The President of the United States, Barack Obama, like the chief of a village, is taking responsibility himself for the failure of the agencies that should have stopped the 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from boarding Northwest Airlines Flight 253 despite numerous warning signs. The agencies failed to stop Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber” and now the Nigerian “underwear bomber”.

Shame on the agencies. But the attitude of President Obama is a great example. He deserves respect for taking the ultimate responsibility.

Hopefully, this time, Americans will finally learn their lesson. As the Yakoma of Central African Republic say, “If a dog bites you once, it’s his fault, but if it bites you again, it’s your fault.”