By Mike Kebonkwu
The Boko Haram insurgents have dislocated the normal life of north-eastern Nigeria turning it into a killing field for the past five years. The mindless butchery by the group gave it global headlines and made some western countries to call for the designation of the group as a terrorist organization. They have been portrayed to be better armed and equipped than the Nigerian Armed Forces. We have found this a justification for the failure and inability of the armed forces to contain the miscreants. How they acquired their weapons and brought them into the country with the ubiquitous security networks across the nooks and crannies of the country beats one’s imagination. We should therefore be asking fundamental questions about the competence of the security and intelligence community in gathering critical intelligence for the safety and security of the country.
There has been some scepticism about the ceasefire and truce knowing that the sect has acquired a notoriety of a trans-border terrorist group. Their support and revenue bases are traceable to both internal and external sources possibly from disgruntled politicians and Al Qaeda in the Maghreb. This therefore means that any serious negotiation can only be carried out if we tear the façade and unveil those behind the sect with the aim of knowing and settling whatever be their grievances; otherwise, the whole thing would be exercise in futility.
The manner of government negotiation and acceptance of the ceasefire and truce appears hazy and suspect. First, there was no clear cut and articulated framework to deal with the crises. The government appears caught in the web of domestic and global campaigns against its jelly-footed method in fighting the insurgency. This truce with the insurgents therefore appears like a desperate and calculated political move with 2015 in view. This is because some groups are already tying their electoral support to the release of the Chibok girls and an end to insurgency in the North-east.
The manner the military has tried to tackle the insurgency has thrown up a critical question about the professionalism of our Armed Forces. The Boko Haram as a local insurgency should not have been above the capacity of our armed forces but we saw a military that was lacking in the will and appetite to fight perhaps due to poor training and equipment. Why would professional armed forces employ the use of armed local vigilante to fight alongside its officers and men in internal security operations of low intensity conflict? There have been about three schools of thoughts with their theories on how to contain the menace of the group. One is that the government should dialogue with the sect and pacify them. The other is that a full scale military action should be brought to bear on the sect. The last is of the view that the carrot and stick approach should be employed; which of course is a combination of the first two. The pacifists who feel that dialogue is the best option would want to carry their drums to the market at the announcement of ceasefire and truce. Indeed, they may have their strong point because from all indications and evidence on the ground, victory on the military front appears too remote and almost unrealizable.
Some people have even tried to draw parallel between the negotiations and trade off the American government had with the Al Qaeda terrorist group to exchange the release of one American serviceman with five of its members detained at Guantanamo Bay. The truth is that the reality in one clime cannot be imported into another, lock-stock-and-barrel. The first issue is that there is no Al Qaeda cell in America as an organized group; but here we are with a terrorist group nesting and rooted deeply in our own soil. The second point is that the American intelligence community and security forces are up to their responsibilities, which they discharge with utmost ruthlessness. In our situation, we have intelligence community that is completely clueless and security forces whose competence and professionalism has been called to question on all fronts.
In nearly all the other parts of Nigeria, you equally have vicious bloody campaign by different ethnic militias and criminal groups. In the South-east, people go to sleep with two eyes open because of the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers. This has affected the investment climate of that region without a doubt. The same is true of the South-south and Niger Delta region where if you asked some able-bodied young men what they do for a living, they would tell you without hesitation that they are “kidnappers.” Some of them are known to pay protection fees to the security agents who give them vital information to escape arrest. In the South-west, the story is not different as armed robbery and criminality of all kinds are commonplace. This is happening in a country with a bloated Police Force and other intelligence agencies. What purpose are they serving if they cannot gather intelligence to contain the activities of these men of the underworld?
If we feel concern for the soul of our nation, it is time for us to take a hard look at the activities of the police and other security agencies in relation to security of life and property in the country. Recall the notorious case of Lawrence Anini in the defunct Bendel state. It opened our eyes to the fact that any crime that cannot be cracked by the Police or the security agents has a police or security connection or link behind it.
Kebonkwu Esq wrote from Abuja