The trade of allegations between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) that the sponsors of that menacingreligious insurgency in the north-eastern part of Nigeria are members of the opposing political party has been hijacked. While the PDP has to a large extent successfully cast the APC, as populated by religious extremists who are sympathetic to the Boko Haram cause, especially within a swath of their Christian sympathizers; the APC have in recent times sought to debunk that insidious allegation, while tamely casting that aspersion back on their opponent, particularly their agent, the former Governor of Bornu state, Ali Modu Sheriff who is now back to the PDP, after an unsuccessful stint at unsettling the fledgling APC.
To add kerosene to the stoking fire, one Mr. Stephen Davis a shadowy Australian, recently promoted in the media as a federal government negotiator with the Boko Haram over the abducted Chibok girls, has rehashed the old tale against Ali Modu Sherriff and added a new twist, by linking the former Chief of Army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika to the alleged list of sponsors. Mr. Davis strangely refused to name the other alleged top Central Bank official and the other sponsors of the group, on the rather ridiculous claim that it will affect the police investigation of the bombing in Kubwa, Abuja. Let me say right away that General Azubuike has my sympathy over the second attempt by what appears to be very powerful forces to rubbish the record of his public career. The first attempt was the threat by the so called Bornu elders to have him charged before the International Criminal Court, Hague, for alleged war crimes, during his tour of duty as the then Chief of Army staff.
Unfortunately the Bornu elders instead of calling on the armed forces, to prosecute the war against Boko Haram with diligence to safeguard the rights and safety of their people, rather decided to personalize their position against General Ihejirika, which immediately staked ethnic bias over their claim. Now again, Mr. Stephen Davis acting as if he has been hired by the detractors of the General, has fired an unreasonable and unsubstantiated salvo against the retired General. To make their unbelievable allegations, substantially worthless, the Australian reportedly claimed that he got the information from leaders of the same Boko Haram that General Ihejirika as army commander was famed to have worsted mercilessly. Here again like the case by the Bornu elders, General Ihejirika is singled out as an individual that is capable of sponsoring the insurgents, even when he was seen as personally being too high handed in dealing with that national menace, as the head of he army.
In sympathising with the retired General Ihejirika for what is likely an invidious libel against his person, it needs to be noted that the old Australian in seeking fame from the Nigerian debacle, relied on the wily tactics of the lazy Nigerian elite. When the PDP’s garrulous propagandists willfully tagged General Muhammadu Buhari because of his obvious piousness as an extremist and sympathizer of the Boko Haram, they were foolishly applying a dangerous and lazy antidote to a ranging national crisis. So while they may have gained an undue political advantage from that unsubstantiated claim, they succeeded in laying a dangerous precedent which any other crooked person can emulate to gain attention.
With respect to the allegations against the former Bornu state governor, he remains a prime suspect of being responsible for organizing and funding the politico-religious pressure group, which metamorphosed into the Boko Haram insurgency. The attempt by Mr. Steven Davis to claim any credit for that stale allegation is therefore of no moment. Interestingly Mr. Davis was represented in the press as an expert negotiator, whose services have been retained by the federal government to secure the release of the Chibok girls, who have been in the custody of the Boko Haram criminals since April 15. How he transformed into a secret service investigator in the course of his job is a matter for conjecture. Surprisingly, the federal government which all the while allowed the common believe that they employed the Australian to deal with the Boko Haram crisis to fester, has now denied ever employing his services.
If the Australian journeyman wants to be taken seriously, he should provide the evidence of the alleged sponsorship by General Ihejirika. If his only evidence is the allegations allegedly made by the commanders of the Boko Haram insurgency, then he should get ready to pay heavily to stem a libel suit by General Ihejirika, even if Alhaji Sheriff may be daunted by the existing prejudices against his innocence. As General Ihejirika rightly said in the interview he granted the press, “If this accusation was made in a country like US or Uk, it would not be discussed for one hour because they would wave it aside”. Indeed I doubt if the Australian would have made such damning allegation against a General of any serious country in Africa talk less of the leading countries of the world. The wily fellow knows he is dealing with Nigeria, with a strong reputation for the frivolous, unfounded and unfathomable.
In fairness to the Australian, he is filling the vacuum created by our challenged intelligence and security agencies. If they had been able to contain the Boko Haram menace as we all patriotically hoped, the old man would have found better things to do with his time. But because we have become incapable of helping ourselves, all manner of people have turned our advisers and helpers. The lesson from this Janjaweed allegation is that it is dangerous to throw up sand in the market, for you never know who would bear the dirt.
