The news shook the world the same way bombing of Hiroshima during
World War II did. Yes, it was like a thunderbolt from the blues. Ears
cringed. Tongues locked between the teeth. Students jolted from their
slumber ran helter-skelter, ignorantly towards their assaulters in
search of safety. Parents wailed and refused to be consoled as news of
the attack on their children reached them. Dead bodies littered the
floor of the hospital. The living mingled with the dead and the wounded.
Confusion reigned everywhere.
Above is the best way to describe the gory scene at Government
Secondary School, Mamudo, along Damaturu-Potiskum Highway, Yobe State,
where innocent school children were massacred recently by suspected
blood-thirsty invaders. They struck at 3 o’clock in the morning as the
students were asleep in their hostels, setting the buildings ablaze and
shooting whoever showed up after. Many of the victims were trapped in
the inferno, while those that managed to escape ran into the waiting
arms of their assailants.
Security operatives, manning strategic points in the state, were
totally caught off guards. Probably, a similar incident in the state
some weeks ago did not serve as enough alert to the security agents to
buckle up. What really happened? Who will provide a true account of why
the attackers chose young, impressionable children for elimination?
I have wept profusely, and left crestfallen. Why should this
dastardly act be committed against innocent, harmless and armless
students who went to school to improve themselves cognitively? What was
really their offence – safe that they were born into a country in which
some of its citizens have turned into monsters? I have been imagining
what would be going on in the minds of the invaders after committing
such a wicked act. Did they ever think that their judgment was right as
they attacked their victims for whatever reason? Didn’t they feel any
burden on their conscience, if they indeed had any? By attacking and
killing innocent children have they added any dividend to their
‘struggle’ for ‘justice’? Don’t they have brothers, sisters, sons and
daughters? How would they feel if they were the victims? Can two wrongs
make a right? Questions! Questions! But no answer!
For how long are we going to live with this kind of horror? Every
passing day comes with new, intriguing security challenges. Who would
have believed that under the state of emergency the evil ones would
still find it easy to carry out their nefarious activities? I cannot
really fathom any reason. From where did the attackers come – from thin
air? How did they manage to beat security to unleash such a large-scale
massacre on unsuspecting school children, leaving their families in pain
and anguish? I can never stop asking questions, because what had
happened defied logic and commonsense.
Since the unfortunate incident happened there have been different
accounts from the so-called eyewitnesses. Some of the accounts have the
capacity to instigate civil dissension if not checked. Tension is
mounting as the nation mourns. Government said that the army was winning
the war against terror in Borno and Yobe. And we believe them.
Nevertheless, for how long are we going to trust the government to do
something concrete to stop the endless carnage and bloodbath across the
country?
God knows we cannot live like this for too long. It is only a fool
that would fold his arms and watch his enemy destroy him. Curiously, the
attacks have shifted from churches to schools. Before the declaration
of the state of emergency, Christians lived in fear of daily attacks.
Thousands of them were dispatched to their early graves, with their
churches either burnt or looted.
Before the present craze, it was makeshift bombs strapped to the
bodies of suicide bombers that rented the air in the Northeast. Today,
the attackers have become more daring – taking the war to the security
agencies. What a world!
If weekly reports by the Military High Command on the progress
achieved by the ongoing military operations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa
are to be taken with a pinch of salt then terrorism would have been a
thing of the past by now. We are told that those responsible for the
bloody attacks on the affected states have either been killed or
captured. But what is happening negates this optimism. The simple
deduction to make from the latest developments is that the war against
terror is yet to be won, and this will take a longer time than
envisaged.
So what are we expected to do? As I have always advised: government
should not discountenance the option of dialogue. We need to unmask
those behind the attacks and see how we can restore normality to the
areas currently under insurgency. I agree: government has made recurring
efforts to reach the masterminds of the ignoble activities by extending
the olive branches to them to no avail. The question then is: should it
throw away the bath water with the baby?
I believe strongly that those fighting the government of the day do
so for several reasons – many of them bordering on clannishness and
selfishness. The real ‘freedom-fighters’, my mind tells me, are not
those carrying out the present attacks, because they told us they were
fighting for social justice and equity. It would be antithetical to
fight for social justice and equality and at the same time kill. Killing
one’s fellow citizens is a more heinous crime than the reason they gave
for their grievances.
Even before God, taking a life you cannot give is a condemnable act.
Life belongs entirely to God. He is the lone-maker. Nobody else can
decide what can be done to it. It, therefore, beats my imagination why
people kill at the slightest provocation.
Humanness, uprightness, honesty, helpfulness, patriotism and decency
are some of the virtues for which Nigerians were known in the past. All
that has taken flight and what is left in their wake are greed, deceit,
lies, blood-thirstiness, hatefulness, indecency and other anti-social
behaviourial patterns. No wonder the world looks at our people with
suspicion, despite the fact that some of them are not better either.
