State of emergency: The real issues

At last, President Goodluck Jonathan took the bull by the horns and confronted the monster of insecurity that had threatened to devour the soul of the nation. He did this in a firm, fashionable, surprising and tactical way – beyond the estimation of the ever-burrowing, news-hungry Nigerian media. Apart from mentioning the matter in a few elite circles, the plan to declare a state of emergency

in three states of north east – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa – was well wrapped. I sensed that something unusual was about to happen immediately President Jonathan cut short his state visit to Namibia and raced home. For the first time, this president betrayed emotion publicly. He was reported to have openly berated his security chiefs for their inability to contain the rage of the militant groups that have held the nation by the jugular in recent times.

The last straw that broke the camel’s back, probably, was the bloodbath in Eggon Local Government of Nasarawa in which some 112 State Security Service operatives and policemen were felled in a failed operation intended to flush out the dreaded Ombatse Cult. The spilling of the innocent blood of the security personnel, coupled with the menacing and embarrassing operations of Boko Haram, forced the hand of the president to reach for a very stern, extreme measure – declaring a state of emergency in the three states.

The state of emergency has since gone into full acceleration with the military high command taking control of operations, which are already yielding fruitful results. According to the Defence Headquarters’ spokesman, Brigadier-General Chris Olukolade, the enforcement of the emergency rule is progressing tactically as planned, with heart-warming results. The most reassuring news so far since the operation began came four days ago when it was reported that the hitherto foolhardy members of the sect were running helter-skelter, seeking safe havens outside the territories of Nigeria.

In all of what has happened so far, there are salient issues that should occupy the minds of the President and those directly involved in the implementation of the emergency rule. I have read diverse opinions on the matter – some in favour, some against – but only a few commentators have really touched on the key issues that should form the kernel of moves to resolve the impasse. My worry lies in the fact that our people have not been sufficiently sensitized about the rationality of the state of emergency. The most scathing criticism of the President’s action has come from fiery northern critics, who view it as uncalled for and intended to create further confusion in the North. Some other critics refer to the President’s action as politically motivated, and not really intended to crush the rebellion by the sect.

As much as every Nigerian enjoys the freedom to speak his mind, I think this should be done with some decorum and altruism. Why should any right-thinking Nigerian describe the declaration of emergency rule in the three states as politically inspired? That’s unfair to the President and families of thousands of Nigerians that died from attacks by the dreaded sect. What the President did was timely, rational, fair and just. How could the president have sat down and watch the people placed under the care of his administration slaughtered in droves? Imagine what would have happened if the President had waited a few more days. Probably, the sect would have succeeded in throwing the entire nation into anarchy, which was the ultimate target of the intensification of its attacks.

I was deeply disturbed by the revelation by President Jonathan that the sect had already conquered some areas and placed them under its sovereign control, even to the extent of hoisting its flags. So, what could anybody have expected the president to do in this circumstance? Sit and watch his government toppled by the sect, or take far-flung, firm action to restore normalcy and stop the unnecessary killings? You make the choice!

Some have also criticized the retention of democratic institutions, while the emergency rule is being enforced. What is wrong with that? Ordinarily, former President Olusegun Obasanjo should not have dismantled the democratic institutions as he did when he declared a state of emergency in Plateau and Ekiti states, respectively. He took the extreme measures in order to achieve other mundane ends. There is nowhere in the constitution where it is expressly stated that existing democratic institutions should be suspended while emergency rule is being enforced.

What many people might not have known is that President Jonathan is a totally different person from Obasanjo. While one is brash, extroverted, loud and outlandish, the other is introverted, calm, calculated and collected. This does not mean that the latter is a saint, because there are no living saints. The comparison is only intended to paint a distinct picture of each man in terms of carriage and mien.

In any case, by retaining the democratic institutions, the president has played a fast one on those waiting at the fringes to attack him for meddling with such institutions for political gains. Though the three states are controlled by two different political parties – All Nigerian Peoples Party (already swallowed up by the yet-to-be-registered All Progressives Congress) and Peoples Democratic Party – the action of the president will not change their coloration anyway. All it will do to the parties is to strengthen them, because they will operate in a more serene, safe and secure environment. I am sure there has not been real politicking going on in the three states under the current volatile security situation.

It is outrageous that some high-ranking persons had described the timing of the emergency rule as late. Definitely, these are people not properly schooled in the art of warfare. Introducing emergency rule is a very delicate matter that requires diligent planning and execution, wide consultation and enlightenment. This was what the president was doing all these months. He struck when the time was auspicious. And the results are tumbling in.

Surely, it would have amounted to the same tactical mistake made by the sacked Police Commissioner of Nasarawa State, who dispatched security men to Eggon to confront the dreaded Ombatse Cult at night ill-prepared and without sufficient intelligence. The result was the slaughter we all witnessed. It is only a fool that will go to war without adequate planning. He would be crushed by the superior firepower of his enemy. Those who criticize the timing should not lose sight of the fact that Boko Haram is more than a sect, because of the massive subterranean, covert support it is receiving from outside the country. Would anybody be surprised if it is later revealed that some of the sponsors of the sect were countries that see Nigeria as a threat to their global ambitions? Do not forget: Nigeria is a global power in Africa, nay the world, irrespective of the challenges it is facing. No country worth its salt will ever underrate Nigeria under any consideration.

