The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

The “commentariat” in a time of present and looming crises: a personal credo [For Dr. Stanley Macebuh, RIP]

It is essential to educate the educator himself…

Karl Marx, Theses on Feuerbach (From Thesis Number 3)

Ko ni su wa; ko ni re wa (We shall not succumb to defeatism; neither shall we become weary)

A Yoruba proleptic saying

The question that prompted the musings in this piece is this: Why do I write this column unfailingly every week? To this question, I could respond at a very high level of generality mixed with a desperate hope and idealism and say that I write the column to prevent myself from succumbing to crippling despair. There are two closely linked reasons for this. First is the fact that there is so much that is horribly wrong with our country and the world in which we all live. Secondly, despair is easy, it is tempting because there does not seem to be any forces, any movements on the horizon of the present capable of countering the weight and the direction of the terrible things happening in our country, our continent and the world. In such a historic national, continental and global context in which so much is terrifyingly amiss and so little seems capable of setting things right, writing a weekly column is, at least, a means of keeping hope alive for oneself and one’s readers. Admittedly, this is a very high level of generality for a question as simple and as direct as why one writes a weekly column, but it is – I hope the reader will agree with me on this – a valid, or at least a plausible reason.

However, rather than starting from such a level of generality on the subject of why I write this column every week, I choose instead to start from a very concrete and particular factor, one that, as far as I am aware, has not been adequately engaged. This is none other than the fact that, without consciously ever intending to do so, I have become a member of what, in an arresting and playful neologism, Victor Ifijeh, the Editor-in-Chief and MD of The Nation, calls the “commentariat”. In other words, I write a weekly column because I am part of this new community or brotherhood or phalanx of the commentariat. I shall come back to the frankly idealistic and desperately hopeful reasons why I write this column, but first, I wish to explore this concrete and particular context of the rise and expansion of a “commentariat” as the background for what I write every week in this column.

Now, the business of this “commentariat” is to write, punctiliously and diligently, opinions and analyses that are presumptively intended to add depth and perspective to the news reporting that is the main business of newspapers in particular and all forms of broadcast journalism in general. Now, my central observation here is the enormously significant historic and cultural fact that in the last three decades, this commentariat has emerged as perhaps one of the most important features of broadcast journalism in Nigeria. In the present context, I shall say only a little pertaining to the factors that gave rise to this crucial development in Nigerian journalism. Definitely, the role of The Guardian was decisive in this development for it was the first newspaper in Nigeria that more or less forever closed the gap between the popular and the scholarly, the “lowbrow” and the “highbrow” in our country’s newspapers and newsmagazines. In this respect, the role of the late Dr. Stanley Macebuh was cardinal for without him, without his visionary acuity and his intellectual influence, The Guardian could never have had the impact it had on the intellectual content and tone of Nigerian journalism. One proof of this assertion is the fact that the further that that newspaper has moved – in time and in perspectives – from the kind of intellectual leadership that Stanley Macebuh embodied and practiced, the more it has lost its pioneering, leading role in our country’s journalistic culture and ethos.

Dear reader, does the neologism “commentariat” evoke the word “proletariat” more than it does “secretariat”? For me it certainly does. This, I would argue, is not accidental. For in general, newspaper columnists in Nigeria tend to be progressive, at least in the broadest definition of the term. This, by the way, is also partly a legacy of Macebuh’s years at the helm of affairs at The Guardian, for he it was who first gave liberalism, especially in its vigorous and ambiguous encounter with radical leftist ideas and activists in our part of the world, an intellectual rationale, a foothold in the popular imagination, and an institutional base in news reporting and analysis.

I am not necessarily saying here that the great majority of columnists and contributors to intellectual and political debates in Nigerian newspapers and newsmagazines are convinced or consistent progressive liberal democrats. Far from this, our community of the commentariat reflects all the real and manufactured divisions in our country – ethnic, regional, religious, ideological and economic. But at the same time, I think that it is important to acknowledge that it is difficult to find columnists of note or credibility in our country who can mount a vigorous and coherent promotion of reactionary and hegemonic positions that sustain the status quo of power, wealth and authority in Nigeria.

One reason for this is perhaps merely circumstantial: the powers that be, the scions of the political and institutional status quo in our country are so bankrupt that it would require a totally unjustifiable level of cynicism and opportunism to give them intellectual and ideological backing. But I would also ask the reader to think of this enormously crucial fact: We live in a time of deep and perpetual crises, so much so that Nigerians under the age of forty do not know that at one time there was a fairly stable status quo in this country even if the period – roughly between the decade before independence and the outbreak of civil war – was not without its own crises. But that was then. Now, in the present, we are in a prolonged period of endemic and perpetual crises. This, I contend, is the background for the idealistic and (desperately) optimistic basis for why, speaking only for myself as member of the commentariat, I write this column unfailingly every week, even though I do have a full-time job as a professional academic. I would like to conclude my reflections in this piece by briefly elaborating on this particular issue.

Metaphorically speaking, the malaises of the national body politic are like the diseases and ailments of the physical body: you feel them concretely, existentially. This is what it means to live in a period of perpetual and endemic crises, some of which are minor but most of which are severe and acute. Let me give examples and expressions of these crises, these malaises of the body politic, making them as concrete as possible by giving some instances from daily life at Oke-Bola in Ibadan, the neighborhood in which I live. Here are some of the minor expressions of these crises. First, for a neighborhood that used to be a fairly low-density area in my childhood, it is now far gone beyond a high-density area: it is now more or less a ghetto with virtually every inch of available space built up. Seventh-Day Adventist Primary School that I attended as a child now has no playground, no school farm or garden as these have all been taken over by buildings. There are virtually no municipal services in the area: every household, every family has to make arrangements for water supply, sanitation and waste disposal, and security of life and possessions. The population of the neighborhood is overwhelmingly dominated by youths, the great majority of them not only unemployed but with no real prospects for the future. Most of the factories at the nearby Oluyole Industrial Estate closed down more than a decade ago and nothing has replaced this major employment base of the neighborhood and the city. Public or street night life is now completely gone, for by 9 p.m., everybody is inside their homes. This, in a neighborhood which in my youth had one of the most vibrantly entertaining and recreational night life in all of the southern part of the country. But religion thrives and there are dozens of churches and mosques in the neighborhood: Praise the Lord! If you have no jobs, no prospects for the future, at least you have Jesus, you have Allah, and you have the pastors and the imams.

As nearly every reader of this piece knows, this profile is a microcosm of the rest of the city of Ibadan and the rest of the country. And as depressing as this profile is, what is truly frightening is the feeling, the intuition that the worst is yet to come, heaven help us! And as if that is not bad enough, there is hardly any indication that there is a movement afoot, a movement in its embryonic stages perhaps but that will eventually sweep away all this rot, all this suffering, all this insecurity. Those who wonder how we, the members of the commentariat, find subjects or topics to write about every week without running out of steam perhaps do not know that decadence, suffering and insecurity of life and existence all constitute inexhaustible sources of matter on which to write week after week, ad infinitum! But this is a great contradiction, this conundrum in which, so it seems, the commentariat feeds on and thrives on crises that impoverish and diminish the quality of life on such a vast scale. What is the way out of this contradiction, this conundrum? That is the billion naira question.

