Boko Haram: A Call to a Common Cause - Esesien Ita

It is now glaring to all that Boko Haram has all along been misunderstood. They were initially seen in the same light as the Niger Delta militants, which made some request that government go into negotiation with them as Late President Yaradua did with the Niger Delta militants. But four years running into Jonathan’s presidency, Boko Haram has become more deadly and malignant that Nigeria’s North East has literally become a theatre of war. They are said to capture towns and set up their ensign in parts of the North. Men, women, children, the Police, the Military, Christians, Muslims, Traditionalists, Free thinkers, citizens, foreigners, and even neighbouring Cameroun have all tasted the bitter venom of the wicked sect. Many lives have been lost, some, in the most barbaric way, as also much property has been destroyed. Civil entreaties by well-meaning Nigerians have made no impression on the blood-drunk vipers. The Police and Military have been reorganized more than once. State of emergency has been declared and even extended in the affected zone, all to no avail. Foreign aid has been sought. Some responded, but chose to remain fringe players in the matter. Government has consulted widely on the issue as reported in the media. George Sekibo’s Senate Committee on Defence recently invited the Military to brief them on the current position. Good effort, but must we continue to play this civil game with a Group whose language is otherwise?

Former Aviation Minister, Fani-Kayode, hinted in one of his write-ups titled “The new Islamic World Order” that Boko Haram is part of an emerging Islamic militancy intent on establishing an Islamic State the world over. According to Fani- Kayode, Boko Haram is part of al-Qaeda, al-Shabab, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, and other terrorist groups currently holding different parts of the world hostage by their nefarious activities. The magnitude of these groups’ wicked acts is well known. Consider the US 9/11 for an example. Consider also what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab would have done to 290 persons, himself inclusive, on board the Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines on Christmas Day 2009, had he succeeded in detonating the bomb he smuggled under his dirty pants into the plane. It was said the bomb would not go off because the dirt in Umar’s pants has affected the device. That plot was potentially ranked one of the most deadly in US Aviation history had it succeeded. Umar is presently cooling off in a Colorado Penitentiary after being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Federal lawmakers have taken another look at Boko Haram. To them it is no longer looking like the Niger Delta militants. They have another agenda that Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) did not have, and they have declared war on all of us in order to achieve their aim. Senate President David Mark, a retired Army General, made it clear that the situation was no longer what was widely believed. Boko Haram has declared war on Nigeria, and we can no longer wait. If my memory serves me well, I think this is not the first time Mark is making that observation. He has called on the President to respond as the Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces – declare war on Boko Haram. This is not just Mark’s position. The Senate, upon return from a break recently made a similar call. We believe this call, though long overdue, should be taken up by the President now, AND LOGISTICS PUT IN PLACE FOR A THOROUGH COMBAT WITH THE INSURGENTS.
 

The Boko Haram menace has unfortunately been politicized. Both government and opposition use it as a tool to run the other down. But that is not helping us. Innocent school girls abducted by Boko Haram are still in captivity (for those who are still alive). Infrastructure is being destroyed in a place they scarcely existed initially. Academic programmes have been disrupted, business is at its lowest ebb, and life is generally insecure. Should we gloat and continue to make political gains out of a situation that is threatening to redefine, even obtrusively, the nation’s social landscape?

