Are We Saying Boko Haram is Invincible?
Before anybody accuses me of being unpatriotic and unappreciative of the “great works” our gallant soldiers are doing in the North east, properly described as “theatre of war”, let me declare that I strongly appreciate the sacrifices the soldiers and other military personnel are making. I am aware of several families who have lost their loved ones in the war front which the North east has become. I recall that about two years ago, a family friend who was operating one of the machine guns at Gashua when the terrorists struck, narrowly missed the bullet as many of his colleagues fell to the bullets of the terrorists. His wife and mine immediately went into “all night’ prayer session to spare the man. Thankfully, he survived the hail of bullets that night. And few months after, he was posted out for an international duty, to our collective relief.
So, I am quite conscious of the anxiety, tension and uncertainty that exists in the homes of soldiers in the theatre of war.
But having said that, how do we explain that 11 full years on, the entire line up of the trained Nigerian military is yet struggling to keep at bay those that were once described as rag-tag insurgents. Eleven years running, there is even no clear hope when this running war will end. The facts that beset us everyday belie the claim that the Boko Haram terrorists have been “technically defeated”. How? Technically defeated and it keeps striking successfully and killing our soldiers and unarmed civilians every other day? Just last Monday, Boko Haram struck again, at Auno village near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and killed 30 people who were stranded on the road, even though the soldiers claimed it was just 10 people that were killed. But there was no dispute on the number of vehicles burnt: 18! So how did just 10 people drive 18 vehicles?
So we are worried that this war has gone on for too long. The moments of victory are rather episodic. All else to the contrary is mere propaganda. Even the Nigerian civil war lasted just 30 months.
Many have also argued that some tinge of sabotage has helped to make the war drag on endlessly. The belief is strong that certain persons are benefitting hugely from the continued state of disquiet and insecurity in the north east, especially as they control the funds and resources being expended by the government in prosecuting the war. If the war ends today, that funding source ends. But is it not better to live in peace with no wealth to splurge on than mass up huge wealth when there is no peace to spend same or even lacking the assurance of life?
The recent interview of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Buratai claiming that Boko Haram has been defeated and what the army is battling with now is just criminal bandits, does not make sense. All Boko Haram members are bandits even though all bandits may not be Boko Haram members. Their operational modus is practically the same thing.
Whatever it is, they are criminal elements of the society. The security forces have an abiding duty to deal with them and quell them. We have not seen the enduring victory in this sense.
Buhari Raised and Dashed our Hope
In 2014, when the Chibok girls were kidnapped, Nigerians literally tore President Goodluck Jonathan down blaming him for being weak and “clueless”. The Buhari campaign latched on to that public narrative and easily sold the impression that as a no no-nonsense army General, it would take him no time running the Boko Haram rascals out of town and restore enduring peace to Nigeria and Nigerians. It was a major factor that swayed the votes in his favour. Five years after, Nigerians are aghast that the high hopes are crashing down unchecked.
Yes, his administration was able to negotiate the release of some Chibok girls, another set of 110 school girls from Dapchi Secondary School were soon kidnapped by the same Boko Haram insurgents, on February 19, 2018. Again some of the Dapchi school girls were released after some ransom was paid (even though government does not admit it); the face of that incident became Leah Sharibu who was held back by the insurgents because she reportedly refused to renounce her Christian faith. Few weeks ago, it was revealed that she is now a mother.
So, Leah Sharibu plus the remnants of the Chibok school girls, not forgetting the many faceless people still in captivity of Boko Haram makes it look like President Buhari has not done enough to free Nigeria from the grip of terrorists. So, where lies the avowed military prowess and advantage of Mr President?
In fact, the way it has appeared, the security failures of the Buhari administration is making former President Jonathan appear like a revered General. What irks most people more is the seeming air of helplessness of the government. The government seems to be wringing its fists in utter helplessness in the face of increasing danger and insecurity in the land. Everyday, there are tales of killings, abductions, torture and unimaginable bestiality. I don’t know where those human vultures came from.
The recent killing of a seminarian, Michael, who was kidnapped from The Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, along with two others, only goes to prove how unsafe the country has become. The story of how Michael was killed bespeaks of the bestiality and soullessness of the bandits called Boko Haram. Mrs Ataga who was also kidnapped along with her two children was killed and her corpse just dumped in the bush. The tales are gory and depressing.
But President Buhari in far away Addis Ababa summit has vowed to defeat terrorists and rescue all abducted Nigerian. Hmmmm. I do not doubt Mr President. But I am worried that time is going irredeemably. The Chibok girls are about doing their sixth year in captivity while the Dapchi girls are doing their second year in captivity. Many of them have died. Many have been forcefully married off to criminal brigands, just as many other captives of the terrorists are being killed even when ransom are paid and Mr President is still talking promise. Leafy promise! The promise that even kindergartens will not take serious. If Mr President needs to be told that he is not bracing up to the nation’s security challenge, his own kinsmen in Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) did so in plain language early this week. Led by Prof Ango Abdullahi, Mr President was accused of living in “deep denial” of his failure to wrest the nation out of the grip of bandits. They couldn’t be truer! It does not matter whether he (Abdullahi) is described as a “General without troops” by presidential spokesmen who are gradually turning to public tigers at whoever criticizes their boss.