Speaking for myself and a few other colleagues within the community of the commentariat that I know well, perceptive and insightful commentary and analysis, though badly needed in our current conjuncture of endemic and perpetual crises, can and will never replace movements of the Nigerian peoples for real and meaningful change in the conditions of their lives. The commentariat is a part within a whole; it is not a substitute for that whole. Moreover, as Marx observed in the first epigraph to this piece, there is a need for the educator himself to be educated. The very process of commenting on the crises we are all living through, admittedly unequally, is a composite testing ground for our commentaries and analyses. I am not engaging in hypocrisy when I assert here that one of the most productive and useful benefits of writing this column is the fact that I learn a lot from the experience, especially in light of the absence of the mass movements of workers, professionals and intellectuals that were such a vital part of my young adulthood. Thus, compatriot, I write every week and will keep writing as long as possible in the hope that what I write may provide a little light, a little illumination in the vastness of the enveloping darkness that is a product of the crises we are currently living in. But I have no illusions: if we are lucky, writing may be a spark for the changes we are seeking, but it can never be a substitute for it.

Biodun Jeyifo

bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

May 19, 2013
Jonathan’s emergency

The question is no longer whether it will come, but how far it can go

For once, President Goodluck Jonathan did something, at least within the ambits of the law, with his proclamation of emergency rule in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states on Tuesday. This was a decision that was even late in coming, given the havoc that Boko Haram has wreaked on the nation. At this point, we have to call a spade a spade, and not just a farming implement. And we shall do just that today.

If political Boko Haram is real (as I believe it is), perhaps the genesis is in the emergence of President Jonathan as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2011 election. I have said it before that I do not believe in zoning; I stand by this. But then, I can say that without the heavens falling because of who I am. Everything may look good on a fowl’s neck, definitely not a rope. A PDP stalwart cannot say this in all honesty because he or she knows that is not the position of their party. So, when the party chiefs did wuruwuru to the answer to prop up the present president as the party’s candidate, saying that zoning was dead or that it never existed, other party chiefs should have cried foul. They didn’t. They should have asked when zoning died in the party; where it died, whether it died of natural or other causes; they should have asked who did the autopsy, or when it was buried, where and other matters. They did nothing of the sort.

Rather, they slept facing the same side, with the northern political elite that thought it was their natural turn to produce president feeling marginalised. Please do not get me wrong; nothing I have said should be taken to mean that the south-south from where President Jonathan hails did not deserve to produce president at that time; no. As a matter of fact, if any region of the country has been marginalised with respect to the presidential office, it is that region from where the money spent in the country comes. But the process should have been tidier; with the party resolving the issue of zoning long before the election and giving zoning a befitting burial once they agreed that it was time to kill it.

But what the PDP did with regard to zoning then is the same fraudulent way the country has been run. The only difference in this case is that it hit some of their own, and that is why we cannot sleep with our two eyes closed ever since. It is for this simple reason of dishonesty, among many others, that it will be easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for this country to make progress. Americans, as permissive as they come, care so much about who they put in leadership positions. If any party did what the PDP got away with here in 2011 in the name of politics in a civilised country, that party may lose votes simply on account of such infidelity over little things. Americans, for instance, would not trust that such a party which can trample on its own clothes would not tear theirs into shreds without batting an eyelid, if voted into office.

Boko Haram may jolly well be the result of the loss of our moral soul as a people. But it is also a case of thunder aiding the bomb. If the northern economy has not been as bad as it is, that is, if the northern leaderships in the past had done the needful to lift their people from poverty, there may not have been a ready army of suicide bombers that would want to die over nothing. If the people had received the right education, they would not have been as ignorant as they are to want to lose their lives in anticipation of the privilege of enjoying some beautiful virgins if they die in the course of whatever they are fighting for. They would have known that this world is too sweet to depart so soon, and that some of the best of the beautiful virgins fthat they are rushing to heaven to enjoy are theirs just for the asking right here on earth. As a matter of fact, it is in the north that some of these virgins are already being enjoyed, considering the number of under-aged girls put in the family way in the name of early marriage. So, if the men are not having the desired sensation, it is probably because they are not allowing the virgins to ripe before plucking them. With a little patience, these virgins will be ripe and mature with age, and with the appropriate tantalising statistics for the believers in the heavenly virgins to enjoy right here on earth, and without any blood on their hands!

It seems the northern elite know that they are responsible for this whirlwind that the country is paying for, hence their inability to openly condemn Boko Haram but would rather speak from both sides of the mouth when talking about the sect. The only unfortunate thing is that the sinners responsible for this crisis are not suffering as much as the innocents. If we have reaped more bloodshed in the Jonathan presidency, it is as a result of that little unfaithfulness. May be the president himself realised this, hence, his being slow to come up with emergency rule in the troubled states. But if some people support him now that he has proclaimed emergency, it is not because they are unaware of this fact; it is just that they know it is better to first drive away the thief before telling the owner of the stolen property that he too did not keep his property well.

As a matter of fact, there does not seem to be any alternative, especially as the insurgents have rejected amnesty. It was only in those days when we still had our sanity intact that a thief would run away if pursued; these days, the thief would turn round to challenge the owner of the stolen property and get some of the best senior advocates to argue his case. Emergency rule is good to the extent that it is able to achieve its aim of bringing about peace in the affected states. This is a sine qua non for meaningful development.

But, should there be any Nigerian who thinks power will last forever in any part of the country as it was in the past; that is wishful thinking. And, should there be people behind this mindless orgy of violence in the country, such people will pay dearly for the shedding of innocent blood just to make cheap political points. The mere fact that they had this power which they never used well in the past, leading to where we are today, is enough to convict them in heaven and on earth for the innocent blood they are causing to be shed daily, needlessly.

However, President Jonathan must honour his promise that the wolves in human skin that delight in killing human beings will not go unpunished. I have said it several times that when a leader speaks, his words are like those of the oracle. On this score, I am with the President. But when the handshake is getting below the elbow again, it would be ‘to thy tent, Oh Israel’! The fear of many is that the emergency rule is a step towards full blown dictatorship. Given where we are coming from, that fear is both real and potent.

May 19, 2013
Thoughts on the emergency

As is to be expected, the declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan of a state of emergency in the Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, continues to generate considerable heat for all manner of reasons.

What on the surface seems like a surgical procedure against a cancerous growth threatening national security and unity is open to be interpreted as equally dark political manouver – depending on which side of the fence you sit.

While many have expressed surprise that Jonathan would pull the emergency stunt barely a fortnight after celebrating with much fanfare the inauguration of the Boko Haram amnesty committee, I take the position that his latest action was inevitable. In fact, what is amazing is that it took him so long to take the decision to move against the insurgents in a more muscular fashion.

