Peeping through the window of history – 20 years of global change.-Comrd ‘Sola Alao,UK based Solicitor and Immigration Lawyer recaps on the negative impact of the September,11th, 2021 occurrence.
20 years ago, I was a politically vibrant young man and actively involved in human rights emancipation campaigns.
This period was also at the dawn of information technological revolution nay internet revolution.
I mean, for some of us who were in Nigeria then, it was a period in history that, to access global news via what was then an emerging internet, you would probably have to wait for 2 hours for a page to display, and you have to pay for an extortionate hourly rate to browse or surf internet.
The service was almost non existent, erratic and epileptic.
Such was poor quality we received from few cyber cafes that dotted the landscape of Lagos, Nigeria.
Back to relevance of the above preamble, I recall with every sense of nostalgia September 11, year 2001.
My erudite egbon, a man with uncommon oratory gift – Barrister Femi Oniyide and I were at this cyber cafe, trying to avail ourselves with latest global news, then a breaking news flashed from poorly displayed from the screen of this first generation pc desktop, that America was under a coordinated terrorist attacks.
About the same time of the breaking news, the almighty NEPA, the body responsible for transmitting electricity struck in their usual characteristic, and predictable manner. Total blackout ensued.
I recall that a young lad called Julius, whom I had had met at the cyber cafe months before the incident and for a reason best known to him, adopted me as his brother, was the GM of the cyber cafe.
For the avoidance of any ambiguity, GM simply means ‘generator manager’. In other words, Julius was in charge of switching on the generator whenever NEPA struck.
On this day in history, Julius dashed off straight to generator’s shed in order to switch it on.
Again, the generator in question was another character of its own; it worked whenever it wanted to work, and it would refuse to work when it decided otherwise.
Julius did everything in his power, the generator refused to start.
I recall once again that I had one small ‘transitor radio’, I quickly went to Aboki’s shop to buy some battery in order to follow the global news.
By the time I managed to tune in, the scale of multiple, coordinated attacks on American landmark places were becoming glaring.
The information about the masterminds of such magnitude terror attacks were being traced to Al Qaeda of Osama bin laden, who was instantly adjudged as the chief suspect.
Just about 3 years and 1 month earlier, there were simultaneously coordinated terror attacks on US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania respectively and the Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for those murderous attacks in East Africa.
The event of September 11 2001, became game changer and the world we live in since then has never been the same. In the pre-September 11 2001.
I recalled that you could see off a friend or relative up to the doorstep of a departing aircraft.
Children could undertake excursions to all Airports for educational visits to encourage young and inquisitive minds about aeronautical technology.
Today, the event of September 11 2001 has changed all that. No one is permitted within the precincts of departing or arriving aircrafts anymore.
If you grow beard, and woe betides you if you have ‘genogramic’ look of someone from Somalia or any Asian heritage, you are singled out for frightening questions.
The idea of travelling or transiting from some countries on the terror lists of America could earn you a prison term or instant deportation.
The Western powers, under the guise of protecting us from imminent and possible terror attacks, employed all manner subterfuge and succeeded in invading our privacies by the amount of incursion they have made into our personal bio-datas without our express consent.
Many draconian laws were enacted across many jurisdictions all in the names of counterterrorism measures.
In the same year 2001, America with active connivance of its allies; launched the most audacious and expensive manhunts in history against Osama bin laden and its cohorts.
Iraq was over run, Afghanistan was invaded, the Taliban were chased to the creeks or trenches.
The amounts of monies expended on this war is more than enough to banish poverty from the surface of the earth.
The amount of human carnage, victims of collateral damage is unquantifiable. 20 years later, the Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan. What has America and its allies achieved in these expensive jamboree?
Those families who lost their loved ones, friends, colleagues, service men and women who perished in the terrorist attacks and the aftermath of that terrible incident, will continue to have different perspectives about the incident that have changed our world.
I commiserate with all the bereaved family and friends who had carried these burdens over the last 2 decades.
I pray that, may we never again witness such a dark day in our history.
May our leaders across the globe apply wisdom to deal with issues rather than allowing emotions and military supremacy overshadow rational thinking .
By the way, my adopted brother – Julius, is now a Canadian citizen and an IT consultant at Silicon valley, the IT global headquarters.
This is written to mark 20 years of an iconic moment in our history
Comrade OLUSOLA ALAO, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
Alao was an active member of the Nigerian Human Rights Community during the hey days of the Military Repressive Regimes.