The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Gunmen kill 10 in Gombe

    At least 10 people were feared dead when unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members invaded Nafada, headquarters of Nafada local government area of Gombe State on Tuesday.

    An eyewitness said the invaders stormed the town with about 50 motorbikes at about noon.

    He said they came in from Yobe State through Gombe – Potiskum road and opened fire on the unsuspecting soldiers at the check-point in the town’s gateway.

    “In Nafada, they went straight to the police station and opened fire on it. From there, they went to the Peoples Democratic Party Secretariat and the local government secretariat and opened fire on each of the places,” he said.

    He said the assailants then proceeded to the residence of Sheikh Adamu Misira, killed him and 10 others in the process.

    The eyewitness said he could not ascertain how many security agents were killed at the check point, adding that one of them called him on phone to say he managed to escape unhurt.

    “I cannot tell how any soldiers died, but one of them spoke to me on phone, saying he escaped but did not comment on the number of casualities,” he added.

     

  • Why govt fell for ‘ceasefire’, by official

    Why govt fell for ‘ceasefire’, by official

    It was widely celebrated by excited government officials as the magic pill that will end the Boko Haram insurgency and bring back the over 200 abducted girls.

    But the “ceasefire” between the Federal Government and the deadly sect has turned out a huge scam.

    The girls are not back and Boko Haram continues its killing spree.

    A government official yesterday gave an insight into how the government “fell” for the “phantom ceasfire”.

    The Federal Government accepted the ‘ceasefire’ because of the involvement of Chadian President, Idris Derby with the tacit support of the United States and France, the official told The Nation yesterday.

    President Goodluck Jonathan and top security chiefs will today brief the Council of State on the new approach to confront the insurgents.

    Now the government has realised that it was “hasty” in announcing the ceasefire negotiations.

    According to the source, who pleaded not to be named because he is not allowed to talk to the media, the President last Tuesday agreed with National Security Council members that the insurgents holding the Northeast to ransom be confronted headlong.

    The source said the President will brief the Council of State today – in line with the Third Schedule Part 1, Section 6(b) of the 1999 Constitution.

    The Section says: “The Council of State shall have power to advise the President whenever requested to do so on the maintenance of public order within the Federation or any part thereof and on such matters as the President may direct.”

    The source said: “At the security council meeting last Tuesday, the President said the military should resume the offensive to clear the insurgents from all the towns and villages they had been attacking.

    “We do not have the luxury of time; we have reached a point that we have to resume the offensive. We may have to use force to mow down everything. We do not have the luxury of time.

    “I know we can win the battle against the insurgents. We will reach a point where we have to draw the line because we are not supported by anybody.

    “So far, I can confidently tell you that up to Madagali in Adamawa State was cleared as at weekend.”

    Pressed to clarify, the source said: “This directive will not amount to a violation of ceasefire because those we are negotiating have even described those killing our people in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe as ‘criminal elements.’

    The source also gave on insight into how the Federal Government got entangled in the “bogus ceasefire” which the leader of Jama’atul Ahlul Sunnah Lida’awati Wal Jahad, Imam Abubakar Shekau disowned on Friday in a video.

    The source said: “You know the government said it would explore all venues (including negotiation) to bring the insurgency to an end and ensure the return of the abducted Chibok school girls.

    “The genesis of the negotiation in Chad was that Boko Haram wrote two letters to Chadian President Idris Derby for ceasefire negotiation. On the basis of the offer, President Goodluck Jonathan went to Chad. That was the only reason he went.

    “We were interested in the peace offer; we could not second guess whether it would work or not because this is the first time a foreign Head of State will be involved in such.

    “We did not subject the ceasefire offer to scrutiny because of the involvement of President Derby. The Chadian President spoke with the Nigerian Government, he also spoke with the United States which also sought some clarifications from its Embassy in Nigeria.

    “If the ceasefire negotiation process was not credible, the Americans would have told us that it was not so.