In the end, the decision was virtually made for the president as before his very eyes huge chunks of the nation were becoming no-man’s land where gunslingers was lords of the manner. In other parts where there was no organised insurgency the fear of kidnappers has virtually paralysed society.

What I get from much of the criticism of the emergency declaration is that it hinders the smooth running of our democratic structures. The harsh truth, however, is that democracy had ceased to function where the insurgency was hottest. Many local government officials had fled their bases, and newspapers were beginning to carry headlines like ‘Boko Haram: Fear of kidnap grips governors.’

It has also been argued that the latest move will not solve the problem. While I agree that the best we can hope for from the military action is pacification of the troubled spots in the short term, I don’t agree that what Jonathan was doing prior to sending in the troops was the right thing.

Frankly, he was floundering – one day talking tough and denouncing the terrorists as ghosts who needed to show their faces in order to be taken seriously as potential partners in a peace process. The next minute he’s caving in to pressure after a night time visit by prominent northern elders, and accepting to offer amnesty to the same “ghosts” he just refused to do business with.

Rather than make life easier for Jonathan, Boko Haram kept thumbing their nose at the government with series of lethal strikes that embarrassed the security establishment.

While the killing at Baga may have represented a frustrated military straining at the leash to engage the foe, the insurgents sortie into Bama – in which 55 persons were killed – represented an unprecedented display of strength by the terrorists.

The question which critics of the emergency have not addressed their minds to is what other option was available in the short term? A national conference of whatever hue, provisions of full employment for all the hungry and disaffected youths in northern Nigeria would take a long time to put together.

Something needed to be done urgently. The insurgents were beginning to hold ground – even planting strange flags on territories they had conquered. Senator Ahmed Khalifa Zanna has been quoted in the media as saying 23 of the 27 local government areas in Borno State had fallen to the sect.

Every time the insurgents carried out a fresh and audacious attack, and were greeted with pacifist sermons from Aso Rock, they became emboldened. They never showed either by their utterances or actions that they were remotely interested in the pack of goods Jonathan was peddling. To have delayed action a day longer while innocent people were being indiscriminately executed would have been a more criminal act.

So much has been made of the brutal ways of the members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the conflict zone. The fact that these soldiers are fighting the bad guys does not make human rights violations and extra-judicial killings acceptable on their part. But then Nigeria has shown that it has the capacity to bring to justice members of the security forces who derail. That is evident in the trial of policemen fingered in the killing of the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf.

What is so disappointing in all of this is that thousands of Nigerians had to lose their lives before the president came to the conclusion that the country was at war. No war is every pretty: people will lose their heads and accidents will happen. Sometimes even your friends shoot at you. We should not be surprised therefore if there are more tales of JTF excesses. But that is not enough justification for the government to sit on its hands and do nothing.

Some have argued that if the January 2012 declaration of state of emergency in 15 local government councils failed, there was no reason to expect the latest exercise to be an improvement. I disagree. What Jonathan did at after the Christmas Day bombing at the Catholic Church in Madalla was to give emergency rule a bad name.

What was done was not only badly conceived, it was ill-timed and executed halfheartedly. The soldiers were so thin on the ground they were virtually invisible. It was no hard task for the insurgents to simply drift into surrounding local councils and states and carry on business as usual.

Anywhere in the world where an emergency proclamation is made the intent is to prevail and restore order; not just make an announcement in the vain hope that your tormentors will simply disappear because you made a speech. What Jonathan is doing now is what he should have done in January 2012: go against the insurgents with sufficient force to calm the situation and restore some semblance of order.

In the course of the week, some northern elders led by the increasingly vocal former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Ango Abdullahi, likened the emergency proclamation to a declaration of war on the region. They would rather the peace track being pushed by the amnesty committee had been maintained.

Unfortunately, while the said committee were roaming around like tourists, the insurgents never let up in their brutal killings. Should those atrocities have been left unchallenged because we are talking peace? If by the government’s action war has been declared on the region, should we take it then that what Boko Haram had been doing all this while was spreading peace and love?

Ultimately, we need to address the root causes of the insurgency in the North-East and rampant insecurity in other parts of the country. This is not just about poverty and unemployment, underlying the Boko Haram agitation is a battle for the right of some people to live and run their lives in a particular way.

They should not be denied that right. But by the same token they must be made to understand that no Nigerian can be browbeaten into accepting any religion or way of life by force. It can only be through a negotiated settlement. Until they understand that they cannot prevail by force of arms, I cast an unqualified vote for the ongoing crackdown.

May 19, 2013
New NFC boss saga: Confusion Na Wa!

APOLOGIES to Cinema Kpatakpata for borrowing the title of their award-winning film to illustrate the drama that has engulfed the Nigerian film Industry in the last few days over the appointment of a University lecturer as the new Managing Director of the Apex film agency, the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).

Not a Marine Engineer after all. He is also not Danjuma Dado, as many had speculated, But Danjuma Wurim Dadu, as we were later to find out. I sympathize with the two Danjumas who had earlier rushed to the Information Ministry, laying claims to the position. A movie on that scenario could make a good comic – a laughable drama on wishful thinking by the wrong Danjumas and on the other side, a careless government for not preempting the friction.

In accepting the ‘correct’ Danjuma, perhaps the film industry should take consolation in the fact that, George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars movies was just a race-car driver, who spent most of his high school years racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out at garages. There is also, James Cameron, who studied Physics and English, but did several jobs such as truck driving before his landmark successes as a film director, film producer, screenwriter and editor. What about Harrison Ford who was a carpenter, and Sylvester Stallone, who was a Lion cage cleaner?

Even then, some filmmakers have thought about the creativity endowed in human beings and didn’t rule out Danjuma completely. They had thought of the fact that he could have some knowledge of film. They had hoped that in a worst case scenario, he would have been an administrator or project coordinator somewhere with proven leadership and managerial qualities. But behold, the new Managing Director of NFC happened to be someone handpicked by divine favour; the kind of favour that religious people pray and fast for; asking God to give them unmerited blessings. Our Danjuma got it; just by earning a PhD and teaching at a University for about two years. And guess what, he teaches at the Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Design. There is no evidence that he has any professional affinity to film, except that on his facebook page, he seems to be a lover of music. Yes, music… Isn’t soundtrack a part of the substance of a movie?

Now that other aspirants have been beaten hands down, we can only hope and pray, that Oga Dadu will turn out to be that unassuming messiah that the film industry needs, irrespective of his inexplicable transition from ‘building’ profession to the art, business and politics of filmmaking. One of the prayer points must also be that God should make him a fast learner, a listening leader and charismatic person, who will be good at steering the ship of existing technocrats? After all, isn’t he supposed to be just an administrator?

