Thanks but no thanks al-Qaeda

In the aftermath of the Christmas Day terrorist attempt by a Nigerian on US soil one of the biggest fears of many Nigerians was that the incident would put Nigeria and Nigerians firmly in the of the crossfire of al-Qaeda's bombs and America's war against terrorism.

On Tuesday, Nigerians woke up and found out that the problem is set to get even worse. According to a Reuters report, an al-Qaeda cell in North Africa, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has offered to help Nigerian Muslims with training and weapons in their battles to defend, in their words, "our people in Nigeria". This comes as a direct response to the recent crisis in Jos, the Plateau state capital, which took the lives of 326 Nigerians, a number many believe to be extremely conservative.

In a country used to burying its head in the sand, it will not be surprising to find government officials trying to obscure or minimalise the import of this threat. To ignore the impact of this message from al Qaeda is not just unwise, but dangerous.

It is true that the import of this message may be largely propagandist and this is clearly a situation where the reviled group is playing agent provocateur and trying to deepen its perception as a behemoth that should strike fear in hearts across the world. But the treat is none the less real.

A Yemen based al Qaeda unit has claimed responsibility for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Christmas Day terrorist on trial for attempting to bomb an American plane over Detroit.

During the Boko Haram crisis last year, the BBC disclosed that Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Islamic sect whose members staged attacks across north Nigeria leaving hundreds dead just last week, was facing charges that he had received money from an al-Qaeda linked organisation.

Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden has been involved in attempts to topple presidents in Africa and other parts of the world, and the Algerian arm that has just made this dubious offer of help is known for working overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state through an insurgency campaign. The group is also said to be involved in smuggling, and money laundering across the sub-region

It doesn't help matters that there is a strong al-Qaeda branch operating across the Sahara Desert in Mauritania, Morocco, Mali and Niger and that our borders are very porous. Even worse, Nigeria continues to offer extremist recruiters an army of frustrated and deprived young Muslim men who can easily be lured with access to weapons and temporary power.

Unfortunately, no one has any confidence that our security agencies can withstand this threat. Certainly their clumsy and ineffectual efforts in Jos, Bauchi, Kebbi and other parts of the country only confirm this. The Nigerian police, reacting to the new threat, has said, with no sense of irony, that it is "capable of protecting lives and properties of Nigerians," adding that "such a message will not be a threat. They will not be a threat, as we have always proactively done a number of things to checkmate such alarms." The Force's record in unsolved crimes is not inspiring no matter how fervent their assurances to the contrary. . .

At this point, we can only take solace in the fact that Al Qaeda will find that Nigerians are resolutely against terrorism in any form. The reaction to this news from Algeria across the board - religious, ethnic, class and location - has made that point very clearly. Whilst we have had a constant stream of regrettable wars that have cost us dearly, many Nigerians have swiftly condemned the perpetrators and sponsors of terrorist attacks. The memory of the 200 of innocent Kenyans who became "collateral damage" on August 7 1998 in simultaneous terrorist bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam is still fresh. This was the incident that put Osama bin Laden al Qaeda's founder on the wanted list. It is difficult to win friends and influence people through a policy of indiscriminate killing.

This is one offer of help that no one wants or needs. There is a consensus around the nation that the extremism that is al-Qaeda's brand will not serve even the interests of those it claims to protect.

Already, Islamic groups and opinion leaders from across the country have united against this Greek gift. Just like we united as a country to condemn Abdulmutallab's violent intent, Nigerians have again risen up against the slightest hint of terrorist sentiments in our midst

At times like this, those who want to exploit Nigeria's fault lines learn a strange truth: the things that unite us are far more, and much stronger, than those that divide us. Our response to al-Qaeda is loud and it is unambiguous - no one wants you here.