Boko Haram and why it won't go away

Boko Haram Flag

 

A couple of months ago the commander in chief of the Nigerian armed forces announced gleefully that Boko Haram had been defeated "technically" and the terror group was incapable of launching any "coordinated military attack" on Nigeria's military. PMB went on to say the terrorist group were not occupying any part of Nigeria. The nation's information minister added that the terrorist group can only mount attacks on "soft" targets! You wonder what other type of target had borne the brunt of their attacks for the last seven odd years.

Not too long after PMB made the above declaration, an entity that appears to be supremely knowledgeable about things, namely, the leadership of the US Africa command (AFRICOM) said Boko Haram still controlled parts of Nigeria's territory. 

I suggested in the past that the Boko Haram problem was, and remains, an inside job with plenty of outside help. This line of reasoning was recently echoed by an Islamic cleric who said, "…Boko Haram is 100 per cent a Muslim problem, stressing that these people (the terrorists) are from amongst us and that the society was not doing enough to bring these elements out.” The cleric went on to opine that Boko Haram cannot operate in the southern parts of the country as they do in the north because they would be "exposed."

The Islamic cleric's observations is one of the reasons why Boko Haram has been, and would continue to be an intractable problem in Nigeria. There seems to be a local and international plan (for yet unknown reasons) to keep "pressing Nigeria's buttons" until the nation surrenders to an agenda that hopefully would be clear in due course.

A couple of days ago, in northern Borno state, the army came under heavy artillery and a barrage of rocket propelled grenades that killed or wounded some soldiers until they made a hasty withdrawal. The soldiers were initially ordered to a town near the border with Niger (one of our neighbours) and they were about 38 kilometres away from their objective when suicide bombers tried to stop them.  It was after dispatching the suicide bombers that all hell broke loose. In the words of a member of the army group, “…Today at about 6:30 am (0530 GMT), two suicide bombers approached us and we shot at them and they exploded …. As soon as the explosives went off, there were barrages of heavy artillery fired by Boko Haram, who came in large numbers with heavy weapons. We took up position in our trenches and fired back but they kept firing RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), which we didn’t have. We lost some men, I don’t know how many, and many others were injured. Some of us fled in disarray. We realised that we were outnumbered and outgunned.”

Obviously, we are dealing with a deliberate terrorisation of the Nigerian state and the terrorists are obviously still being harboured by a section of the populace. Nothing concrete can come from negotiating with Boko Haram until those pulling the strings are identified.  Boko Haram members are obviously pawns; the powers behind them, for the moment, appear untouchable.

The ingenious linking of Boko Haram to the so-called Islamic state; coupled with the distrust of government by many Nigerians, the terrorists are here to stay. There is definitely a military, political and local (town and village level) link to the madness. The neighbouring countries surrounding Nigeria offer unlimited possibilities of bringing all kinds of armament and materials for prosecuting a dark agenda since we really have no borders.

After entrenching itself in the country's north eastern parts; Boko Haram is now receiving moral and spiritual inspiration from the worldwide Sunni-Wahabist power structure, which seems to have specific "plans" for Nigeria. These "plans" are carried out in tandem with local, northern political and religious elites and surrogates, who initially unleashed Boko Haram to help maintain their perch atop the country's political leadership.

It is also beginning to look as if Boko Haram and the rampaging Fulani Herdsmen are now working together. If the proposed brazen Fulani grazing bill succeeds, it could "lawfully" accomplish what was initially attempted by force.  

Your comments are welcome!

Nigeria: The six billion dollar chain link

President Muhammadu Buhari on his recent visit to China

Ordinarily, Nigerians should be delirious about the achievement of their master negotiator, PMB. The president recently managed to snag some six billion dollars worth of investment package from the Chinese government. This "investment", to uninformed Nigerians, is supposed to be a selfless contribution by the Chinese government to the economic emancipation of Nigeria, for Nigerians. In fact, according to non-wailers (Adesina, looking at you), Nigerians now have no need to worry, because these "investments" will safeguard their present and guarantee their future, just as these types of "investments" have done previously. But if wishes were horses beggars would ride, so goes the saying. 

When the so-called investment "package" was partially broken down by a presidential spokesman, it entailed direct participation by the Chinese in power generation, transportation, mining, a high-tech park, housing, agriculture, TV station, farm industrial parks and production of industrial meters among others.

We have seen all these before, and in Nigeria, it is best to err on the side of caution. In fact, it is right to believe that these investments would result in a comparatively developed nation taking advantage of a less developed one to enhance its economic power. A more powerful nation would never help a weaker one achieve greatness or self-sufficiency unless such help was part of a planned hegemony. The internal contradictions and intractable problems that beset us as a nation can be partially attributed to "outside help." The British created Nigeria and offered the first "outside help" that resulted in a nation with too many birth defects. These birth defects are at the heart of our unworkable federation.