Let me make it very clear: The security challenges facing the country today were not caused by Jonathan. That is the truth. I agree it is his duty to secure the life and property of every Nigerian, but that is to a reasonable extent and as much as current realities could go. I am sure Boko Haram had been in existence ever before President Jonathan was born. So, why should anybody blame him for the inglorious activities of the sect? The seeming triumph of Boko Haram (before the state of emergency was declared) was born out of the subtle acquiescence of some aggrieved persons who hid under the sect to promote sectarianism, clannishness and bigotry. The result was the obvious docility of persons who should ordinarily be speaking out in condemnation of the activities of the sect. And that seemingly emboldened the sect to become more daring and try other stunts on the government.

Has anybody considered the peculiar nature of Borno, Yobe and the environs? We are talking about a very vast, complex and difficult terrain, bordered by countries with high incidence of trans-border crimes and infiltrations. Securing such a massive area poses a huge challenge in terms of material and manpower resources. Even when the resources are available, nothing much could be achieved without the cooperation of the people. From close observation, it would seem the sect was getting support from local people – maybe out of fear or sympathy or both. It is simple logic: There was no way the sect could have held on this long with all the showmanship without something or somebody behind it. There is an Igbo adage, which says that when a bird is dancing in the middle of the road in a forest, the drummer is not far away. Take or leave it: Boko Haram has powerful backers within and outside the country. And it is these people that had given it the courage to face the government with such audacity and foolhardiness.

As much as I support every effort to restore normalcy to the affected areas, we should not do away completely with the idea of dialogue. I have always believed that no matter what happens, the warring parties will still end up at the roundtable. This was why I offered to mediate a truce between the sect and the government. I made the offer not unaware of the grave danger inherent, but I was overpowered by patriotism and the eagerness to see normalcy return.

I have read where people advised the president to crush the sect, using all the powers and resources available to him. Not a bad idea. But have the proponents asked who the members of the sect are. They are full-blooded Nigerians fighting for a cause they deemed fit and proper. By implication, they should not have constituted themselves into a threat to national peace and security. And anybody that engages in such a treasonable and felonious act is inviting the full weight of the law. It would have been a different thing if the sect were populated by people from other countries. I know there are recruits from other countries. Nevertheless, this does not make the sect foreign. So, all we will have achieved at the end of the day, if we succeeded in wiping out the entire sect, is depopulating Nigeria. 

What then should be done? The President should direct the commanders of the military operations to pay more attention to capturing the deviants alive rather than ‘flushing’ them out. Bringing the full might of the military to bear on the operation will amount to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. There is no doubt that there may be some people critical of this suggestion; nonetheless they should realize that two wrongs do not make a right. We can still tame and reform the sect by capturing them alive. Killing them as some people suggest is tantamount to hardening those that will be left over at the end of the whole onslaught.

Pakistan and Iraq got to where they are because of the application of extreme force to flush out insurgents. In the process they got entrenched and won more support from unusual quarters.

Again, the operation should be carried out with adequate caution and care to shield the civilian population from harm. The nation cannot afford to lose more civilians. Since the Boko Haram insurgency began, the nation has lost over 3000 innocent lives. This is where the traditional and religious leaders come in. They should embark on massive enlightenment of their people to bring them attune with what they need to do to stay safe. Government should make adequate preparations for refugees and other victims that will be produced by the ongoing ‘war’. Those taken as Prisoners of War (POWs) should be humanely treated and, in the end, tried in the court of law for crimes against humanity, and jailed if found guilty. Nobody should take laws into his hand by subjecting those captured to inhuman treatment.

Above all, the presidential committee on Amnesty should intensify efforts to ensure that the members of the sect surrender before they are harmed or captured. I think it makes sense for them to surrender now it is clear they are losing the war on terror. What will it profit them to continue to fight blindly and get killed when they have a window of opportunity to surrender and be saved? Traditional rulers and village heads should be involved in the current moves to make peace with the sect, even though the government now has the upper hand. There is also the need to tackle the root cause of the insurgence by Boko Haram. The first thing to do is to arrest and deal with those involved in the extra-judicial killing of the leader of the sect, Yusuf Mohammed. After that, government should see what it can do to rehabilitate members of the sect that would submit themselves to rehabilitation. This is why I am totally in support of amnesty for the sect. It will give them an opportunity to learn new trades and deploy their talents and skills productively.

Government should use the chance offered by the emergency rule to attend to restiveness in other parts of the country – particularly the Southeast and the South-south. It should avoid the temptation of resorting to the use of brute force in dealing with those angling for greater autonomy, since what they are fighting for maybe a legitimate aspiration applied through the wrong channels and means.

Let me urge those criticizing the president’s action to sheathe their swords and cooperate with him to move Nigeria forward. The current state of emergency is intended not to harm or obstruct any political party’s plans for 2015 – it is a bold step toward restoring normalcy to areas prune to escalation of insecurity and destruction of innocent lives and properties. For this reason, we should back the president.