Let's talk about terrorism

As an American currently living in Nigeria, I feel particularly caught in regards to the 25 December attempted terrorist attack by the Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab.

Furthermore, I am deeply disturbed by this morning's reports that Nigeria has been added to the United States' "countries of interest" list, a poorly veiled euphemism for "Countries that Pose a Threat to National Security." Let's call a spade a spade, shall we?

My students and I had several fruitful discussions on the topic this morning, and hearing their reactions (as most of them are Nigerians) has opened my eyes to the singularity of this Nigerian man.

From what I can gather, Nigerians here are ashamed of this man. He is not being claimed as an apostle of truth by Nigerian Muslims; he is not being lauded as brave for his religious conviction-based behavior; he is not even being acknowledged as an average Nigerian. My students loathe this man. They cannot believe someone would dare disrespect the name of their country in this way. In their eyes, it is a serious offense he has committed against all Nigerians, regardless of whether or not his terrorist attack succeeded against America.

In the wake of today's "blacklisting," as my students are calling it, the Nigerian Senate has threatened to sever ties with America if they are not removed from the list by week's end.

Not that anyone's asking, but because I'm just that self-centered: How does that make me feel? Grieved. Deeply saddened. Like the two countries that are most important to me are fighting. (oh, wait...)

I cannot say it any better or clearer than Ayogu Eze, the Nigerian Senate's spokesman; so I let him speak for himself:

"For them [America] to embarrass the entire country with this type of classification without justification is totally unacceptable. The American president himself clearly admitted that this was a failure of system and the manpower of Americans...This is just one instance of a Nigerian who, it is clearly established, had no links with any fundamentalist group or any interest group within Nigeria, not even with his own parents....This was a boy whose disappearance was reported to the security agencies, the American authorities and all the relevant authorities; and America did nothing. For them to turn round and punish Nigerians for the sin of an isolated case like this is very unacceptable to the Nigerian government and unacceptable to the Nigerian Senate." (emphasis mine)

A final note: Mutallab's education (both academic and religious) came from outside Nigeria. It wasn't until he left Nigeria that he began to cultivate his extremist views. Surely this must count for something. For the love of diplomacy, America! Please remove Nigeria from the List!