    “You will recall that at a point, President Barack Obama asked both sides to respect the ceasefire. What was on everybody’s mind was to secure the release of the Chibok girls.”

    The source added: “The mistake we made was to announce the ceasefire before we completed the process. But with a foreign President and other nations involved, it was difficult to fault it. If we had rejected the ceasefire offer from Chad, the same powers will say we were not interested in the release of the Chibok girls.

    “The ceasefire appears bogus but we are not losing hope. There are issues around Ahmadu Danladi coordinating the ceasefire in Chad.

    “First, there was no communication intercept between him and the sect leaders. Secondly, he referred to them as Boko Haram instead of Jama’atul Ahlul Sunnah Lida’awati Wal Jahad; and thirdly he called Shekau by name instead of referring to him as Imam. He probably did not have any serious link with the sect.”

    Asked of the status of the ceasefire, the source simply said: “Supposedly ongoing with Chadian officials.”

    The source, however, said it was not the first time some volunteers would approach the government on how to address the insurgency and secure the release of the Chibok girls.

    The source added: “Just last week, a governor brought somebody who can help free the girls. They said we should go and meet somewhere for the sect to bring the Chibok girls.

    “The offers come differently but this is the first one that involved a foreign Head of State.”

  • FG unprepared for insurgency – Presidency

    FG unprepared for insurgency – Presidency

    The Federal Government was totally unprepared for the insurgency that has ravaged the northern part of Nigeria, the Presidency has said.

    Speaking at the public forum on the impact of Jonathan’s administration on Tuesday in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said those that were bent on rating the present government based on the worsening insurgency in Nigeria were wrong.

    He said: “Somebody wants us to believe that the only testimony of performance of this administration is insecurity, (but) that’s not true. This government was totally unprepared for the insurgency.

    “Nobody planned for insurgency. And yet insurgency is a serious problem on its own to contain. America with all their power and resources were in Iraq for up to about five or six years with over 400,000 soldiers put on ground and yet see Iraq the way it is today.”

    He noted that it was a national misfortune that the Chibok girls were still held captive by the terrorists, and stressed that the cease fire agreement between the federal government and Boko Haram was at the instance of the sect.

    “Yes a cease fire was announced and it was at the instance of the insurgents. What the President has demonstrated today is that he said that all options are on the table. So when the insurgents call for talk, how can anybody blame the government for that? If it doesn’t work out, that is not the fault of the government. That is actually the nature of the insurgents. Because they are factionalized, their line of command is not clearly defined.

    “So this government’s capability and performance cannot solely be represented on the outcome of the insurgency in Nigeria. There is agriculture, education, infrastructure, health, social development and many other component parts,” he said.

    Okupe further argued that Nigeria had three tiers of government and Nigerians should start demanding for the dividends of democracy from their respective state and local governments.

    “There are three tiers of government – federal, state and local. The federal government only takes 48.5 per cent of the total revenue for the country. The other 48.5 per cent is taken by the states and all the local governments put together.

    “But everybody puts their eyes on only that of the federal government and that is wrong. It is right to put their eyes on the federal government, but it is wrong to put their eyes only on the federal government because the share of the money for development and administration is equal. And out of the federal government’s share, about 15 per cent goes to foreign affairs and military, which the states do not bear at all,” he added.

     

     

     

  • APC urges probe of Fed Govt, Boko Haram ceasefire deal

    APC urges probe of Fed Govt, Boko Haram ceasefire deal

    All Progressives Congress (APC) has canvassed the need for an independent probe of the circumstances surrounding the alleged “fake ceasefire deal” announced by the Federal Government on October 17.

    The party’s call came after the sect’s leadership’s labelled the man with whom the deal was negotiated as an impostor.

    APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement in Lagos yesterday, said Nigerians would like to know how the President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration “got swindled by an impostor, who the major players were and what the government plans to do to address what has now become a monumental national and international embarrassment.”