However, this is a case of mixed reactions, and as it appears, only the man wearing the shoe knows where it pinches. If acclaimed moralists have got the powers, the word ‘selfishness’ could have been expunged from the dictionary, but if that were to be done, can it be undone from the human psyche? Are we all not selfish by nature, and is this not the reason that a pastor will profess ‘unmerited favours’ for his church members even when he knows that someone will be at the receiving end of that grace? Isn’t it true that one man’s smile is another man’s frown? Otherwise, why would someone work as a civil servant for about 20 or 25 years and at the peak of his career, a man who has worked elsewhere just for two years, in an unrelated profession, is brought to take his place in the name of political appointment?

But even at the Civil Service level, why should headship be a factor of turn-by-turn? Isn’t merit the reason that the private sector is competitive and progressive? Why must headship also be for the most senior? Couldn’t government get people in directorship position tested as potential administrators? Also, why leave people in acting capacity for so long, creating room for ‘ambition’ and so much inactiveness in the system. Just thinking… Thinking still, how much has the industry benefitted from the leadership of administrators who are knowledgeable in the art of film? Pushing their shortcomings aside, how much could they have achieved with so much politicking and bureaucracy in the system? So much confusion about who we are and what we want… even writing this piece is as imprecise as I would have loved it.

So much agitation to review the appointment of Dadu now, when the film industry could have jointly proposed people it trusts long before government made an independent choice. Why would government listen to such agitations now, when between the expiration of the tenure of the erstwhile administrator and now, they had individually lobbied themselves for this position? Why would government respect the views of the filmmakers now? So much confusion in the film industry, so much marking time without matching, but the show must go on!

May 18, 2013
Make emergency rule count

There are reasons why emergency rule declared in three Northern states is not a bad thing. On Tuesday, an unusually tough-talking President Goodluck Jonathan provided the grounds for troops to move into Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states and do everything within the law to rescue them from the grip of Boko Haram.

It is easy to understand why. For every single strategy adopted to stop the killings and keep the peace in the North has failed to produce result. Initial closing of the eyes and wishing the violence would not continue did not help. The President’s appeals that enough was enough, was not enough to impress the insurgents. Nor did the region-wide rounds made by National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. Occasional military clashes with members of the sect did not yield much fruit either. Even the arrest of several alleged members of the sect has not stemmed the blood flow in the land.

A peace offer named amnesty just about blew up in the President’s face as soon as he announced it, with the sect appearing to seize the initiative and declaring that it needed no forgiveness. Jonathan has gone on to constitute the amnesty committee anyway, but there is no evidence that dialogue is taking place or that members of Boko Haram are laying down their arms. They have increased in stature, in reach, in tactics and in courage. They have gone on from shooting or bombing street crowds to targeting public institutions and international organisations, even kidnapping. They also seem to be inspiring some local cult groups, a recent example being the killing of scores of policemen in Nasarawa State.

When the sect threatened back in 2011 that its fighters would “hunt down” Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda and his former counterpart in Gombe, Senator Danjuma Goje, the two gentlemen promptly begged. Yuguda apologised “for perceived injustices caused” the group. Goje “hereby tender my public apology to the organisation for any wrong done to it in the course of performing my duty as the then governor of Gombe Sate.”

You cannot blame the pair. It was wise considering the might of Boko Haram.

The Jonathan administration, having also appealed for peace, amnesty-wise, and was yet to get any promising response, seems to have resorted to emergency rule almost as a last-ditch effort but also because of the continuing killings and unending public criticism.

Emergency rule may do the trick but only if it is made to count. Already, the decision not to tamper with the democratic structures on the ground in the three states is a splendid idea. But the operation must be comprehensive, the methods and strategies clearly thought-out. The emergency rule must be comprehensive enough to achieve its aim, which is stopping the violence and restoring peace. Its methods and strategies must conform to accepted standards. The troops must be professional on duty, never losing sight of the conventions guiding their activities.

It is pertinent to recall the Baga massacre of last month. The killings and other atrocities in the community have left questions hanging over the military, with the international community keeping a keen eye on developments. Professionals deployed to keep the peace must not be accused or found guilty of criminal behaviour.

The entire military and law enforcement community must also ensure that while the emergency rule subsists, the violence they are trying to halt does not spread to other parts of the country. Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are clearly not the only stomping grounds of Boko Haram. They are also quite active in Kano and have caused no small havoc in Bauchi, Plateau and several other places. While the emergency beam focuses on the three focal states, will there also be enough attention on other areas presumed to be Boko Haram-free?

While the emergency rule lasts, will the Jonathan administration come to grips with the root causes of the insurgency and begin to fix them? It will be naive to simply say the enemies of the President are at work. Not everyone will like a president, any president, but when war is levied against a nation by some of its citizens, as the President himself conceded in his Tuesday broadcast, the finger of accusation should not merely point to political enemies. There are clear societal dislocations and inequities that should be addressed. There are terrorist vibrations in the South from where the President hails.

Hear the President: “It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and, most recently, Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states.”

The emergency rule should offer him the opportunity to reflect on the spread of violence in the country and stamp it out for good. Jonathan should make the military option in the three Northern states count for the whole country.

It may sound like a tall order but is that not why he is in government and in power?

May 18, 2013
The price and psychology of terrorism and survival

The man on record as saying – give me a place to stand and I will shake the world – is probably making a plea which may be mistaken for a bit of hysteria, but is still at best , a mere request. However the man interested in overturning the status quo by all means in other to press home his point is a different kettle of fish. This is the insurgent    or terrorist who is a man of violence and force, who regards death and mayhem as the hall mark of his world view and is not making a plea by any stretch of the imagination to anybody, except to force his view point down the throat of all stakeholders in his environment. In sharp contrast    however, the man fighting for survival values life and prays or dialogues with a view of a better tomorrow. Such a man is different again from the suicide bomber who is ready to die now for what he believes he or she has been denied prior to his killing himself, and taking all in the vicinity to his perceived world beyond, or his mortal destination. Indeed,    the man fighting for survival and even the rabidly violent insurgent   must keep away and keep doing so from the vicinity of the suicide bomber who does not believe in any tomorrow,   finally   and anymore.

Such is the scenario I am creating today in view of the latest news this week in Nigeria on which I admit to a touch of ambivalence, and on the global scene at large this week. The first is the Boko Haram video on global news showing that the terrorist organization has kidnapped children and women and is ready to get ransom on them   or use them as bargaining chips for the release of its members in government custody. The second is the presidential declaration of state of emergency in three states namely Borno, Adamawa and Yobe which have been scenes and states in which the Boko Haram   have had a field day in laying siege most violently and with impunity, on the territorial integrity of the Nigerian state in recent times.

In the world at large, from Liberia where the head of the presidential body guard threatened to come with guns after journalists critical of government, to Turkey’s Prime Minister’s frantic visit to the US on the Syrian crisis, to the election of Nawaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister in a volatile Islamic   democracy   like Pakistan; the issues involved revolve around survival, insurgency, terrorism and   the grim but dangerous battle to keep the ship of state on course by all means, as is now the main preoccupation of the embattled Nigerian government and president.

