tedious journey, not in America, not in Spain, not in England, not in India, certainly not in Nigeria. However, for Nigeria, the fundamentalists' weapon of choice is not necessarily "suicide bombing" but the end certainly justifies the means for inflicting maximum pain and ultimate death by siege and "choice action" mob assault. Their mission is the same and by no less disruptive, intimidating and effective. To deal with all the ramifications of terror in their images and likeness, the time has come to employ the "Odumegwu Ojukwu Doctrine -OOD"; if it works, the rest of the world might fall in line.

Sometime in the 1990s following one of those same out-of-the-blues religious riots, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu visited with Ndi-Igbo residing in various parts of the North. Many of them had just survived very gruesome and painful attacks; some were still nursing their wounds, trying very hard to get back on their feet and pick up the pieces after sustaining terrible losses; those losses included body parts, loved ones and of course property and businesses. The financial loss was even beyond any actuarial estimates. Ojukwu went there to console them and at the same time listen to them vent their frustration. It was also an opportunity to make the people stop seeing themselves as victims in a place supposedly part of their own country. Ojukwu's presence was not necessarily a reminder of the reasons for Biafra as much as the reasons to reclaim Biafra in Nigeria. To do so required Ndi-Igbo wherever they found themselves in Nigeria to believe they were full participants and stakeholders in the "One Nigeria" project. The lessons of Biafra would not necessarily make meaning to Ndi-Igbo only by turning the other cheek, drooping and carrying the burden of defeat for ever. Ojukwu admonished them, reminding them, there would be no Nigeria without Ndi-Igbo. While the other major ethnic groups, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani can find and claim kinship elsewhere, Onye-Igbo is one of the few whose original homeland is indigenously Nigerian. Those victims would therefore not languish in self-pity but must pick up the broken parts and weld them together and move on but on one condition, "Never again".

Ojukwu's advice was simple. All Onye-Igbo residing anywhere in Nigeria and particularly outside his or her home state must be vigilant and be prepared at all times. Preparation means that Onye-Igbo must immediately make the proper arrangement to own at least one gun.

To be left helpless and be killed by an angry fundamentalist mob for no justifiable reason would no longer be tolerated; relying on the government whose agents of law and order are as criminal as the killer mob would not be a viable option either. The OOD strategy is that the people must empower themselves to escape the tyranny of an irresponsible government or elements therein hiding behind its wings. It would be too simplistic to condemn the decision of any Onye-Igbo still residing and doing business anywhere in the North in the aftermath of all that has happened and continues to happen; however, it would be worth reinforcing the Odumegwu Ojukwu idea. If Onye-Igbo must reside and do business anywhere in the North, be prepared to defend yourself and your family to the last round of ammunition in your cache.

It would not be clear how this strategy applies universally towards curbing Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. Just as this article was being put together, the news of the encounter off the Horn of Africa came through the wires. The Somali pirates, terrorists who for so long have been harassing ocean-going liners, seizing some for huge ransom, finally met their match; the Danish shipping crew were vigilant and prepared; they wasted no time in giving the terrorists a taste of their own potion. The video images tell the rest of the story; the big picture however is about awareness and resolve, why innocent civilians who eventually become victims of these radical assaults must be empowered in self-defense. Homeland security means protecting yourself and your family and must begin with the individual, with vigilance and preparedness for all and as needed to cope with a hostile environment.

To be continued----