There is nothing wrong with seeking outside investments to boost a nation's economy but the country seeking outside inputs must be internally ready to utilize such investments. There must be some level of socio-political organization in the recipient country before any external aid can be beneficial. From the details of the promissory six billion dollar worth investments PMB got from the Chinese, Nigeria would ultimately be left indebted as usual. The Chinese would be injecting labour and industrial inputs from China (so-called export line) into the country and we would eventually pay for their "investments" in foreign reserves (currently in US dollars) which according to sources is getting increasingly tied to the Yuan (China's currency). 

One high-rise building; no matter how ultra modern will not solve the housing problem anywhere in Nigeria, not to talk of the daunting task of maintaining the building's so-called ultra modernity in the midst of stone age settings. PMB and his gang scuttled the Lagos metro line in the eighties for unknown reasons, but now, the same project is going to cost 2.5 billion dollars! One weakness appears characteristic of African leadership in general; they do have a universal, galling tendency for planlessness. Where are the infrastructural, scientific and educational structures to sustain a high-tech park when university dons are queuing for fuel for days, half of federal and state universities are closed, while the other half are besieged by gangsters, and private ones too expensive? 

As usual with our jaded leaders, PMB is putting the cart before the horse in a bid to "develop" the country's economy. There are fundamental questions that perennially or conveniently, escapes Nigerian leaders that tend to confound their best intentions, if they have any.  The questions are simple: what is the worth of Nigerian citizenship and what does it mean? For example, when a child is conceived in Nigeria, what is the guarantee that the child would be born alive and live up to the first seven years of life in good health? How is the child to be educated and how does the country create the enabling environment for the child to reach its fullest potential? What are the guarantees to the protection of life and property in the country, and how sacrosanct are the implementation of justice and the rule of law?

Recently, it was reported that the incessant Fulani Herdsmen (terrorists) terrorism in the country costs about 14 billion dollars annually (see here)! This amount takes care of two so-called Chinese investments with change to spare. This means that if PMB was serious about getting this nation out of its present state of anomie, all he needs to do is sit at home for once to solve the "Fulani problem." Just doing this alone will add at least 10 billion dollars to Nigeria's economy yearly instead of running all over the globe like an automated robot. It is also on record that monies from custom duties and company taxes (see here) alone are enough to substantially offset our annual budget and keep the economy going.

But instead of compassion, PMB virtually gave the "middle finger" to the victims of the Agatu massacres by Fulani Herdsmen, some weeks ago, while preparing for one of his junkets. The president never visits scenes of calamities in the country and relies on his equally inept media team to make "statements." He "talks down" instead of conversing with Nigerians about the direction he wants to take the country and seems to have an annoying penchant for making policy statements from foreign capitals.

For Nigeria to develop, with, or without external aid we must define who Nigerians are, what their rights are, enforce the responsibilities of government to citizens regarding such rights, enforce the responsibilities of citizens to the state and unequivocally create an environment for everyone to reach his or her fullest potential under the rule of just laws. Nigeria's constitution has been powerless or ignored in addressing any of these serious foundational issues. But until they are addressed, everything else is just BS.

 Now your opinion!

Nigeria: A Coming Civil War?

Goats having a go at the Nigerian Flag

A couple of decades ago I was sitting somewhere minding my business when a middle-aged man who had been poring over a newspaper article suddenly exclaimed in incredulous tones, "…What nonsense! We are just joking in this country; this country needs another civil war, after which everything would cool down." That day, I put the man's drama down to overexcitement, but events since then have shown indeed that "we are just joking in this country."

The last civil war was not won or lost but suspended. Those who think they won have been absolutely contemptible of those they "vanquished" and because the "victors" have never really been affected by the horrors of a real war they have no value for life or love for country. They do not have any patriotic fibre in their being; they rule as if other groups in the country are their subjects - of course with the active connivance of the assumed subject's elites. In fact, if anything, the last civil war simply solidified the hold of the Hausa/Fulani/Muslim oligarchy over Nigeria - nothing more. People say we have come too far to contemplate a rethink of the country's unity or restructuring. But if the only manufacturing prowess a Nigerian technology minister can boast of, after more than five decades of existence, is the potential to manufacture pencils, something is wrong - very wrong!

