Securing the Peace of the Country – By Tochukwu Ezukanma

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, NNP Columnists, Tochukwu Ezukanma Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

By Tochukwu Ezukanma | Laghos, Nigeria | April 16, 2013 – Undoubtedly, Boko Haram is a terrorist organization. It is indiscriminately striking at civilian centers, wantonly murdering and maiming the innocent and the defenseless. Its bomb laden, suicidal operatives have bombed places as innocuous as bus stations and sanctuaries as inviolable as the church. It is a barbaric, savage, bloodthirsty group. However, despite the general abhorrence for these murderous fanatics, the government, unavoidably, must negotiate with them to secure the peace of the country.

It is important to note that the root causes of the Boko Haram are social injustice and misgovernment. The Nigerian masses, for long, have been trampled over by the “iron feet of oppression” and deprivation. That indefatigable iconoclast, Fela Anikilakpo-Kuti, in one of his instructive songs, summed up the situation of most Nigerians, “dem go be slaves for dem land to make ends meet”. Invariably, exploitation and enslavement breed discontent.

Nigerians are disgruntled by an unconscionable economic system that panders to the inordinate wealth of an elite few at the economic strangulation of the masses. It is a horrible system that denies the masses the basic necessities in other to reinforce the luxurious and wasteful lifestyle of the elite. One percent of Nigerians control 80% of the national wealth and a disproportionate percentage of the remaining 99% waste away in gateless poverty, shackling ignorance, poor housing and homelessness, etc.
Due to corruption, arrogance of power and aggressiveness of wealth, there is no equality of all before the law. The elite rarely get punished for their theft of public funds and other multifarious crimes. As such, the law in Nigeria is not the law (in the strict sense of the word) but an oppressive mechanism for the oppression of the poor and the weak. The police, that barometer of the attitude of the governing towards the governed, are brutal, trigger-happy and extortionist and routinely detain, torture and murder the innocent.

Not surprisingly, Nigeria is brimming with discontent. Boko Haram is a vent for long suppressed, smothering discontent. A Human Right Watch researcher, Eric Guttschuss, stated that Yusuf (the assassinated leader of Boko Haram) successfully attracted followers from unemployed youth “by speaking out against police and political corruption.” According to Abdulkarim Mohammed, a researcher on Boko Haram, violent uprisings in Nigeria are ultimately due to “the fallout of frustration with corruption and the attendant social malaise of poverty and unemployment.”

Chris Kwaja, a Nigerian university lecturer and researcher, asserts that “religious dimensions of the conflict have been misconstrued as the primary driver of violence when, in fact, disenfranchisement and inequality are the root causes”.

The objectives of Boko Haram became broader, nebulous and more complicated after Goodluck Jonathan truncated Northern power by usurping the presidency that was zoned to the North. The political disenchantment of the North increased the support for Boko Haram in some parts of northern Nigeria and got many interests, with diverse programs and purposes, operating under the rubric of Boko Haram .

The election of Goodluck Jonathan as the president of Nigeria was a staggering political mistake. Already, he has proven to be the worst Nigerian president. His administration is visionless and moribund. It has failed in very aspect of governance. It cannot maintain law and order and protect the lives and property of Nigerian citizens. It is loosing the war against terrorism. Therefore, there is a desperate need for the government to negotiate with Boko Haram. Whether the outcome of the negotiation will include amnesty for members of Bokom Haram will be a question of details.

Many Nigerians are opposed to granting amnesty to members of Boko Haram. In a newspaper article, the former Nigerian Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, in his opposition to the amnesty option, wrote, “My solution to the Boko Haram scourge is simple and clear. The President, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria must join hands together, rise up as one and seek them, their backers and their secret sponsors out. They must be unmasked, brought to justice, systematically eliminated and sent to hell where they belong.” Those are wonderful, impressive and passionate, almost lapidary, prose.

However, it is reckless optimism, if nor malarial fantasies to believe that the federal government in concert with the people of Nigeria can utterly defeat Boko Haram and get its combatants and their supporters “unmasked, brought to justice, systematically eliminated and sent to hell where they belong”. This is because Goodluck Jonathan is not a leader. He lacks the powerful ego, moral courage and political will to lead Nigeria out of any of her myriads of problems.

Secondly, the law enforcement agencies are corrupt, ill-motivated, wrongly orientated, and consequently, inefficient. In addition, the Nigerian populace is distrustful of their governments, enervated by poverty and the cruel grind for daily survival and cowered by years of insensitive government policies. Consequently, we lack a sense of civic responsibility, the spirit of volunteerism and will for sacrifice required in a protracted fight against a terrorist movement.

On the other hand, the ranks of Boko Haram are steadily being augmented by new volunteers. Its attacks are getting more sophisticated and better coordinated. And its network of supporters and financial sponsors are expanding. The government of Goodluck Jonathan cannot contain Boko Haram. Therefore, negotiating with Boko Haram, and possibly, granting it amnesty is not doing it a favor. Essentially, that will extricate a weak, dithering presidency from an overwhelming security problem and secure the peace of the country.
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Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria
[email protected]
0803 529 2908
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