Those who kill in the name of religion or under whatever guise may
not know the incalculable harm they are doing to the image of Nigeria
and the prospects of Nigerians to live happily outside our shores. It
will take a very long time to restore the pride of this great nation,
which has been thrown to the dogs.
The sophisticated nature of and the weapons used in the attacks shows
that there are secret sponsors and funders from within and outside
Nigeria for the perpetrators. Otherwise they would have fizzled out,
considering the massive onslaught unleashed on them by the Joint
Military Task Force (JTF). If it were an ordinary rebellion it would
have been crushed, going by the involvement of the military in the
operations. It is almost three months since emergency rule was
introduced in the Northeast Zone of Nigeria, yet the end to the crisis
is not insight. My worry is what will happen when the state of emergency
is finally lifted without resolving the quagmire.
No matter how much we may feign ignorance the truth has to be told
that the current upheaval in the Northeast geopolitical zone is more
political than religious. Those who trace it to religion do so out of
either ignorance or self-delusion. Islamization of Nigeria (if there is
anything like that) cannot be achieved only in the Northeast. But the
present impasse is concentrated on just three states of Borno, Yobe and
Adamawa, fueling the suspicion that the motive for the insurrection is
to unsettle the government and, by so doing, create an atmosphere of
anarchy. How far they can go in achieving this self-centred goal remains
to be seen.
In any case, the attackers need to be told that there is no gain in
killing innocent citizens who themselves are already victims of a social
structure patterned against their own interest.
It is disheartening to note, that the insurgents have refused all
entreaties to negotiate with government just as was done in the Niger
Delta. For whatever is giving them confidence, it is important to advise
them to accept dialogue, because time is fast running out. Nigeria, as
is currently structured, cannot afford any group the convenience of
seceding, let alone fighting a war it cannot win. This is exactly what
is happening in Borno, Yoba and Adamawa. The more they fight, the more
depleted their numbers.
Government, as I advised earlier, should open its doors to
negotiation. Nobody should shut out this option for the simple reason
that government should negotiate with criminals. Though the Boko Haram
militant group has been infiltrated by questionable characters it
remains a force in the ongoing struggle to restore peace to the
Northeast. Initially, Boko Haram’s operations were skewed to twist the
arms of government to negotiate with it over the killing of its leader.
Suddenly, the whole thing assumed a dangerous slant, leading to
ceaseless killings and arson. It is heart-warming to note that the sect
has finally agreed to a ceasefire in deference to the Ramadan period. It
is hoped the ceasefire will last.
It is curious that schools should be left unguarded when the
government was aware that they had become targets. The attack on
Government Secondary School, Mamudo, in which over 29 students were
brutally killed, should have been averted if adequate security had been
put in place and if rescue operation had been timely.
As if to add salt to injury the Yobe State Government had ordered the
closure of all schools in the state till the reopening date in
September 2013. It was a wise decision, but it has the potentiality to
raise fears among the citizenry and embolden the militants and other
miscreants to continue with their infamous activities. Why I deem the
action of the Yobe State Government as wise was because it is better to
err on the part of caution. There is no doubt that other schools might
be targets since the last operation was successful.
On the part of the people of the affected states they should be
vigilant and report any suspicious moves to security agents. They should
intensify their effort in giving useful information to the security
agencies on how to deal with the challenges of securing their areas.
Intelligence-gathering has been known to be one of the surest ways of
fighting crimes in any society. There is no way security operatives can
succeed in their assignments without the people providing useful
information to them. After all, the security agents are no spirits. They
depend on the people to get tips on how to flush out criminals.
Probably, it was the desire to complement the efforts of security
agents that compelled the Zamfara State Government to acquire arms for
its Vigilance Groups. Not a bad idea at all! Where the problem lies is
the fear that the arms could go into wrong hands and complicate the
already bad security situation in the state. It has since been
discovered that the importation of the arms was not devoid of
controversy. Who then should be blamed? The answer is simple: blame the
customs and port security. These are the institutions statutorily and
directly charged with securing the ports. Allowing arms caches to come
into the country at will is a very dangerous development.
However, government should beam its searchlights on the ports to fish
out those that grant approvals for importation of arms and their
clearance on arrival. Those that engage in these dubious activities are
the real enemies of Nigeria. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP)
should liaise with the Zamafara State Government and other security
agencies to see how the arms it imported can be put into effective use.
And this should be done very fast to stem the ongoing controversies
surrounding the acquisition.
As we mourn with the families of the victims of the Mamudo attacks
may we not lose sight of the need to take individual measures to secure
ourselves. Government and security agents alone cannot do it. One of the
ways we can do this is by being at the alert at all times and reporting
any suspicious moves to security agents. We can also form ourselves
into groups to watch over our neighbourhoods. Government should provide
logistic support for the vigilance groups to make them more functional
and result-oriented. It may not be a bad idea to provide military
training for the vigilance groups as was recently done to men of the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. This will sharpen their skills
and make them more attune to modern practices in security.
I sympathize with the government and the families of the victims and
pray God to grant them fortitude to bear the seemingly irreparable loss.
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