A rather unfortunate phenomenon has been happening over the years with so-called Fulani herdsmen causing mayhem in some nooks and crannies (southern and middle belt crannies) of this nation while those in power have decided that only cattle lives matter. The government has been more resolute in going after cattle rustlers than protecting the lives and livelihoods of Nigerians. It is not just the impunity with which these murderers operate that galls the heart but also the official flippancy that accompanies it (Adesina, looking at you!). 

Just after the Agatu massacre some weeks ago, no less than the Inspector General of Police absolved Fulani herdsmen of blame but volunteered that the perpetrators might be mercenaries from outside the country. When has the country become a haven for nameless invaders when we have security agencies and a standing army that enjoy terrorizing "bloody civilians"? With the militaristic approach to security all over the country one would think that such calamities will be confronted as soon as it happens or prevented altogether. It is evident that the security agencies are to all intents and purposes complicit in the official lynching of Nigerians in their homes simply because they are deemed expendable in a nation bound in so-called freedom, peace and unity. 

The northern political establishment bestrides the nation with total disregard for opinions they do not wish to countenance, even when it borders on national security or human rights. Sharia jurisprudence, complete with courts and enforcers have been established in most Muslim northern parts of the country; with complicit, unofficial Nigerian governmental abandonment of the country's secularism. With official encouragement in these northern states; young non-Muslim girls are kidnapped, detained and forcefully converted to Islam, then married off in a society that is irrationally paedophilic and painfully anachronistic.  Businesses belonging to non-Muslims are wantonly destroyed and whole-scale ethnic cleansing carried out in order to "purify" a religion that brings no peace or clear land for cattle grazing. Essentially, non-Muslims in the north, nay Nigeria, are living under Sharia.

Part of the problem is the acquiescence of the elites of southern (east or west are the same) origin who are easily bought by inducements and illusions of political inclusivity. These elites are better at attacking or competing against each other than identifying and confronting the real problem besetting the nation. Whenever atrocities are committed against their kind, in the north, these "patriotic" southern leaders are eager to advise "their people" to be conciliatory at the cost of justice. They bring all sorts of religious and inane platitudes to bear on the aggrieved until the next cycle of violence.  

The fact that almost every major politico-religious upheaval in the country originates and is perpetrated by the north against non-northerners without any fear of being brought to justice is a testament to the fact that they run things in Nigeria. And they are running it badly. This is not a northern Muslim hating article. I do not care if Balewa or Shagari were still ruling Nigeria today, provided we are at par or have surpassed the developmental prowess of Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia combined. Instead of taking our place in the sun we are bogged down with preternatural mediocrity and depressing poverty.

It might be argued that the northern politico-religious establishment have not been the only rulers in the country since "independence." This might be true to an extent, but I posit that even when they are not in government, they have always been in power. No matter whose face you see as president of the country, they have always been backed by northern power. Ironsi was an aberration that was soon corrected, Obasanjo; though adopted as a harmless tool was kicked into prison when he stepped out of line. When they needed to placate (the north is adept at this) a section of the country the tool was brought out of prison and set up for the presidency of Nigeria! Jonathan was never really in their good books and was initially opposed as president despite his legitimacy as the vice to a dead president. He was grudgingly accepted but limited to one term by fiat and subsequently demonized as the worst thing to have happened to the country!

A couple of days ago, so-called Fulani men attacked Falae's farm once again and killed one of his security men. The local vigilantes have decided to take the law into their hands next time. Some weeks back, in Enugu state, a local group that decided to protest the abduction of their women by "Fulani herdsmen" were arrested by "Nigerian" security agents and detained - more than seventy of them. However, no "Fulani man" or mercenary has been arrested over the incident. A new report making the rounds says the IPOB (Igbo pressure group) abducted and killed five Fulanis in retaliatory actions. The Agatus of Benue state are also threatening to take the law into their hands over the recent death of hundreds of their members by Fulani herdsmen.  Maybe someday we will reach a critical mass of fearless men and women that would tear down this travesty of a nation and build a new one where everyone is respected and protected.

Since there appears to be no real leader available to take this nation to where it ought to be, maybe it is time to complete what was started in 1967 - but this time, let us have a real uncivil war, and not the one-sided "police action" of Gowon. When the dust settles, survivors would be more interested in building than destroying Nigeria - if it survives.

Now your turn to comment!

Nigerian Football: Between Amaju Pinnick and The Gods

An Excited Nigerian Football Fan

Listening to Amaju Pinnick talk about soccer in general and Nigeria in particular you'd be excused for thinking that the guy expects angels from heaven's first eleven to come down on behalf of teams to secure wins, especially the national team. During an interview, he flatly denied that adequate planning; preparation, funding and selflessness could result in the Nigeria, or any country, winning the World Cup. He believed only the 'god of soccer' can make it happen.  Since everything has a spiritual dimension in the world of Mr Pinnick, one must assume that football match losses are acts of the devil. Why then do we blame Sunday Oliseh and other recent unfortunate coaches for the National team's performance?