Let me go back to the earlier categorizations I   made and stress that the ‘man’ inherent in my assertions and definitions of the characters so identified namely terrorist, insurgent, survivalists and suicide bombers can refer to the opposite sex, institutions , states and governments. Starting with Liberia therefore it would appear that the presidential body guard boss spoke the mind of his boss, the president of Liberia because for days there was no recant or repudiation of his assertion from the presidency. He was reported to have told journalists that they are terrorists and that   though   they have their pens the security people have their guns and that they would come after journalists if they write anything that threatens the territorial integrity of Liberia. In protest, the Liberian media published blank front pages and sought audience with the Liberian president to no avail. Eventually the security boss issued a recant and said the media and security forces are indeed partners in progress in protecting the territorial integrity of Liberia but the damage had been done   and this is clear to deduce. This is because in keeping silent, the Liberian president unwittingly endorsed his aide’s undisguised and hostile warning to the press. That studied silence in a reverse situation between the state or presidency and the press can be sufficient for a security coup on which there could be a black out from the press. In tacitly approving an undemocratic gesture by the security chief President Sirleaf exposed herself to a   future or imminent security risk on which she may cry wolf later to survive,   without being taken seriously by the press she has treated with contempt and disdain through her trigger happy, gun totting security chief this last week. In threatening the press to survive albeit through her security chief, therefore, the Liberian president has unwittingly shot herself in the leg in terms of her future security and survival in the performance of her duty as president of Liberia.

The Turkish PM Erdogan’s visit to President Barak Obama in the US   was indeed a journey for help to survive in dangerous waters that relations between Turkey and Syria, Turkey’s northern neighbor have become in recent times. On a personal level, the relations between the two leaders can be likened to that between a suicide bomber and a survivalist. Really, Syria’s leader, Bashar Assad knows he is sinking in terms of rejection by his people and he is ready to bring down the house , this time the entire region in which Turkey is the real leader, down with him. Latest reports indicate that Assad’s forces are using chemical weapons and are bombing targets inside Turkey thus drawing Turkey into a war with Syria. But the Turkish PM has done so well for his nation economically and has won back to back three terms in elections and knows that war with Syria is unpopular with his countrymen. Also, in getting popular and getting more powerful Erdogan has been able to cage the army in Turkey and historically the army is the guardian of Turkey’s secular democracy which has taken a hiding   from Erdogan’s electoral successes . Erdogan’s problem is that his party is Islamist and Turks are wary that he is violating the nation’s founder’s laid down principle that the army , which Erdogan has boxed into a corner by trying its leaders for previous military coups, is the official guardian of Turkey’s secular democracy. That was what Kemal Ataturk the founder of modern Turkey handed down as the governing principle in Turkey. In effect then, the army is watching Erdogan in his cat and mouse survival game with the suicidal Assad of Syria and waiting to cash in, once there is any insurgency against the Turkish PM for his foray into Syria to support the Syrian rebels and for which he has gone to Washington to seek protection as a dutiful and committed democratic and still secular leader of Turkey.

The story of the re-election of former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif is a story of political survival in a difficult environment where religion and politics are the key catalysts for political power, control and   participation. Pakistan must be the only nation in the world where religious insurgents threaten democracy but are still not able to succeed in deterring Pakistanis from performing their civic duties of voting for their leaders of choice. Nawaz Sharif had alternated power as it were, as PM with the late Benazir Bhutto, in between coups that had sent either packing one time or the other.   The present scenario was even more interesting and symbolic in that former military ruler Parvez Musharaff who sent Sharif packing in a coup before, was around to contest the election but was denied participation in the electoral process by the judiciary . Interestingly during Musharaff’s military rule he invited the late Benazir Bhutto from exile to contest elections but did not invite Sharif who nevertheless came in a much publicized flight   from Britain, only for his flight to be diverted to Medina in Saudi Arabia after     Sharif had risked his life for the journey. Ironically,   Nawaz has survived the exile to be PM of   Pakistan today, while the man who denied him entry into Pakistan then,   former General Parvez Musharaff is facing charges for not providing sufficient security for Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated while campaigning in the election for which Nawaz was then denied entry into Pakistan. Also, most intriguing in Pakistan is that the present president, the late Benazir Bhutto’s husband knows that under Nawaz Sharif, whose party has sufficient majority to rule alone, his time in office is up or at best in great jeopardy, as president of Pakistan. This is because it was under the previous premier ship of the new PM that the president was jailed for money laundering; a charge that the highest   court in Pakistan has ordered should be executed by successive PMs of Pakistan who were members of his party, which has now lost power to Nawaz Sharif’s party, which is a very volatile development indeed.

On Nigeria, let me round up by commending the Nigerian president and government on the state of emergency declared in three states in the North East namely Adamawa , Borno and Yobe . For three reasons I say the commendation is well deserved. The first is that the president no matter how belated has shown that he is now in charge, as nature abhors a vacuum in fighting anything, including insurgency and terrorism. The second is that that the wolves in sheep clothing, which he admitted are around him, now know that the battle line is drawn and that they either play ball and support him or leave office before it is too late. The third is that by involving the army the president has given the institution a great   opportunity to prove its mettle as well as assert and display its loyalty and commitment to the Nigerian state and its fledgling democracy. Given the dire circumstances we have found ourselves through earlier vacillations and dithering in dealing with terrorists, insurgents and now police- killing cultists, the state of emergency is like a breath of fresh air and vibrant leadership, unlike the earlier putrid verbiage and vocabulary of negotiations   with, and amnesty for merciless insurgents and unrepentant terrorists. Taking the bull by the horn always seemed a strange strategy for this presidency in confronting those who threaten our nation’s territorial integrity and security with impunity till now One therefore hopes and prays that now that the cat is at home mice and terrorists would flee in whatever direction they wished, and allow peace to reign in our fatherland henceforth –   with our president fully and firmly in the saddle in pursuing their imminent rout and defeat. Amen

May 18, 2013
Where is Emmanuel?

A two-year relationship between a U.K-based Nigerian, Emmanuel, and a Caribbean lady which was supposed to end in marriage in June this year has ended abruptly with the whereabouts of the prospective groom unknown after a visit to the country. Lekan Otufodunrin reports

Initially it was supposed to be a case of a fiancée missing in transit. Rachael from a Caribbean Island whose Nigerian fiancée, one Emmanuel Adebanjo, travelled home to Nigeria from his United Kingdom base to see his mother suddenly became incommunicado.

The last time she heard from Emmanuel who she usually communicated with every day before his sudden disappearance was in February. All her attempts to contact Emmanuel who she was supposed to get married to in June this year after two years of courtship failed. “I had a phone number for which just rings without anyone responding,” she recalls.

Just when she began to panic about Emmanuel’s fate, she started getting messages from some “relatives” of her husband to be claiming that Emmanuel was involved in an accident a day after he arrived Nigeria and he was the sole survivor.