    The party said the president owed the citizens an explanation on “an unprecedented global faux pas”, adding that “engaging in cheap damage control by insisting on the genuineness of the deal will only amount to taking Nigerians for a ride’’.

    APC said the saddest part of the deal was that it gave false hopes to the parents of the 218 school girls, who remain in Boko Haram’s captivity, that their children’s release was imminent, especially as the government even announced a specific date for the release of the girls.

    The party added: ‘’Now, the parents and indeed all Nigerians have been victimised for the umpteenth time by the same government that has failed in its main reason for existence – the security and welfare of the citizenry.’’

    It also recalled its earlier warning to the administration not to use the girls as pawns on its political chess board.

    The APC wondered “whether the government sought to buy time and gain political mileage by knowingly negotiating with a man, who has no authority to do so on behalf of the Boko Haram, as claimed by the sect’s leadership, in which case the government will be guilty of political fraud”.

    It also queried whether the government was not competent enough to know who to negotiate with, saying the development reinforced  “the perception” of the government “as being blatantly incompetent”.

    The statement also reads: ‘’The ceasefire deal with Boko Haram was announced at the highest level of the military and supported by the political authority on October 17. Now that it has been described as a fluke, there is every indication that the Jonathan Administration was swindled by someone masquerading as a Boko Haram negotiator, while the administration itself went ahead to fool Nigerians as well as the international community. Whatever happens, the sole responsibility falls on the administration.

    ‘’Following the gleeful announcement of the deal and despite the doubts surrounding it, our party deliberately refrained from commenting on it and even wished it was real so that our long-suffering people can get some respite from the devilish terror group that has dispatched thousands into their early graves, maimed even many more and ruined the economic and social life of a large chunk of the society.

    ‘’When Boko Haram continued to carry out deadly attacks and annex territories, despite the so-called ceasefire, we waited for the government to tell Nigerians what was happening, but there was no convincing explanation. When the date announced for the release of the girls passed, we waited for the government to tell Nigerians what the problem was, but all we got from the easily excitable and trifling presidential spokesmen was platitude

    ‘’Now that the deal is said to be a fluke and everything points to that, the Jonathan administration must be contrite enough to own up to its gaffe, if indeed it is one, or its contrived deceit, and also face the possible consequences from a stupefied citizenry. It cannot and must not just be another forgotten instance in a series of gaffes by a serial bumbling government’’.

  • ‘Boko Haram hijacked to achieve Nigeria’s break-up’

    ‘Boko Haram hijacked to achieve Nigeria’s break-up’

    The founder and President of the Divine Ministry for Inter-Religious Harmony (DMIRH), Prophet David Folorunsho Oyekan, has claimed that the Boko Haram insurgent group known in the public domain was not the original group that was formed in Borno in 2009 by the late Mohammed Yusuf.

    Oyekan, in a statement, titled: “A final spiritual submission of divine demand of God Almighty to the Nigeria”, said the new Boko Haram group came about because some Nigerians being used by “the darkness” wanted to achieve the prediction of the breakup of the nation.

    His words: “Minions of darkness hijacked the Boko Haram group of the late Mohammed Yusuf. Their intention is to thwart the peace that was ushered into the country with the signing of the agreement with the Niger Delta militants. They capitalised on the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan.”

    The founder of the spiritual non-governmental organisation said God has a purpose and plan for Nigeria and that the grand design of the Creator must be achieved.

    God, according to Oyekan, had a hand in the amalgamation of Nigeria and was not happy with the acts of disunity in the country.

