Guardian

Continued from yesterday

AS confirmation that even in the midst of hope, is no escape from despair and frustration, Italian politicians were the beneficiaries of a narrow escape from a crazy gunman on April 27, 2013. Here is an eyewitness account by Elizabeth Povoledo:

“Two military police officers and a passer-by were shot and wounded on Sunday in a crowded square outside the office of Prime Minister Enrico Letta and near the presidential palace, where his new government was being sworn in.

The shooting was shown live by the state broadcaster RAI, which had a television crew in the square in front of Mr. Letta’s office, Palazzo Chigi, where the new ministers were to go after the swearing-in ceremony.

What was supposed to be a day of celebration, marking a government that took nine weeks after the elections to assemble, quickly turned into a national drama. The square in front of Palazzo Chigi was cordoned off, and ambulances and police cars blocked traffic in one of Rome’s busiest downtown areas. Inside the palace, the ceremony continued undisturbed, and most of the ministers were not told of the shooting, which occurred about half a mile away, until after the ceremony.

A man, identified as Luigi Preiti, who is unemployed and is from the Calabria region, was detained and accused of the shooting, the authorities said.

“I heard seven or eight shots,” said Enrica Agostini, a RAI reporter. “I was pushed back into Palazzo Chigi. The police was screaming.  ‘It’s an attack, it’s an attack.’ ”

Doctors at Rome’s Umberto I Polyclinic said Sunday evening that one of the military police officers, Giuseppe Giangrande, was shot in the neck and was in critical condition after undergoing an operation. The bullet injured his spinal column, causing “important damage,” doctors said in a televised news conference, adding that they would not be able to discuss his prognosis for 72 hours.

The other officer, Francesco Negris, was shot in the leg, but his injuries were not life-threatening, officials said. A woman who was passing by was also hit but was not seriously injured, according to news reports.

At a news conference, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said an investigation would be conducted, but that the shooting appeared to be an “isolated gesture.”

Mr. Alfano said it also appeared that Mr. Preiti had intended to commit suicide, but told officers that he had run out of bullets.

A prosecutor working on the investigation said that Mr. Preiti had intended to target politicians. “He’s a man full of problems who has lost his job, he’d lost everything, he’d had to move back home, he was desperate,” the prosecutor, Pierfilippo Laviani, told the news agency ANSA. Mr. Preiti had planned the attack 20 days ago, according to news media reports.

“He wanted to strike politicians, but when he couldn’t reach them, he shot the police,” Mr. Laviani said.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Letta met with his ministers for a cabinet meeting that had been scheduled beforehand.  The new government will face a confidence vote in Parliament this week.

The former interior minister, Anna Maria Cancellieri, who was sworn in on Sunday as justice minister, told reporters that the shooting had been carried out “by someone who is unbalanced.”

The shooting rattled Italy, already unsettled by a period of instability after the inconclusive national elections, which hobbled efforts to form a government. It also brought back memories of the “years of lead,” the period of social and political turmoil in the 1970s and early 1980s marked by dozens of acts of terrorism that were carried out by left-wing and right-wing radicals.

In recent years, groups that modeled themselves after the Red Brigade terrorists of that time have carried out sporadic attacks and have killed two Italian labour reform specialists. And tax agency offices have been bombed, a protest against a fiscal system that many consider to be onerous. But there has been little social tension.”

As for the Seventy “Senior Elders from Nigeria” who have for almost six months kept vigil in St. Peter’s Square in fervent prayers for our beloved country – that it may not go the same way as Rwanda; Sierra Leone; Liberia; Egypt; Libya; and especially Somalia, the Italians and the Holy Father have proved to be generous hosts. We are being provided with free biscotti and coffee. Besides, our visas have been extended “indefinitely”. The message is clear – we are welcome to pray for as long as we like.

In addition, the Vatican surprised us by availing us of unrestricted access to its files and documents on our beloved Zimboda. It is an amazing treasure trove! Time and space will not permit us to download it all straightaway. Here is a snippet of Zimbodia’s narrow escape.

For obvious reasons the full story of the sudden death of the military dictator on June 8, 1998 followed a week later by the equally sudden death of the choice of the people on July 7, 1998 after drinking a cup of tea in the presence of Ms. Susan Rice and Ambassador Thomas Pickering from the United States of America must remain a secret. The politician who had won the presidential election in June 12, 1993 had been denied his mandate by the military and it was military dictator who clamped him into detention for almost five years. He remained steadfast. Under no circumstances would he surrender his mandate.

It is alleged that the General died after a tryst with three “oriental ladies” and the consumption of an apple (heavily dragged).  Several newspapers reported that Viagra was invited to the party.

Anyway what is relevant is that the military dictator died in the early hours of the morning but his Chief Security Officer kept it as a closely guarded secret. All the top military guys were summoned to the Presidential Villa at Aso Rock, Abuja – “for an urgent meeting with the Head of State and Commander-In-Chief”! The big boss was dead but his lieutenants were sold a dummy. Once they were all assembled, Major Mustapha could easily have declared himself the new Head of State and that would have been the end of the matters – unless they were ready for a shoot out. The major had them covered – with guns and the security cameras.

The major would have pulled off the coup d’etat but he confided in the former military governor (of the former capital of Zimboda). It was the latter who gave the game away. The dead General’s predecessor in office got wind of what was afoot. He moved quickly and with the support of his loyalists he was able to lure the unsavvy major out of his secure enclave at the villa. The major has spent almost two decades in jail – one trial after another. At one point he faced military style execution (or assassination) according to his supporters. He too had a narrow escape!

• Concluded

• Bashorun J.K. Randle, OFR, FCA is Chairman & Chief Executive, JK Randle Professional Services, Chartered Accountants, Ikoyi, Lagos.