The “cousins” refused to give Rachael the name of the hospital where Emmanuel was being treated and other information to locate or speak with him because they said she was not yet known to the family. They claimed they were trying to raise money for Emmanuel’s treatment after selling some of his property and asked how Rachael was willing to assist them.

In an email to ST the cousins wrote: “Hello madam, you have to be patient until we can get back to you… We have not told his mother about what happened to Emmanuel because she will be so devastated with shock and only close family members are informed.

“We are making arrangement for him to be flown back to the UK, but the financial side of it is yet to be concluded. You have not visited Nigeria before, hence no member of the family knows nor ever seen you before. So we cannot release him to your care. Our hope lies on the fact that the moment he is able to get better, we will ensure he speak with you and he will decide if he will come direct to you or to the UK. Have a blessed week and God bless you. Kunle.”

Although she had reasons to suspect that the cousins may be scammers, she found it difficult to believe that Emmanuel could be part of the scheme.

“I know him well. He has nothing to gain by trying to scam me because he knows I am not a rich person”

In her search for information on Emmanuel’s whereabouts, Rachael reached out on the phone to someone he had introduced to her as an uncle in Nigeria. In their first telephone conversation, the uncle said he had not heard from Emmanuel for some time and was not aware if he was involved in any accident since he is not sure he was in Nigeria.

The only home address ST had for Emmanuel in Nigeria, was 41-43, Ashabi Cole, Agidingbi Road, Ikeja, Lagos which turned out not to be none existing. The street was none residential.

Much later when Rachael told the uncle she was going to hire a private investigator to fish out Emmanuel, he called the following day to say that Emmanuel was in the UK and had an accident, was not working, had no job and was embarrassed of his situation and could not face her.

With the hide and seek now over and Emmanuel still incommunicado, Rachael, family members and friends are shocked at the turn of events.

“This is a man who was coming back and forth to our country over a period of two years- something is still amiss to me here- while here he met my family, friends, boss, church priest, etc helped my children paint the house, and more- he was a very mild mannered, polite, calm, but always on the computer – I wonder if his resume was in fact legit- it was very long and detailed- should have had a job easily with that.

“Everyone of my friends are shocked, the men who met him tell me they are depressed because they all can’t believe it. It is not a regular thing for us here to run into this type of thing or people. All I can say that he is lucky my father is not alive. He had a lot of contacts. I am not sure if Emmanuel would have been able to hide from him,” Rechael said.

Rachael and Emmanuel had known each other through a Nigerian for about two years and he usually visits the Island from his UK base staying about a month each time.

According to Rachael, “when he came here it was not to do anything, but to get to know one another better- you cannot have a long distance relationship with someone unless someone goes to visit the other person often before taking it to the next step.

“I thought it better for him to come here around my people to check him out – and they all thought he was a great person – who knows – so when he came here we went to the beach swimming, concerts, movies, church, family get – together, he even went to my class to help me get ready for the beginning of the school year in September – I mean he just fit in with everyone.”

For now there has been no word from Emmanuel or his uncle and cousin.

“I have not heard a peep from anyone – but I can see someone coming and going off line on Yahoo Messenger, but they have not made any further contact and neither have I. It is almost as if he has dropped off the face of the earth- or so he wants me to think.”

The chain of events still seems like a bad dream for Rachael, but she is glad she didn’t get married to Emmanuel before finding out about his true identity.

“We live and learn – but suppose we had married? He would then have had access to much more than he would by this act, so I appreciate God spared me that. Always look for the silver lining in any situation,” Rachael said.

May 18, 2013
The fight against glaucoma

As the world ended observation of World Glaucoma Week in March, it was revealed that not less than 4.5 million Nigerians suffer from this incurable disease.

In his bid to address this challenge, the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation has contributed €150,000 to endow a professorship of glaucoma in the Department of Ophthalamology at the University of Mainz, Germany. This will help to support research on the early detection and treatment of glaucoma. The foundation has previously contributed more than €100,000 in an effort to find a cure for this most frequent cause of irreversible blindness. The foundation has also established a Nigerian Fellowship for Cataract Surgery and Glaucoma Management at the same university. Dr. Funmilola Ogun, consultant ophtalmologist and associate lecturer at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, has received training for her work in Nigeria through this initiative.

There is no cure for glaucoma yet, but innovative and unique treatments are being explored by Dr. Norbert Pfeiffer and his team at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Mainz, Germany.

By analysing tear fluid and blood samples, Dr. Pfeiffer has discovered that auto-antibodies found in patients can act as markers for detection of the disease. Even though glaucoma is not considered a classic autoimmune disease, these changes in antibody profiles might be used as a screening test. It is known that antibodies develop many years before the clinical onset of the disease, hence, autoantibody profiles have the potential to be powerful and highly specific markers to assist in the diagnosis of glaucoma.

This exciting discovery of improved biomarkers for detection may contribute to a better understanding of the genesis of glaucoma, and has the potential to open a new avenue that will radically change treatment options.

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a chronic neurodegenerative disease and the leading cause of blindness among Africans after cataracts. Intraocular pressure damages the optic nerve that transmits images to the brain, resulting in a gradual loss of vision. Initially there are no symptoms or pain and the disease can go unnoticed until the situation becomes critical. Without treatment glaucoma can cause blindness within a few years. Blindness from glaucoma is 6-8 times more common in Africans than Caucasians.

People of all ages can be affected by this disease. However, certain groups are at a higher risk of developing glaucoma than others:

•Individuals who have poor vision (short-sightedness)

•Diabetics

•Those who have a family history of glaucoma. Family history increases risk of glaucoma four to nine times.

•Less common causes include blunt or chemical injury to the eye, severe eye infection and blockage of blood vessels in the eye.

•Intake of cortizone

Glaucoma most often occurs in adults over age 40, but can also occur in young adults, children and even infants. Onset of the disease in Africa is common between the ages of 30-40 years, compared with 40-60 years old worldwide. Africans are six times more likely to develop glaucoma and ten times more likely to become blind; ten years earlier than Europeans.

How can glaucoma be prevented?

Diagnosis of the disease is difficult, with average detection currently at ten years after onset. The first sign of glaucoma is often the loss of peripheral vision which can go unnoticed until late in the disease. In some cases, intraocular pressure can rise to severe levels. In these cases, sudden eye pain, headache, blurred vision, or the appearance of halos around lights may occur.

Regular eye examinations are the best form of prevention against damage caused by glaucoma. A complete eye examination with an eye specialist every one or two years is key to protecting your vision. Getting informed and staying healthy is also necessary in managing glaucoma. It is important to see your eye doctor regularly so that glaucoma can be treated before long term visual loss occurs. If the condition is detected early enough, it is possible to arrest its development or slow the progression by medical and surgical means.

Remember! A burglar is on the prowl and he is right around the cornea. This “thief of sight” is neither heard nor seen, and can smash your precious window on the world. It is up to you to arrest glaucoma. Get tested!

