One of the biggest problems facing Nigeria today is terrorism. It is a very dangerous trend in our nation which, if not quickly stopped, is capable of throwing the country into another civil war. That is why every Nigeria and the international community must proffer solutions to end the insurgency now before it is too late.
I am not encouraged by the attitude of the Federal Government or even the statements of President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram insurgency is not capable of dividing the country through violent means. Boko Haram is capable of dividing the country. This is because there is a limit to which people will continue to watch their loved ones murdered in cold blood.
I am not encouraged by the attitude of the Federal Government or even the statements of President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram insurgency is not capable of dividing the country through violent means. Boko Haram is capable of dividing the country. This is because there is a limit to which people will continue to watch their loved ones murdered in cold blood.
Government should understand that there is a limit to human endurance and that there is a limit to patience, to turning the other cheek when slapped.
Has anybody ever imagined a situation where Christians will no longer tolerate attacks on worshippers in churches, decide to retaliate and attack a mosque during a Friday jumat service? That was how the Rwanda genocide began.
The question to ask is: how did we get to the point? There are two major reasons responsible for the current spate of killings in the country today. First, is that Northern leaders have failed their youths over the years and have used religion to oppress them, too afraid to let the people know the truth.
In 1992, during the National Sports Festival in Bauchi, over one hundred Christians were killed, over one naira suya. A suya seller, a Christian and an indigene of Bauchi, reportedly sold pork meat to a muslim whose religion did not permit him to eat pork meat, so the disagreement between the two of them led to the murder of over one hundred Christians in the state, many of whom knew nothing about the suya sale. At the end, nothing was done to the murderers.
In 2002, under Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, over one hundred and fifty Christians were killed in Kano because America attacked Afghanistan in search of Osama Bin Ladin.
On that day, the attackers invaded Rumfa College, Kano, and murdered schoolchildren between the ages of nine and twelve. They identified the Christians from their names and dress codes, dragged them out and killed them. On that occasion, Obasanjo cut short his tour of France and flew straight to Kano to commiserate with the dead. That was the period of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s first tenure in office. When Obasanjo visited, about one hundred suspects were paraded. After he left for Abuja, they were all released. So, over the years the people have been made to believe that they can kill in the name of religion and get away with it.
All these talks of linking the insurgency to what happened or events leading to the civil war is begging the issue. I have heard some retired militarymen who participated in the civil war saying the fight against Boko Haram is like the killing of Northern elites during the 1966 coups which ultimately led to the civil war. In his letter to the Northern Governor’s Murtala Nyako alleged that Jonathan was perpetrating genocide against the North. This is very inciting, because what Nyako is trying to do is to incite one section of the country against the other.
The present Boko Haram insurgency is an extension or a continuation of the resistance to Fulani control by the Kanuris. History has it that in 1804, the Fulani jihad led by Uthman Dan Fodio in Northern Nigeria conquered the area. It claimed that the Jihad was aimed at purifying Islamic religion. Among the people the Jihadist could not conquer are the Kanuris of the Bornu empire. However, the Fulanis are said to have used Islam to colonize the entire North and its influence covers the entire region.
President Jonathan should put in place all necessary measures to end the Boko Haram and other terrorist activities in the country before it consumes all of us. From the utterances of Nyako, it is clear that some powerful Nigerians are plotting another genocide against the rest of the country.
To end the Boko Haram insurgency and other terrorist agitations in Nigeria, the Federal Government should devise a new method of succession and power sharing in the country in a way that no part of the country will feel cheated or marginalized
Another suggestion is that all anti-people policies must be suspended until things improve. The continued banning of commercial motorcycles, Keke NAPEB, buses, demolition of houses etc should stop and, finally, rich Nigerian must as a matter of urgency contribute to a common financial pool for social security to the unemployed.
The billionaires and wealthy Nigerians must understand that they, their properties and investments are not safe as long as majority of Nigerians live in abject poverty. The government must tackle electricity problem and unemployment in the country.
Government at all levels should stop behaving as if Boko Haram is not a problem or that it cannot divide the country. The government should also suspend all other projects or problems to solve this. It is much more important than continued building project or road projects in Abuja.Abuja is not and can never be a centre of Unity. It belongs to the Gwaris and one day, it will be another resource control issue.
By VINCENT EGUNYANGA
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That's true!
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