The trade of allegations between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) that the sponsors of that menacingreligious insurgency in the north-eastern part of Nigeria are members of the opposing political party has been hijacked. While the PDP has to a large extent successfully cast the APC, as populated by religious extremists who are sympathetic to the Boko Haram cause, especially within a swath of their Christian sympathizers; the APC have in recent times sought to debunk that insidious allegation, while tamely casting that aspersion back on their opponent, particularly their agent, the former Governor of Bornu state, Ali Modu Sheriff who is now back to the PDP, after an unsuccessful stint at unsettling the fledgling APC.
To add kerosene to the stoking fire, one Mr. Stephen Davis a shadowy Australian, recently promoted in the media as a federal government negotiator with the Boko Haram over the abducted Chibok girls, has rehashed the old tale against Ali Modu Sherriff and added a new twist, by linking the former Chief of Army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika to the alleged list of sponsors. Mr. Davis strangely refused to name the other alleged top Central Bank official and the other sponsors of the group, on the rather ridiculous claim that it will affect the police investigation of the bombing in Kubwa, Abuja. Let me say right away that General Azubuike has my sympathy over the second attempt by what appears to be very powerful forces to rubbish the record of his public career. The first attempt was the threat by the so called Bornu elders to have him charged before the International Criminal Court, Hague, for alleged war crimes, during his tour of duty as the then Chief of Army staff.
Unfortunately the Bornu elders instead of calling on the armed forces, to prosecute the war against Boko Haram with diligence to safeguard the rights and safety of their people, rather decided to personalize their position against General Ihejirika, which immediately staked ethnic bias over their claim. Now again, Mr. Stephen Davis acting as if he has been hired by the detractors of the General, has fired an unreasonable and unsubstantiated salvo against the retired General. To make their unbelievable allegations, substantially worthless, the Australian reportedly claimed that he got the information from leaders of the same Boko Haram that General Ihejirika as army commander was famed to have worsted mercilessly. Here again like the case by the Bornu elders, General Ihejirika is singled out as an individual that is capable of sponsoring the insurgents, even when he was seen as personally being too high handed in dealing with that national menace, as the head of he army.
In sympathising with the retired General Ihejirika for what is likely an invidious libel against his person, it needs to be noted that the old Australian in seeking fame from the Nigerian debacle, relied on the wily tactics of the lazy Nigerian elite. When the PDP’s garrulous propagandists willfully tagged General Muhammadu Buhari because of his obvious piousness as an extremist and sympathizer of the Boko Haram, they were foolishly applying a dangerous and lazy antidote to a ranging national crisis. So while they may have gained an undue political advantage from that unsubstantiated claim, they succeeded in laying a dangerous precedent which any other crooked person can emulate to gain attention.
With respect to the allegations against the former Bornu state governor, he remains a prime suspect of being responsible for organizing and funding the politico-religious pressure group, which metamorphosed into the Boko Haram insurgency. The attempt by Mr. Steven Davis to claim any credit for that stale allegation is therefore of no moment. Interestingly Mr. Davis was represented in the press as an expert negotiator, whose services have been retained by the federal government to secure the release of the Chibok girls, who have been in the custody of the Boko Haram criminals since April 15. How he transformed into a secret service investigator in the course of his job is a matter for conjecture. Surprisingly, the federal government which all the while allowed the common believe that they employed the Australian to deal with the Boko Haram crisis to fester, has now denied ever employing his services.
If the Australian journeyman wants to be taken seriously, he should provide the evidence of the alleged sponsorship by General Ihejirika. If his only evidence is the allegations allegedly made by the commanders of the Boko Haram insurgency, then he should get ready to pay heavily to stem a libel suit by General Ihejirika, even if Alhaji Sheriff may be daunted by the existing prejudices against his innocence. As General Ihejirika rightly said in the interview he granted the press, “If this accusation was made in a country like US or Uk, it would not be discussed for one hour because they would wave it aside”. Indeed I doubt if the Australian would have made such damning allegation against a General of any serious country in Africa talk less of the leading countries of the world. The wily fellow knows he is dealing with Nigeria, with a strong reputation for the frivolous, unfounded and unfathomable.
In fairness to the Australian, he is filling the vacuum created by our challenged intelligence and security agencies. If they had been able to contain the Boko Haram menace as we all patriotically hoped, the old man would have found better things to do with his time. But because we have become incapable of helping ourselves, all manner of people have turned our advisers and helpers. The lesson from this Janjaweed allegation is that it is dangerous to throw up sand in the market, for you never know who would bear the dirt.