Recently, Pinnick appeared to have revealed the gods he was referring to during a Harvard conference. While speaking at the conference, hot on the heels of Sunday Oliseh's exit as the national coach of the Super Eagles, the God-intoxicated Pinnick declared, "…We have turned the corner."  After enumerating the performance of those he somewhat condescendingly called 'local coaches' the "prophet of soccer" said it was time to get someone who is not just a coach but also a good manager. His words, “…After this Sunday Oliseh debacle, we have definitely turned the corner. We are now going to start shopping for a well-grounded and qualified foreign coach to tinker the team. Enough is enough.” But what has Pinnick had enough of - Nigerian coaches, a silent God or a smiling Satan?  

However, the foreign coach did not come quickly enough so the Nigerian Football Federation had to go back to their old wine, Samson Siasia. This was necessary because the nation had a crucial match with Egypt in order to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. We lost. And Nigeria is out of the running. Pinnick typically blamed the loss on 'destiny.'

Nigeria's national institutions are seldom built on nationalistic fervor or the pursuit of excellence. Past glories in sports, especially football, was because former players had skills, were less arrogant and played for the sheer joy of playing. The moment football in Nigeria became solely a means of survival, eyes were turned away from the ball and towards what was most desirable - money, fame and politics. This is probably the reason why junior teams, teeming with unspoiled talents that are desperate to have their day in the sun perform better than the national team (though internationally exposed) that is beset by ego fights, inconsistencies and duplicitous financial/political manipulations.  

In today's Nigeria, playing for the country or coaching the national team is very complicated, especially when indigenous coaches are involved. Foreign coaches make attractive alternatives not because of their credentials or abilities but because of their seeming operation above the fray of local politics and approach of coaching as a business - you give them what they demand, they give you what you deserve. Our local coaches never get what they demand in materials and remunerations and yet we expect them to perform miracles. 

There seems to be a tendency to undermine or disrespect people that look like us while uplifting foreigners even when they are no better. The failure of a local coach is assumed to be due to stubbornness or incompetence while foreign coaches tend to get many chances to prove themselves. But the reason for the failures of our national team goes deeper than lack of coaching prowess, foreign or local. 

Nigeria has been involved in the game of football for decades. We all love to win and in a somewhat vicariously cathartic way, football seems to enliven Nigerians. There is however no real plan to develop football as a national sport in the country. Football and sports administration in Nigeria, like most of our national life is a disgrace. Unless the socio-political structure and direction of Nigeria changes; every national assignment would bear the mark of a failed state. How do you develop any 'national' thing when there is hardly a 'nation' yet?

Football academies in Nigeria are either non-existent or in pitiable states. The national league, which used to be glorious in times past, has become a byword for lost glory. People are ready to stick knives into each other these days when arguing over European football clubs than remembering whether IICC or Rangers football clubs still exist. Dangote would rather invest in Arsenal football club or buy it outright instead of reviving Raccah Rovers. The Raccah Rovers club, during its heydays, played a friendly game with Fluminense Football Club of Brazil in Kaduna on 26, April 1978 and the great one himself, Pele, played for about 45 minutes of the game!

Sports can be a huge source of economic advancement with a tremendous potential for employing thousands of people. This would remain a dream until we start looking inwards and developing what we have as sport resources. Most clubs, and sometimes countries, in Europe have one or more black persons (many times Nigerians) playing for them but how many Europeans would love to come and play for Rangers? And yet, the indigenous talents in Europe are hardly better than what you find in the streets of Enugu or Ikot-Ekpene. 

Most Stadia in the country look like the ancient Roman Coliseum and towns lack anything that can be described as a sports center.  Added to this are terrible transport and other infrastructural challenges that preclude any meaningful pursuit of sports excellence.

After the latest failure of our national team, Mr Pinnick said that 'everything humanly possible' was done for the national team to succeed - this means God caused the loss. Some of the humanly possible things the boss of football in Nigeria did were flying the national team in a chartered plane and putting them in one of the best hotels in Egypt. This gesture was supposed to incentivize the boys to play well. This is because it has become customary for Nigerian football organizers to present sexed up groups instead of genuine teams for national competitions.

Mr Pinnick, let us leave God out of this for a moment. As Shakespeare said, in Julius Caesar, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." God is neutral, and the ball is in your court sir!

What do you think is responsible for Nigerian football inconsistencies in recent years - Any idea?