Deji Adeyanju: Boko Haram in the mind of Ex Niger-Delta militants – A case study of Asari Dokubo

by Prince Deji Adeyanju

dokubo

In summary what is in the mind of every Niger Delta militant either it be Dokubo Asari, TomPolo, Ateke Tom, Boyloaf, etc is that if Boko Haram “brings a war on their land, the gates of hell will be opened.

As I write this article today the 1st of July, 2014, a bomb has just gone off at the Maiduguri market near the Power Holding Company (NEPA) building. The explosion was heard at about 8.20am this morning. Many casualties may be recorded as the area is usually a crowded commercial centre. The ongoing indiscriminate killings of innocent Nigerians by insurgents, irrespective of tribe, ethnicity, religion or party affiliations is no longer news, but what is news however may be the way it is interpreted or perceived by other citizens of the country from other regions. Some feel this is a fight against the sovereignty of Nigeria by external forces with the collaboration of some Northern politically aggrieved elites who lost out in power grabbing in 2011; others feel this is a political war all about 2015 general elections; some say it’s about the failure of Goodluck Jonathan to abide by the PDP zoning arrangement which led to many leaving the party to form other political parties and terrorist cells to cripple his government; and others say it is a clear failure by the Jonathan administration to protect Nigerian citizens. Those who fund or support Boko Haram may have many justifications for their actions but we must always remember that there is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.

But for the purpose of this article I will be analyzing how people from the Niger Delta especially ex-militants from the region perceive the Boko Haram menace. Dokubo Asari is my case study for the instance case. This are some of his famous statements on this subject matter:

1. “On this issue of Boko Haram, the North will lose, We are just waiting; they will push us to an extent where we will tell Goodluck Jonathan that you are on your own. But what will happen will be one that will be unimaginable in the history of this country”, he said.

2. We will cut them (the Northerners) off from the world. We are capable of doing that. There will be no food and they will pay dearly for their actions.

3. “The arrogance of Boko Haram is un-Islamic, the type of bomb they are using is ‘small small pikin bomb’. If we begin throwing bomb, nobody will stay in Abuja. We don’t manufacture bomb, but we buy bombs and dynamites.

4. “But very soon, we will not be able to guarantee our patience any more. If Ijaw people should retaliate, every household in the North will cry. It is the North that needs peace more than us. Everybody must impress it on them that they should sheathe their sword and drop their arrogance”.

5. Boko Haram killings were part of sponsored scheme to stop President Jonathan from going for a second term.

6. Asari challenged Boko Haram leader saying they should meet in the battlefield. Asari dismissed the threat by the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, against President Goodluck Jonathan, warned that 2015 would be “more than do-or-die.” They will shoot the guns; throw the bombs and that is when we will dance.

From the statements of Asari above, it is evident that almost all Ex-Niger Delta militants think like him. They do not see Boko Haram as our common enemy but as a northern Nigeria thing fighting their brother GEJ in power. One cannot really blame Asari for always speaking the way he does especially when some Northern elites like Mallam Nasir Elrufai also make provocative and unguarded utterances daily on Social Media inciting people against the President. They play politics always with serious national security issues instead. In times of Terror, what responsible citizens should do is rally round their nation and the President as it’s done in other climes but, the reverse is the case in Nigeria where politicians organize pressure groups to call on the President to resign from office. Did the Americans ask George Bush to resign after the September 11 attack? Won’t that have been a triumph for terror if they had done so? Some politically aggrieved people from the North have not only been agitating for the President to resign but indirectly calling on the military to over-throw him. That is how far some people are willing to go just to wrestle away power from Goodluck Jonathan.

In summary what is in the mind of every Niger Delta militant either it be Dokubo Asari, TomPolo, Ateke Tom, Boyloaf, etc is that if Boko Haram “brings a war on their land, the gates of hell will be opened. They do not see this as a national problem we should all unite to fight but, a political creation targeted at their Ijaw brother in power. With the discovery of a bomb at a Winners Chapel Church in Imo State and the arrest of about #486 Boko Haram suspects in Abia, the stage seems set for the export of Boko Haram from the North East to Southern Nigeria but what is not clear is what the reaction will be if bombs starts going off in the South.

Professor Wole Soyinka just recently warned of impending threat of a Civil War if the Boko Haram menace is not curtailed but what i see is a deadly end for Nigeria with the way prominent Northern Elites, traditional and religious leaders in the region have kept quiet while Boko Haram is bombing and recruiting more Almajiris for their dastardly acts. I can imagine what is going through the minds of these ex-militants now. What are they thinking or planning? Are they re-grouping or also re-establishing their militant camps? Are they buying arms, dynamites and bombs again or is Asari’s threat a mere ranting of a frustrated ex-militant? My advice to both Boko Haram and their sponsors who are obviously some Northern elites is that although there are causes worth dying for, but this particular one of Boko Haram is not worth killing for. The killings should stop now as it has gone too far and transporting it to the South may have far worse consequences for this nation than imagined. I have been asking myself recently how is it possible to have a civil war and the answer that keeps coming to my mind is “if this continues”. Like the saying goes “Only the dead have seen the end of a war”. Civil War is not an option we should contemplate. Since there’s no war that will end all wars, so why not just avoid a War in the first place. Since War does not determine who is right but only who is left, the best way to avoid unnecessary killings is to avoid it at all cost. Let us all unite to stop these senseless killings and protect our land. Sign up today and let’s #EndBokoHaram. In the end, I will leave us with this thought from John Lennon:

War is over… If you want it.

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Deji Adeyanju writes from Abuja and tweets from @adeyanjudej9

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

One comment

  1. A well scripted, we are ready for Boko haram and their northern Islamic sponsors. Its not only Asari and his troop but many other groups. We are ready either to die fighting or to live a victor!

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