•Farris is the Director General, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, Abuja

May 18, 2013
If not Jonathan, then who?

Some have labelled him a bread-and-butter rebel with a cause. Some say he is just a smart man who knows how best to feather his nest. Others call him an ethnic irredentist who has perfected the art of empty blabbering. But I believe Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo is too big to be crated into someone’s warped descriptive nuances. In our quick rush to hang him in the sun to dry for daring to insist that President Goodluck Jonathan must remain Nigeria’s leader post 2015, we tend to forget that this true son of Niger Delta was speaking under the influence of a spirited dose of presidential amnesty. And instead of showing him some respect for accepting the Federal Government’s plea to distance his crew from violence and oil bunkering by voluntarily abdicating his kingdom in the creeks, we are busy nudging the police to arrest him for threatening a spiral of violence should Jonathan be eased off a seat which should be his for eight years! Why should we?

And, in its usual atavistic way of looking at issues of national importance, the House of Representatives has compounded the problem by erroneously concluding that Asari-Dokubo’s patriotic rant of ‘it’s either Jonathan or no one else’ is “capable of creating disunity and disaffection among the good people of Nigeria.” As for the lawmaker who raised the issue on the floor of the House as a matter of urgent national discourse, Ali Sani Madaki (Kano), I doubt if he read through the reasons adduced for a continuation of the Jonathan presidency before crying blue murder. If he had taken out time to dissect Asari-Dokubo’s unimpeachable logic, he would by now be pushing for the conferment of the highest honours in the land not only on the former ex-militant but also on other well-meaning Nigerians who daily canvas for the extension of the fresh breath of air we currently enjoy.

Like they say in my profession, facts are sacred and comments are free. Luckily for us, neither Asari-Dokubo nor the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, can be accused of not dwelling on the facts on the table before declaring a no vacancy in Aso Rock until 2019. So, what are these facts? I’ll simplify them. First, that Jonathan is constitutionally guaranteed two terms of four-year tenure. Second, that he is from the Niger Delta, which produces Nigeria’s main revenue—oil. Third, that, with amnesty, the restiveness in the Niger Delta has abated with huge impact on crude exploration. And, most importantly, there is a sense in the insistence by the ex-warlord that “monkey no fine, but him mama like am”. Call it an apt description of the basest form of political skulduggery, it really doesn’t matter for as long this kinsman to many ‘generals’ is on the throne. He is simply the best!

Besides, these guys are not asking for too much. They are, in my humble opinion, appealing to our sense of equity, justice and fairness. They say since we have voted massively for Jonathan to be in government, we should have the presence of mind to allow him to be in power for just another four years. After all , didn’t we allow Obasanjo his eight years of deferred dreams? Would we not have tolerated an Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for eight years if he had not died in office? Would it have mattered if the country had been divided down the middle? So, why should anyone deny Jonathan the right to live in Aso Rock just because some debased minds are killing and maiming

in some parts of the country? Would it not be better to live with the activities of these insurgents than allow the kind of ‘war’ being threatened by Asari-Dokubo and the likes?

In any case, it is not as if those cavorting for a Jonathan presidency beyond 2015 are solely doing so on the basis of where he comes from. No. They are equally posturing with his unprecedented achievements in the last two years. They said he has been working silently to transform all sectors of the economy even if majority of us have opted to close our eyes to those things. Well, as they say, that one ‘na your toro!’ As far as Asari-Dokubo is concerned, that can only be the jabbering of “greedy politicians.” The common Nigerian from Otuoke in Bayelsa to Baga in Borno knows that a working machine has taken over Aso Rock and he is breaking new horizons in classical over-achievement.

Listen to Asari-Dokubo: “The (Nigerian) story has changed. I made five hours from Benin to Lagos by road (by the way, it used to be three hours when I did my youth service corps in that ancient town in 1990). Electricity supply is relatively constant now than what it was before Jonathan came in as President. The Abuja-Lokoja Road that was neglected is almost completed and several other roads across the country. People have started using the rail system again. This shows that Jonathan is silently moving the country at the direction to satisfy these people, while we from the Niger Delta are not being satisfied. Before now, we have had university lecturers going on strike for over six months, people go to universities to study courses of four or five years, but end up staying five and six years because the lecturers were always going on strike, but that is not the case as at today because the government is handling the issue. Even at that, this is the most maligned government because some people think, and they have been made to believe that they are born to rule, and so many people who are very timid to challenge them have accepted it.”

And did he have to say about the call for his arrest? He fired: “I am saying it bold and clear without mincing words, that the consequences of my arrest, Nigeria will be history.

The last time Obasanjo arrested me, my arrest reduced Nigeria oil production to 700,000 barrels per day. This time, it will reduce it to zero barrel and we will match violence by violence, intrigues by intrigues. We are ready for them.

Goodluck Jonathan will complete his tenure of two terms whether they like it or not; for us, they don’t even exist because we pay them; he who pays the piper decides the tune.

And then…Kingsley Kuku: “People have created negative tendencies just to create the belief that President Jonathan cannot govern Nigeria. I did not say that Jonathan should be elected, by hook or crook, as President in 2015 otherwise there will be violence in the Niger Delta. I said for the peace process not to degenerate and collapse, President Jonathan should be allowed to implement the amnesty package. Nigeria will never be ungovernable. Nigeria will be governable under President Jonathan and he is already stemming the tide of restiveness.” Awww!

How more logical can anyone be on this matter? Those who say the Jonathan train should be stopped because Nigeria is tottering on the brink of anarchy miss the point. It is not really important whether he has the capacity to rein in the terror that has assailed the nation. It matters not whether he is slow and sadly effete at tackling the ills that continue to plague the society. This debate is not about how guns echo sorrowful lullabies and ignite teardrops in our homes. It is about the politics of leadership in a nation that is forever perched on a plateau of non-populist leaders’ delusion of grandeur. It is not even about war and peace. Instead, it is about something more pedestrian than the lure of the stomach which has propelled many to think through their buttocks—what the National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Adewole Adeyanju, tagged “turn by turn Nigeria Limited.”

Being a man of figures, Adeyanju simplified all the fiery ranting of Asari-Dokubo thus: “PDP has leaders and we know them. Today, our leader is the President and Commander of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonatha n. This man is from the South-South. The best thing to do for Nigeria to sustain peace is to make Nigeria turn by turn Nigeria Limited. That’s why we can talk two terms. South-South is there now and we should just allow them to do two terms and that is how Nigeria can survive.”

And so, neither cluelessness nor outright incompetence can stop the moving train in this asphyxiating environment of government by the whim! If not Jonathan, who else can help sustain this uncommon transformation – the motions without movement in our land and the unequalled peace of the graveyard that now pervade the land? Who else but Jonathan?