  • Beyond the ceasefire deal with Boko Haram

    The world would have received the news of the truce signed between the federal government and the Boko Haram insurgents with cautious elation.  This certainly would bring a new lease of life especially to residents of the North-east, the area hardest hit by the activities of the blood thirsty sect.   The group had dislocated the normal life of the entire north-eastern Nigeria turning it into a killing field for the past five years.  The mindless butchery by the group gave it global headlines and made some western countries to call for the designation of the group as a terrorist organization.   However, the federal government in its wisdom resisted such branding at the time giving as reason that it would make every Nigerian be labelled and singled out for unnecessary security checks outside the country.  Now the spectre of the group has grown beyond what the government could blunt or degrade as they have already claimed territories and hoisted their jihadist flags collecting revenues from the locals.

    The Boko Haram has been portrayed to be better armed and equipped over and above the scale of equipment holding of the Nigerian Armed Forces. We have found this a justification for the failure and inability of the armed forces to contain the miscreants who fought with greater conviction and commitment.   How they acquired their weapons and brought them into the country with the ubiquitous security networks across the nooks and crannies of the country beats one’s imagination.  Footages of the arsenal and weaponry of the group showed heavy armaments that could not have come in concealed sacks that could pass unnoticed by the security agents and intelligence community.   We should therefore be asking fundamental questions about the competence of the security and intelligence community in gathering critical intelligence for the safety and security of the country.

    There has been some scepticism about the ceasefire and truce knowing that the sect has acquired a notoriety of a trans-border terrorist group.  Their support and revenue bases are traceable to both internal and external sources possibly from disgruntled politicians and Al Qaeda in the Maghreb.   This therefore means that any serious negotiation can only be carried out if we tear the façade and unveil those behind the sect with the aim of knowing and settling whatever be their grievances; otherwise, the whole thing would be exercise in futility.

    The manner of government negotiation and acceptance of the ceasefire and truce appears hazy and suspect.   First, there was no clear cut and articulated framework to deal with the crises.   The government appears caught in the web of domestic and global campaigns against its jelly-footed method in fighting the insurgency.  This truce with the insurgents therefore appears like a desperate and calculated political move with 2015 in view.  This is because some groups are already tying their electoral support to the release of the Chibok girls and an end to insurgency in the North-east.

    As if  the move of the government in this truce business  was not an issue of concern enough, the speed with which the Defence Headquarters directed immediate compliance with the ceasefire and truce calls to question any serious interest on the part of the military to prosecute the campaign against the insurgents.  It was like a heavy weight boxing champion dazed and drunk from the punches of a challenger and waiting for the knell only for his manager to throw in the towel to save him from further punishment.  The manner the military has tried to tackle the insurgency has thrown up a critical question about the professionalism of our Armed Forces.  The Boko Haram as a local insurgency should not have been above the capacity of our armed forces but we saw a military that was lacking in the will and appetite to fight perhaps due to poor training and equipment.

    Why would professional armed forces employ the use of armed local vigilante to fight alongside its officers and men in internal security operations of low intensity conflict?  If the military had limited the role of the vigilante group or what they referred to as the “Civilian Joint Task Force” (Civilian JTF) to intelligence gathering, it would have been understandable as acceptable global practice.   But to allow them carry arms openly and fight alongside the regular army would appear to offend basic and elementary rule of the International Humanitarian Law.   This is in addition to making them gain adequate knowledge of military style of operation in warfare, which at the end of the conflict would have created a veritable reserve force inimical to the safety of life and property.  The military could not have been able to bring them under command and control without basic military training and so to such armed civilians, everything is permissible in conflict; including extra judicial killings and war crimes.

    Another issue that agitates ones mind is the timing of the ceasefire and truce.   It came only when we were told that the military had received supplies and now better prepared to give the terrorist a bloody nose.   Ceasefire without disabling their capacity to take on the state is just incubation for a more vicious campaign in no distant time.  It is hoped that somebody somewhere is not trying to shield the group from total decimation and give them the opportunity to rearm, regroup, and reorganize to launch a fresh offensive.

