美国国家公共电台 NPR--Voters deciding Nigeria's political future worry about the lack of security

Voters deciding Nigeria's political future worry about the lack of security

Transcript¹

Insecurity in Nigeria is a key issue in this week's election, as kidnapping for ransom² has become an epidemic³. It's made cross-country travel dangerous and reshaped life for millions.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Lack of security is a top concern for voters deciding Nigeria's political future this week. Parts of Africa's most populous⁴ country are practically ungovernable, and kidnapping for ransom is now a regular occurrence. It's made cross-country travel dangerous and reshaped life for millions. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu reports.

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Good morning, distinguished⁵ ladies and gentlemen.

EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE⁶: A few years ago, boarding a train in Nigeria felt ordinary. Now it feels like a risk.

Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Good morning.

AKINWOTU: Can I have a train to Kaduna?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah, if you go economy.

AKINWOTU: Economy?

At Abuja rail station, passengers stream into the station hall to catch a train to the northern city of Kaduna. When the train line opened seven years ago, there was optimism and excitement at the new rail connections being built around the country. But now that's changed.

(SOUNDBITE OF HISSING)

AKINWOTU: On the train, there are at least two officers armed with AK-47s who stand at each end of every carriage, while others patrol the corridors. Most of the seats are empty and have been since the last attack almost a year ago.

KEHINDE AKINYEMI: That very day, I can remember we departed Abuja by 6 p.m. as usual.

AKINWOTU: Thirty-three-year-old Kehinde Akinyemi is an engineer for the Nigerian Railway Corporation and was on the train that night when the gunmen struck.

AKINYEMI: When we are about to reach Dutse, I just heard, like, gunshots. (Vocalizing).

AKINWOTU: A bomb went off on the track, derailing the train. A dozen terrorists stormed on board and killed nine people. Kehinde and two others hid in a train toilet, praying but not making a sound.

AKINYEMI: They are kidnapping people, killing⁷, shooting. They are telling the passengers, stand up. Let's go.

AKINWOTU: At least 63 people were kidnapped that day and held for ransom. The attack was carried out by two armed groups, including an affiliate⁸ of Boko Haram, the terrorist group notorious for kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok back in 2014.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

AKINWOTU: Over the course of six months, the terrorists would release videos like this. Eventually, they were all released, with some forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom.

TUNDE LEYE: The kidnap thing usually progresses where initially⁹, it's niche¹⁰.

AKINWOTU: Tunde Leye is a political and security analyst¹¹ based in Lagos.

LEYE: As time goes on, it becomes proliferated¹², democratized. And anybody that is able to just organize a bunch of boys is willing to take the risk.

AKINWOTU: Leye says that as the economy has suffered, kidnaps for ransom have become a prolific¹³ industry, from the early days of kidnapping foreigners for grievances¹⁴ and then money in the oil-rich Niger Delta¹⁵ to groups like Boko Haram kidnapping to support their ideology¹⁶.

LEYE: There are areas in the country, for example, where people are farmers, but they've not planted for 10 years. All the young guys that should have learned farming skills in those 10 years have not. The only skills they have right now is how to fight.

AKINWOTU: Passengers on the Abuja to Kaduna line chose to take the train that day because they felt it was the safest bet, safer than a flight because just two days before, gunmen attacked Kaduna airport, and safer than the road because the Abuja to Kaduna highway is notorious for kidnappings.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRAIN HORN)

AKINWOTU: The Abuja-Kaduna line finally reopened in December after nine months. Authorities reassured¹⁷ that the journey had been secured, but Kehinde wasn't convinced it was safe enough to return to his old job on the Abuja-Kaduna train line. And since that day, he's had many sleepless¹⁸ nights.

AKINYEMI: If the night comes, if I lie down on the bed, my mind will be at the incident. So to daybreak, my mind is replaying the incident because I'm scared.

AKINWOTU: And the new train line that the government hailed as a mark of progress has now become a symbol of Nigeria's vulnerability. Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Abuja.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRISTEZA'S "GOLDEN HILL")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 proliferated   

激增( proliferate的过去式和过去分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Books and articles on the subject have proliferated over the last year. 过去一年以来，论及这一问题的书和文章大量涌现。
• Influenza proliferated throughout the country. 流感在全国蔓延。

13 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

14 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

16 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

17 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。