The insecurity in Nigeria has been steadily growing from bad to worse. It has come to a frightening peak. Nobody is sure of anything anymore. Kidnap and abduction have become an everyday narrative of Nigerians.
Not even during the Nigerian civil war did Nigerians feel this degree of insecurity.
Why the Insecurity will Drag A Little longer
So much has been said about having to change the Service Chiefs, seeing that they have practically come to their wits’ end in dealing with the Boko Haram menace. But I hear the more people demand a thing, the more Mr President resist what is demanded. That means that but for the public outcry against the Service Chiefs, he probably would have sacked them. But he doesn’t want to be interpreted as pandering to public clamour. So, the Service Chiefs, still have the longer end of the ace.
Thus, apart from the lack of new ideas and strategies from the tired service chiefs, the other reason why this trouble will stay longer is the so-called policy of de-radicalisation of arrested Boko Haram terrorists. For the life of me, I do not see the wisdom of arresting those who want to kill us, we use public funds to feed them in prison custody and later we send them to a –deradicalisation school and eventually release them back to society.
One regular prayer point in one of the modern churches is “kill them before they kill you”.
But here, we spare those who want to kill us. Not even the Pope can be that pious and gospelleds.
Many such so-called de-radicalised insurgents have gone back to banditry with fiercer determination to undo humanity.
Just last Monday, the Borno State Commissioner for Information, Mr Babakura Jato announced that 1,400 Boko Haram suspects who were arrested between 2018 and now have been “cleared and released”, even as some of their original communities rejected them. Gush, what is the wisdom? Is it merely to satisfy the silly demand of Amnesty International?
There was one such fellow called Usman Sani who was in Kuje prison for over three years. He was set free under the de-radicalisation scheme and he soon went back to rejoin Boko Haram and got arrested again. A source in Kuje prison with whom Usman had frequent interactions told stories of his plan to even kill more people (perceived as his enemies) when he gets out again.
Were it not for this catch-and-release policy the stock of Boko Haram would have long depleted. But the more they are “technically defeated”, the more they swarm on us and do us harm.
It is even worse that government pays ransom to get certain persons released from Boko Haram captivity. That, no doubt, inflates the purse and vault of the criminals
The Adamawa CAN chairman, Pastor Lawan
Andimi was brutally beheaded because the ransom of N50 million raised by CAN was below the Two Million British Pounds demanded by the Boko Haram captors.
With such huge ransoms, their armoury is always renewed, restocked and updated. But hey, why has government and all its intelligence network been unable to block the source of arms to the bad guys? Is it not ironical, for instance, that the spate of attacks got even worse when the borders have been shut for over five months?
And as former Speaker, House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara recently put it, “Our region (North east) is now a killing field”.
Everybody is saying the same thing. Perhaps only the members of Miyetti Allah see all these differently.
Everybody cannot be playing politics. Human lives are too precious to be reduced to articles of politicking. It is high time the President woke up and did something tangible and re-assuring, if nothing else, in deference to the oath he took to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians. He cannot and should not be feeling cool in the face of these killings.
The Almajiri Factor
This is a practice common in the northern part of the country. It basically entails the giving out of young children (usually male) by parents who usually have more children than they can really cater for, to an Islamic teacher to train them. The Islamic teacher takes the children, sometimes to a very distant location, and begins to bring them up in Islamic way, under his roof nad tutelage. And because they are usually very many, beyond what he can cater for, the children are sent out to beg for alms and food. Many a times, the children are eternally disconnected from their biological parents. They never go back home. They never know where their hearths and kith are. They do not attend western school. Former President Jonathan tried to address this practice when he built several schools for the Almajiri. I am not sure it worked.
I dare say that children brought up in such conditions lack proper parental guidance, they lack love and are willing and available raw materials for banditry and terrorism. That explains why for a common promise of N10,000, they are willing to go become suicide bombers, provided such monies are paid to their wives and children.
Dealing with abject poverty and budding terrorism in Nigeria would require dealing with the foundation of ignorance and lack. The Almajir practice is one such issue that must be addressed as it has bred more social misfits than pious and God-fearing citizens.
All said, Mr President can yet salvage the situation. Whatever he wants to do, he should do it. If he chooses to keep his Service Chiefs till 2023, it is all well and good.
What Nigerians want is an end to the senseless killings and raw banditry. He swore to defend Nigerians, be they Urhobos or Ijaws or Fulanis. Nigeria is his constituency. Let Mr President do his job without minding whose ox is gored!
That would be a perfect Valentine gift to Nigerians.