    There have been about three schools of thoughts with their theories on how to contain the menace of the group.  One is that the government should dialogue with the sect and pacify them.  The other is that a full scale military action should be brought to bear on the sect.   The last is of the view that the carrot and stick approach should be employed; which of course is a combination of the first two.  The pacifists who feel that dialogue is the best option would want to carry their drums to the market at the announcement of ceasefire and truce.   Indeed, they may have their strong point because from all indications and evidence on the ground, victory on the military front appears too remote and almost unrealizable.

    Some people have even tried to draw parallel between the negotiations and trade off the American government had with the Al Qaeda terrorist group to exchange the release of one American serviceman with five of its members detained at Guantanamo Bay.   The truth is that the reality in one clime cannot be imported into another, lock-stock-and-barrel.    The first issue is that there is no Al Qaeda cell in America as an organized group; but here we are with a terrorist group nesting and rooted deeply in our own soil.   The second point is that the American intelligence community and security forces are up to their responsibilities, which they discharge with utmost ruthlessness.   In our situation, we have intelligence community that is completely clueless and security forces whose competence and professionalism has been called to question on all fronts.

    Would this ceasefire and truce between the federal government and the Boko Haram bring an end to insecurity in Nigeria?   I am not a pessimist but one is worried that the ceasefire will not signal the end of insecurity in Nigeria.  This is because the Boko Haram is just a small fraction of the general insecurity in the entire country.     In nearly all the other parts of Nigeria, you equally have vicious bloody campaign by different ethnic militias and criminal groups.   In the South-east, people go to sleep with two eyes open because of the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers.  This has affected the investment climate of that region without a doubt.   The same is true of the South-south and Niger Delta region where if you asked some able-bodied young men what they do for a living, they would tell you without hesitation that they are “kidnappers.”

    Some of them are known to pay protection fees to the security agents who give them vital information to escape arrest.  In the South-west, the story is not different as armed robbery and criminality of all kinds are commonplace.   This is happening in a country with a bloated Police Force and other intelligence agencies.   What purpose are they serving if they cannot gather intelligence to contain the activities of these men of the underworld?  If we feel concern for the soul of our nation, it is time for us to take a hard look at the activities of the police and other security agencies in relation to security of life and property in the country.   Recall the notorious case of Lawrence Anini in the defunct   Bendel State.  It opened our eyes to the fact that any crime that cannot be cracked by the Police or the security agents has a police or security connection or link behind it.

    While one is not in any way opposed to dialogue or truce with the Boko Haram, the government should be seen to be calling the shot on all fronts, which sadly appears not to be the case now.  If there is indeed truce and ceasefire with the Boko Haram without first eliminating and degrading their capacity to make or initiate fire to unleash mayhem on the people, then the whole exercise should be called off as bad sale.

    If we are serious about tackling insecurity then we should not ignore the army of unemployed youths who remain veritable source and feeder to the criminal networks.   Insecurity in Nigeria goes beyond truce and ceasefire with Boko Haram.  Our government should stop the insurgency in the North-east as well as all parts of Nigeria.   We should not look for political capital from the release of the Chibok girls.   The government is duty bound to bring back our girls and if that is achieved today, it is not a great feat.

    • Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja
  • Boko Haram: Lamentation of a Nigerian solider

    Boko Haram: Lamentation of a Nigerian solider

    We recently received an anonymous message from a supposed Nigerian solider presently among the troops battling the Boko Haram insurgents.

    In this slightly edited message of despair, he gives an insight on the why Nigerian soldiers may not win the battle against the terrorists in North East.

    It is time the pen pushers pick up their pens bcos the corruption in the system. More to self and less for National interest.

    Who is behind book haram? how come helicopters will come to Nigeria airspace to supply book haram equipment and nobody is saying anything? People are dying every day. Money that is supposed to be used for development we are using it for war. Let those who love this nation pick up their pen, like the Journalists who fought for our independence in the 60s.

    My eyes have seen a lot. We still need to pray for Nigeria.