This writer does not believe Boko Haram is stronger than our Military can overcome. Rather we believe it is the politicizing of the matter that is weakening our effort and somehow strengthening the sect. In this, the “Bring back our girls” group is the worst culprit. Rather than campaign against the sect, they campaign against government, as though it is government that is holding the girls hostage. This, to this writer, is sheer hypocrisy. Oby Ezekwesili says she has a mission from God (sic!) to pressure government to act, thereby suggesting insensitivity on the part of government. This is the very hypocrisy we are referring to. There is hardly a parent (and Jonathan is one) whose heart does not bleed for those girls. And for the inhuman treatment they go through in captivity, many still raise their voice to heaven for divine intervention. So why does Oby now pretend to play the saint in a matter that touches well meaning Nigerians, the President inclusive? Does she, a former government functionary, not know what government is doing? Having served in an international organization does she not know how terrorists operate the world over, and how governments respond? The US 9/11 happened in George W. Bush’s administration, but it took the US government till almost the end of Obama’s first term to track down Osama bin Laden. Having been in and out of government at various times, Oby knows too well the intricacies of governance and, if really she has good intention, and is not merely on an ego trip, ought rather to be the one educating the nescient on the complexities involved in the fight against terrorism. For her instead to lead a cause and direct it at a wrong target is, to say the least, disappointing. Her activities can only further heighten anxiety or deepen the depression in the minds of parents and guardians of those innocent children without solving anything. She would do better to lead an international campaign against terrorism, which we here, humbly suggest to her. We expect our leaders who have served both within and outside to show decorum, be honest to their conscience, and bring their experience to bear in solving problems rather than compounding them in their pursuit of political relevance at the expense of the blood of the innocent. 

To overcome Boko Haram is a task that must be done, a la General Yakubu Gowon. We must rally as a people with a common purpose of defeating the sect the way Buhari did Maitasine in 1983/84. The President has the backing of the whole nation (except, of course, those sponsoring the sect). He should heed the call of the National Assembly with the assurance that the good people of this nation are behind him. Inaction lends credence to the insinuation of Wole Soyinka in an address delivered somewhere that Government’s pussyfooting on this matter may be a campaign strategy for 2015. He implied that Mr President may not want to offend the North from where he would want to canvass for votes, come 2015. Jonathan must debunk this. Ironically, Arewa Consultative Forum believes Jonathan has failed the North and has said so openly. By this they refer to government’s inability (or, is it indecision) to contain the destruction in their land. Kano State Governor, Kwakwanso once said that the President lacks the political will to fight insurgency. All these show the dissatisfaction of a people in a situation in which they expect a messiah of sorts. If Prof. Soyinka’s line of thought is true, then the President may have miscalculated because even the people he thinks he is protecting by not acting are crying out against that inaction. Even if it is believed that Boko Haram is a Northern Muslim outfit, that conception should fade now in the face of the present outcry against it. Moreover, we know that prominent Muslims have also lost their lives to the activities of the sect. So, it is not a one way affair. The bottom line here is that the President must act decisively. He must take dogged and rugged actions that would once for all silence the sect.

The National Assembly approved a loan of a billion US dollars for the government to contain Boko Haram. With this, government can take action. We suggest the following:

1. Government should acquire adequate weapons superior to those used by the insurgents. We do not know why the aircrafts keep crashing or missing. Government must solve this riddle and save the lives of our air troops.

2. Our troops need motivation at this stage, not censure. They should be encouraged. Whatever is their due should be given them without delay. But fifth columnists must not be tolerated. From time immemorial fifth columnists have always been sanctioned. Keeping them within the ranks of loyal troops is to court sabotage and defeat. The sheep should be separated from the goats.

3. Our borders should be well policed to prevent aid being brought in for the sect, be it in arms, personnel or any other form of support. Local arms depots should be traced and razed.

4. The sect’s accounts should be frozen, and the freezing monitored to ensure effectiveness.

5. Government must declare the funding of Boko Haram illegal and prosecute the sponsors. Sponsors should no longer be shielded. If truly, government or opposition has facts on any sponsoring Boko Haram, it is now time to expose them, whoever they are, high or low, incumbents or ex-s.

6. The oft made call to security consciousness should be heeded by all Nigerians. We owe ourselves the duty to monitor what is happening around us and apprehend any whose movements and activities are suspect.

The nation has bled enough. We cannot continue like this. We support the call by the National Assembly that Mr President should declare war on Boko Haram and save our dear country from the hands of conscienceless barbarians. We believe he can do it. May God give him the courage to act decisively now and fast.