Famous Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, caught global attention on Sunday with a sad tale of the trauma her family went through recently when her father, Prof. James Adichie, was kidnapped.
Prof. Adichie was kidnapped on May 2 but released after four days of a tense negotiation. The abductors had earlier demanded N50m as a ransom from the family.
Adichie's article has earned her more sympathisers and, more importantly, it speaks volume to the world how the country has not been able to deal with kidnapping. The concerns and comments are coming from Europe, America and the rest of the world.
Writing from Philadelphia, the United States, one Nancy Kelley says, "I read your frightening account of what happened to your father, and watched your TED talk that was linked through the comments. Your voice is strong and clear and you are reaching many of us around the world that otherwise would not have known of the atrocities going on in Nigeria.
"I hope that your parents find refuge, safety, peace and happiness here in the US in their remaining years. It is a basic human right that all governments show accountability. Nigeria should know that the world is watching."
Another, Larry Lundgren, describes the Adichies' experience as heartbreaking, saying the story typifies issues that discourage Nigerians from living and investing in the country.
Lundgren, who writes from Sweden, calls on the Nigerian government to do something urgent in order to make the country more attractive to its citizens. A major task towards achieving this, he suggests, is addressing insecurity in the land.
A blogger simply known as Marlow says Nigerian government "is not powerless but complicit." He wonders what becomes of ordinary citizens if the Adichies cannot get assistance when they are in distress.
Blogging from Washington, Marlow hopes the new administration headed by President Muhammadu Buhari stops the era of impunity and restores confidence in security operations.
Nigerians in different parts of the world have also perched on the Adichie's story to aggressively demand change in the security apparatus.
In the article, Chmamanda says she is extremely sad that her father "will never forget" the incident. She explains that the memory of the days spent at the kidnappers' den has continued to haunt the octogenarian.
In the article that was originally published on www.nytimes, the novelist says her divested family held vigils on the phone to secure her kidnapped father's release.
"My close-knit family banded together more tightly and held vigil by our phones. The kidnappers said they would call back, but they did not. We waited. The desire to urge time forward numbed and ate my soul.
"My mother took her phone with her everywhere, and she heard it ringing when it wasn't. The waiting was unbearable. I imagined my father in a diabetic coma. I imagined his octogenarian heart collapsing.
"I understood then the hush that surrounds kidnappings in Nigeria, why families often said little even after it was over. We felt paranoid. We did not know if going public would jeopardise my father's life, if the neighbours were complicit, if another member of the family might be kidnapped as well," she recalls.
The debate on Nigeria's security is coming barely three days after the new administration was inaugurated.
President Buhari, in his inaugural speech, pledged to squarely combat the endemic security challenges, giving a firm instruction on what should be done to tackle the situation in Maiduguri, Borno State.
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