    All members of book haram use anti-aircraft to fight. Let all who love Nigeria forget about religion and put National interest first.

    If you are in the field you will cry because the more you see the less you understand this battle.

    Things will come to light if my ogas ontop tell the truth. Everybody is after money.

    A day after sallah we took over Bazza, our own Airforce refuse to come for support and our commanding officer Lt Col Jones Emem called them but they did not come until this helicopters came to drop snappers and weapons for Bokoharam. Who is behind them? Why the army still using unserviceable equipment is when we were told new equipment were bought to fight insurgent.

    When you come to the field you will see the soldiers doing their best, but no support weapons. How do expect somebody with A47 to face somebody with anti-aircraft.

    All our soldiers presently shot. Some of them are in 44 military hospital Kaduna. Find out they were shot on the hand and legs with the snappers guns.

    Those APCs they claim they bought are old ones painted in Jaji APC wing. We need more investigative Journalists to investigate this war and the equipment use.

     

  • Nigeria’ll survive Boko Haram, 2015 – Udofia

    Nigeria’ll survive Boko Haram, 2015 – Udofia

    PRIMATE of African Church in Nigeria and Overseas, His Eminence, Rt. Reverend Emmanuel Udofia, has assured Nigeria country will survive the current onslaught by the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

    The clergyman also called on politicians to avoid doing anything that can truncate the current democratic experiment.

    He made the remarks last week when he led other clergies and national officers of the mission to inaugurate the African Bethel Church Ikorodu as Cathedral and Seat of Lagos West Missionary Diocese.

    He also inaugurated the African Church Bethel (Biney Memorial), Surulere.

    “To those who are afraid that the country may not survive its current problems, I bring you good news. Nigeria will survive Boko Haram.

    “Nigeria will survive 2015 general election. If all players on the political scene will put the interest of the people above personal interest, the country will not go down before, during and even after the 2015 general election,” he said.

     

  • Nigerians have lost confidence in ceasefire pact -ACF

    Nigerians have lost confidence in ceasefire pact -ACF

    Worried by the Friday bombing of Gombe and seizure of Mubi in Adamawa State, the Northern Socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned the continuous killings in Northeast, saying Nigerians no longer have confidence in the federal government and Boko Haram ceasefire deal.

    ACF in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, condemned the triple bomb blast that hit Gombe on Friday, stating that, “the bomb blast in Gombe, the continued killings and seizure of towns and villages in Borno and especially now Mubi in Adamawa State by insurgents barely two weeks after the announcement that a ceasefire had been brokered between the Boko Haram insurgents and the Federal Government calls to question the sincerity and effectiveness  of the ceasefire agreement.”

    According to the statement, “It is really disturbing and worrisome that despite the assurances given by Government that appropriate security measures are being put in place to contain the insurgency including the ceasefire agreement, the situation in the Northeast region is deteriorating which needed a decisive action to quell it. Towns like Bama, Gwoza and many others are still under the control of the insurgents despite the emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

    “Nigerians are becoming sceptical and no longer have confidence in the assurances being given by government officials regarding the security challenges, since the terrorists have continued to unleash mayhem on the people without adequate counter offensive from the military.

    “The news of the bomb blast that occurred on Friday morning at the Gombe motor park, was wicked, gruesome and condemnable considering the 27 innocent people killed in the blast and also the destruction of property it caused.

    “The bomb blast in Gombe, the continued killings and seizure of towns and villages in Borno and especially now Mubi in Adamawa states by insurgents barely two weeks after the announcement that a ceasefire had been brokered between the Boko Haram insurgents and the Federal Government calls to question the sincerity and effectiveness  of the ceasefire agreement.

    “However, Government should not rest on its oars in finding a lasting solution to this menace. ACF therefore calls on the Government to decisively employ new strategy and tactics on daily basis to deal with the situation.

