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Tuesday 21 July 2015

Is Buhari's strategies winning Boko Haram war?

“…We know how they started and where they are now and we will rapidly give attention to security. I believe we will effectively deal with them in two months when we get into office. We will be needing the cooperation of neighboring countries, such as Cameroun, Chad and Niger. There were efforts made by President Goodluck Jonathan administration, but it was not enough and it came rather late….” Excerpts from President Muhammadu Buhari’s interview granted CNN on April 2, 2015.

When President Muhammadu Buhari told the nation through an interview he granted CNN that he would deal effectively with the Boko Haram terrorists in two months when he gets into office, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief. But from activities of the dreaded sect so far, many have doubts if the present government would live up to its promises on the issue of checking insecurity in the country. Optimists, however, insist that President Buhari should be given more time since he recently promised that the onslaught against Boko Haram would commence at the end of this month. Those in this school of thought also argue that with the appointment of new Service Chiefs and a new government in place, there may be actually hope in the horizon.

Since 2009 during the administration of the late President Musa Yar’Adua till date, the Boko Haram sect whose activities had turned violent had continued to wreak havoc, especially in the northern part of the country.

From July 26 to 29, 2009 during the Boko Haram uprising, nearly 1,000 people were killed in clashes between the terrorists and soldiers throughout northern Nigeria and that marked the beginning of the Boko Haram terrorist activities in Nigeria. On July 30, Mohammed Yusuf, the spiritual leader of Boko Haram, was arrested by Nigerian soldiers and later died in the hands of men of Nigeria Police Force, following the uprising, Abubakar Shekau took control of the group. The activities of this terrorist group continued unabated from 2009 and were responsible for the deaths of over 10,000 people and the displacement of millions.

When former President Goodluck Jonathan won the 2011 elections, like those before him, he promised that the insecurity in the country would be a thing of the past, saying that his administration was committed to the security of lives and property. But the killings, bombings and deaths did not end. The climax of the terrorists’ activities, which made international headlines was when over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok community in Borno State were abducted by the terrorists. Jonathan came under heavy criticism for not ‘acting swiftly’ when the incident happened. Like a painful sore, the onslaught by the terrorists continued with their activities, killing thousands of people and capturing Nigerian territories in the process.

But like a lion that suddenly woke from its slumber, the Nigerian military succeeded in recapturing most of the territories that were occupied by the Boko Haram early this year, routing them town after town and chasing them out. Many women and kidnapped children were rescued from the Sambisa forest where the girls, who were abducted from Chibok were reportedly kept. Some praised the security forces for that. But because it was close to the presidential election, many saw it as a gimmick from former President Jonathan, to win the presidential elections. Many questioned why the military had given room for the terrorists to gain grounds and destroy thousands of lives and property before waking up to combat them just a few weeks to the election.

A lawyer and public affairs analyst, Martins Agoziem, lamented that the issue of insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria had been so politicised that it would be a difficult nut to crack. He said that had Nigerians faced the issue of terrorism the way it tackled the Ebola virus, terrorism would have been drastically reduced. He believed that the prejudice against someone from a minority tribe, emerging President of Nigeria blinded the sensibilities of those who should have been voices of reason, rather than fight the terrorist as a nation; the issue of insecurity was used as a landmine. The prejudice, he said, which sank deeply, befuddling a visage of the clear and present danger which, in 2009 and early 2011, could have been crushed had Nigerians been united and the government of the day decisive, was allowed to become a monster.

According to him; “It is an irony that under Jonathan, the opposition party gloated over the fact that the then president was at a very tight spot because of the activities of the terrorists. In some more instances, some people tagged the war against terror as genocide against the North. I wish all Nigerians would see the war against terrorists like the war against Ebola. During the Ebola scare, everybody faced the problem with one spirit. There was no APC or PDP because Ebola didn’t know who was in party A or party B, and with the cooperation of all Nigerians, Ebola was defeated. But when it is time to confront these terrorists, we begin to politicise it. Nigerians would not forget when some people threatened that should Jonathan contest the 2011 elections, they would make the country ungovernable for him. Everything that he did was criticised.

“If one Boko Haram member was killed, they would accuse Jonathan of wanting to wipe out the North. Those who were opposed to Jonathan saw the case of insecurity as Jonathan’s Achilles heels and they took advantage of the situation and made a big issue out of it. If all Nigerians had seen the war against terrorists as a war that must be won just like the Ebola virus scare, I am sure that by now, insecurity would have gone down drastically. Ironically, those same people who always criticised Jonathan, but never proffered any solution on how the issue of terrorism could be tackled are now asking Nigerians to support Buhari against Boko Haram.”

But with the election over and a new president in charge, there has not been any drop in the attacks. On the contrary, the momentum that was gained early this year till May has vanished, with Boko Haram attacking people in the markets, villages, and elsewhere. Ironically, President Buhari, who had often criticised Jonathan for failing to curb the activities of the terrorists, but rather depended on neigbouring countries and mercenaries, swiftly paid a visit to Chad, Cameroun and Niger, seeking the collaboration of the neigbouring countries in tackling the terrorists. This gives credence to Agoziem’s theory that the case of insecurity in Nigeria was heavily prejudiced. He insists that the country can only win the war against terrorists if all Nigerians see the war as a war to defend the country rather than politicise it.

The increase in the attacks began after President Buhari ordered that the military command centre for the war on Boko Haram be moved from Abuja to Maiduguri, the boiling point of the terrorist activities.

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