May 18, 2013
State of emergency to slate the insurgency

So after much deliberation and rigmarole, after much dissent by leading sec tors of Nigerians, after the massacres and nauseating murders of men, women and children, the government has finally declared a state of emergency in three states. The unexpected declaration of the state of emergency to deal with the high rate of violence and spate of deadly attacks by militant groups has taken many by surprise. Yesterday evening, 14th May 2013, President Jonathan delivered an address in which he gave the military powers to take over security in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. This step, which affects a broad range of civil rights, has already triggered widespread debate about the implications of the government’s latest strategy, from the opposition, to religious groups, civil society and even the governor’s forum.

The state of emergency requires a presidential proclamation under conditions specified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended under the provisions of Section 305 (1). It gives the authorities special temporary legal powers to arrest and search citizens without a warrant. It also imposes a curfew on the specified states, restricting residents to their homes between the times of a curfew. Other emergency powers regulations affect ‘habeas corpus’ and citizens’ rights to freedom of movement, assembly, association, speech, and privacy.

Over the past two years, the rate of violence in several states has increased dramatically, fueled by the rise of militancy, extremism and the widespread availability of illegal weapons. Successive clamp down by authorities, an apparent trigger-happy task force, mismanaged deliverance of information on behalf of the government and a leadership that seems totally confused and not in control have had the utmost regressive effect, almost to the point of providing sympathy and understanding for the plight of the insurgents. In recent weeks, the country has been horrified by the series of violent murders. The situation became a lot worse, with the massacres in Baga and Bama town. Announcing the state of emergency, President Jonathan said, “The country is facing, not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity”.

While I am often at variance with the utterances and policies of President Jonathan, it is not so difficult for me to understand why the president felt the need to take such an aggressive reaction, especially along his reasoning that no terrorist group, religious or tribal has a right to pose a threat to national unity and territorial integrity. Not Boko Haram or tramps and vagrants like Asari Dokubo or any other ignorant yobs who fancies themselves as the new Scarface and who happen to all be the same kind of bigoted criminals disguised in different garbs. The country cannot go to war because of some criminal elements have been threatening to overrun the Nigerian state under the guise of religious extremism, resource control, militancy or insurgency.

If reports that over a dozen local government areas in Borno State have been taken over by insurgents are true, if reports that in those local governments there is no semblance of authority are factual, then a state of emergency in those hotspots was absolutely and unquestionably necessary. Why should a whole nation be held to ransom by plundering and rancorous groups of brutes bent on creating havoc on a society, no matter how candid their grievance or cause? Why should a group of people organize themselves in guerrilla warfare and carry out the kind of offensive that is claiming the lives of innocent men, women and children? For goodness sake, when did our society sink to the depths of darkness we are in now; where we are forced to discuss the destruction of people’s lives and death of fellow human beings in such a blasé manner? That is what we have been reduced to. Every single morning, the minute one listens to the news or reads a paper, the first thing one is confronted with is stories of death, destruction and murder. I mean it is just so absolutely unbelievable for us to wake up every morning with news of the kind of senseless violence we have been witnessing. It is simply unacceptable. As a civilized society which has evolved from the dark ages, our current situation has got to be intolerable by every standard, even for those criminal Nigerians who are hell-bent on declaring a ridiculously, unnecessary and unfair war against innocent Nigerians.

It may be easy enough for those of us who are not directly affected by the violence to sit and judge this draconian declaration by the government, but even those of us that have not been directly affected by the violence and unwarranted massacres in the affected states have been shaken to the core by it and shudder at its domino effect. The situation of the murders and total disregard for human life has reached epic proportions; proportions which call for the authorities to respond in the most decisive manner possible.

There is no doubt that this measure which the government has taken will have an impact on the daily lives of innocent, law-abiding citizens in these areas and provide inconveniences for them. It will limit people’s movements and give the regiment powers to arrest; it will even infringe on the fundamental rights and freedoms of the citizens, but, unless someone in authority takes the bull by the horn and affects this kind of stringent system, the situation in those areas will not be brought under control and it will come to a point when the violence cannot be contained. Those affected by the state of emergency should look at the bigger picture and recognize the need to protect them and bring the current violence surge affecting them under control. Many people have lost their loved ones to unnecessary violence in the past three years and unless something is done to restore normalcy in those areas, it will likely get worse.

Of course, there are other manners of dialogue and solutions that need to be adopted in order to bring this impasse totally under control; solutions that focus on long-term results to the problem and the fundamental issues that gave birth to the crisis itself has to be tackled. A state of emergency has a time-limit and therefore has a short-term effect and short term gain.

Therefore, in addition to placing the state of emergency, the government must immediately sit down and identify what is driving this upsurge of violence in these respective areas and address the best way to bring an end to it, otherwise when the emergency is eventually lifted, it will be ‘violence’ business as usual.

To show sincerity in its wish to end the violence, the government should immediately make an undertaking to release the innocent women and children that have been detained without cause in the quest to clampdown on the guerrillas. Government should further undertake to rebuild and relinquish the Mosques and properties that belonged to the Jam’a Ahl al-sunnah li-da’wa wa al-jihd movement before the Borno state government under the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff launched its offensive against them, before the murder of their leader Imam Mohammed Yusuf. And most importantly, the on-going trial of the security operatives who murdered Imam Mohammed Yusuf and Alhaji Buji Foi should be intensified, together with the arrest and prosecution of the government officials who allegedly ordered their execution. Those actions would show the sincerity and commitment of government to tackle the root of this problem and bring it to an end.

Now that the presidency has expressed determination to root out the insurgents in the affected areas, the good people of those states should endeavor to cooperate with the authorities in order to bring an end to the horror that surrounds them every day. To restore law and order to the states, people should be able to give accurate and dependable information as well as advice to all seekers of peace. It is expected that if the society as a whole resolves to end the crisis today, there will be no more killing or kidnapping of our people tomorrow. If the communities do not provide a safe haven for those who are out to disrupt peace, there will be no place for any criminals to hide. Our brothers that have turned renegades should also be persuaded to embrace peace and end the killings of innocent people.

The security officials deployed in the three states ought to understand that democracy is still in place in Nigeria as a whole and even though a state of emergency has been declared in those states, we are still a democracy and overzealousness of any kind should by no means be exercised or tolerated. The authorities themselves cannot use lawlessness to fight lawlessness because violence begets and encourages more violence.

One prays that we will soon see an end to the violence and hopes that the government, in enacting this state of emergency can tackle the mayhem in the troubled areas in the most responsible manner and be committed to placing every resource at their disposal towards winning this war in a way that is in the best interest of the collective.

The current rate of violence dictated for more to be done and stronger action to be employed. The situation, especially in Borno State, could not have been expected to continue the way it was going without a response commensurate with the wanton acts of violence and lawlessness; it is a response that is necessary to halt the current spike in the hostile activity of insurgents in the shortest possible time. Desperate acts require desperate measures.

So, even though the method is not ideal under our democracy, I can appreciate the current declaration of government to be more than a panic response. I do not see it through the lens of opposition, creed or tribe; I see it simply as a “state of emergency to slate the insurgency.”

May 18, 2013