TACKLING THE BOKO HARAM MENACE

Recently, Boko Haram took the people of Adamawa State by surprise in a suicide bombing which killed no fewer than 50 worshippers in a mosque in Mubi. The bomber mingled with the worshippers before triggering the explosives, the deadliest this year. In December last year Boko Haram killed 56 people in suicide bombing by two school girls in a market in Adamawa. Early this month a total of nine farmers were beheaded by Boko Haram in also Adamawa State. Not too long ago, Abuja, the country’s capital, was a theatre of suicide bombings. Although, the exact number of casualties was not disclosed, many Nigerians met their unexpected death there. The fact remains that each time the sect strikes it brings tears on the faces of the family of the affected people.

Boko Haram started the insurrection in 2009 and since then more than 20,000 have been killed and two million people displaced. Former President Goodluck Jonathan administration did as much as it could but to no avail. The failure was due largely to sabotage by some Nigerians. Sabotage has become a phenomenon in the country. Rather than giving recognition and praises, the politicians are apportioning blame. For instance, the present ruling party, the All Progressives Congress has continued to blame Jonathan administration for its inefficiency. One of the accusations was on the issue of weaponry. The APC blamed the past administration for supplying inferior weapons to the Nigerian Army fighting the insurgents, saying that it had reduced to ridicule and lost the army fighting capability recognised in Africa and in the rest of the world. In order to change the ugly situation for the better the party had made several promises to supply the army with powerful arms to deal with the insurgents. The fighting was both on land and air. The Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai had told Nigerians that Boko Haram has been eliminated from the country’s territory. This happened when Boko Haram stopped briefly its operation to study and train its members for deadly attacks. On resumption, suicide bombings in Maiduguri, Adamawa and Yobe States became rampant. Out of revenge, he ordered the soldiers to fish out in Sambisa forest in seven days the leader of Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau. The ultimatum was over but to no avail.

The trend is now complex as school girls and women are forced to carry out suicide bombings. Not all, the second factional leader, Abu Musab al-Barnawi recently said that his group was being financed by ISIS, the dangerous Islamic terrorist organisation. The question is: how is the APC administration going to handle this situation? Is the Nigerian army not equipped with sophisticated weapons as promised by the party? Why is it taking so much time to eliminate Boko Haram from the country? Lesson: It is good to appreciate and recognise efforts instead of condemning.

Let Nigerians beg Boko Haram to drop arms and embrace peace in the spirit of no winner no vanquish instead of allowing innocent lives to continue to perish. By so doing the remaining Chibok girls in captivity will be released. Sunday Yovo, Lagos