It’s been well over 11 years since the Nigerian government through its military has been battling the Boko Haram terrorist group. During the course of the fight, we have seen a number of things that raises questions on just how much effort the government is putting out.
Speaking shortly after the budget defence by the Nigerian Army at the National Assembly on Wednesday, the lawmaker representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, said some bandits and terrorists are more equipped than the Army, pinning it on “gross” underfunding by the government.
His statement went further to highlight latest developments on the fight against the terorrist group which he tied to negligence, misplaced priorities, and a host of other things; that have led Nigeria to fighting the terrorist group for this long.
Historically, since 2009 when the Boko Haram insurgency peaked in Nigeria, it’s been the norm for each passing government to promise on fighting the group and restoring peace to the troubled region but woefully, have they failed. It therefore, becomes compelling to agree with Senator Ali Ndume on certain things that may have contributed to the steep failure in the fight against Boko Haram.
With the gravity of their attacks increasing year-in-year-out, the Nigerian Authorities continue to focus on things that paints them as unserious (at least before the people) in this fight. From 2009 till date, we have witnessed a series of propaganda surrounding the defeat of the group, with statements like Boko Haram has been ‘technically defeated.’ Others include the alleged death of the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau. But, just how many times has he been declared dead?
First reported to have been killed during clashes between Nigeria’s security forces and Boko Haram in July 2009, he resurfaced one year after and reports claimed he died between 25 July and 3 August, 2013.
After appearing in another video, The Nigerian army in September 2014 stated that Shekau has been killed, this time by the Cameroonian military, during a Boko Haram attempt to capture Kodunga, a small village north of Maiduguri.
Chadian President Idriss Deby asserted that Boko Haram had been decapitated and Shekau in August 2015 and had replaced by a new leader, only for the Nigerian Air Force to announce in August 2016 that Shekau had been fatally wounded in air strikes. It goes on and on.
Although the Nigerian government, has made critical wins in this fight, it also heed to the many advice on adequate funding for the military and increased intelligence. It shouldn’t even be debatable – except of course one wants to consider the propaganda of who is (or not) sponsoring the group.
Nigeria, like a few other countries is not the only one fighting terrorists and terrorism. In 2015, with massive applause for the Buhari administration, a multinational force, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), was created to tackle the group. The member-armies consisted Nigeria and neighbours like Chad, Cameroon and Niger. The aim was to use resources from all countries to fight the group but not so much has been heard about the MNJTF lately.
What has happened to this group?
Some countries have a policy that never accommodates negotiation with terrorists, Nigeria has recently begun playing the soft call in battling same. Taking a cue from how the Niger Delta militancy was handled, the government through its Operation Safe Corridor initiative, now pardons and rehabilitates Boko Haram terrorists, who they now term as ‘repentant Boko Haram members’ and integrating them back to society.
From the horses’ mouth and representative of the people, this is a bad strategy especially if you consider the fact that the victims of these atrocities are yet to heal. Added to this is the allegation that a so-called ‘repentant terrorist’ was responsible for the murder of an Army Colonel, D.C Bako, on September 21 in an ambush by the terrorist group, near Damboa, a town about 85 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
“In my village, mallams, not ordinary Muslims but mallams, elders above 60, 75 of them were taken to an abattoir and slaughtered by Boko Haram. Can you imagine that the Nigerian army or the Nigerian government is saying that because these people have gone to repent, or they say they have their hands up, you bring them back and pamper them.
“In addition to that, the recent attack in Damboa was carried out by a repentant (Boko Haram) giving information as to the movement of the army, the general that was killed was a victim,” said the Borno lawmaker.
The government needs to strip itself of distractions like going after harmless #EndSARS protesters they label as terrorists. Even more importantly, they should listen to people like Senator Ndume, if they really intend to move beyond the rhetorics of ‘technical defeat.’
Michael is a dynamic writer who is still exploring the nuances of life and being human. When I’m not writing, I’m out with friends or spending nice time alone watching movies or TV Shows.
Michael is available on Twitter and Instagram @TheMichaelFaya
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