    “Government should also continue to pursue dialogue and peaceful negotiation with the genuine leaders of the Boko Haram in order to restore the desired peace and order in the region, especially now that our politicians are busy with electioneering campaign against 2015 elections.

    “It’s an irony that, while Nigerians in the Northeast region are being killed by insurgents and Nigerian territories being seized, our politicians are busy collecting party declaration forms to contest 2015 elections instead of collaborating efforts to contain the insurgency.

    “ACF urges Nigerians to be more vigilant and security conscious as we embark on the 2015 electioneering campaign.”

    It offered its condolence to the families of those killed and injured in the incident and called on the state government to provide free medical treatment to them.

  • Boko Haram as our remorseless nemesis

    Boko Haram, with or without the ubiquitous Abubakar Shekau, has proved surprisingly good at holding captured towns. The terror group is described as ragtag, and its commanders untrained, unschooled and tactical improvisers. But in their desultoriness, they have composed, not a dithyramb, as we hoped, but a symphony of madness, bloodletting and extreme depravity, as we feared. Their setbacks, as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) illustrates in Caliphate setting, serve merely as fillip for more daring and copious martyrdom, for more thirst and zestfulness for blood, for more commitment to anarchical causes.

    The Nigerian Army has sometimes found a way to blunt Boko Haram attacks, regain territories and even display tactical proficiency which a military of its size and stature is conversant with. But the army has been quite unable to summon the commitment and passion required to sustain the battle against the terror group, and the defensive capability needed to turn the tide. Boko Haram and its commanders believe in the cause they are fighting for, though they have sometimes conscripted child soldiers and other captives; on the other hand, Nigerian troops, given the number of court martial going on, have not shown the conviction necessary to fight and win.

    This is the pressing danger Dr Jonathan’s government faces. Last week, Mubi and surrounding villages in Adamawa State fell. Other important cities that have fallen in parts of the Northeast have not been retaken by government forces. Horrified by the scandalous abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by the terror group in April, a few countries offered to help. For inexplicable reasons, they have since abandoned the search for the girls and spurned any attempt to cooperate with our army. They cite the unwillingness of our troops to fight, corruption in the military, and human rights abuses. Whether these reasons were sufficient enough to dissuade them from helping Nigeria is not clear. But obviously the chances of retaking lost cities are for now not encouraging. Nor is it clear that indiscipline, as the ongoing court martial of scores of soldiers and their officers tend to suggest, is the bane of the anti-terror war. The problem is obviously much more fundamental.

    If we are not to wake up one morning to discover that entire states have been taken over by Boko Haram, now is the time to grapple with the uncomfortable reality of the war and the societal division that underpins it rather than the chimera the Jonathan government has pursued aimlessly in the past few years. Dr Jonathan must understand that the reasons for failure are not what he has incoherently advanced in public. It is not hostile press, opposition politics and politicians , undisciplined soldiers, and apparently it is not even cowardice of troops. If it is not too late, the government should find out why our troops are so poorly motivated, so uninterested in fighting, and so divided and uncommitted. Dr Jonathan and his government want all political parties, particularly the APC, and the rest of the public to join them unquestioningly in fighting Boko Haram because all of us would suffer should the enemy win. But Dr Jonathan and his government have been engaged in a relentless war against the opposition, a part of the public they believe is too critical, the media, and religious groups they imagine are fighting them covertly.

    Unable to unite the people behind him and, worse, unable to inspire them, Dr Jonathan has angrily taken out his frustrations on those who accuse him of being lackluster or incompetent. But no one has divided the society as bitterly as Dr Jonathan, pitting his South-South compatriots against others, turning Christians against Muslims, fighting lawmakers and state governments that do not do his bidding, in short, creating enemies in torrents rather than uniting the people and making friends even in trickles. Soldiers in the battlefields of the Northeast do not belong only to the president’s friends and party; they are a reflection of the entire society, a society horribly misunderstood, traumatised and almost entirely alienated by Dr Jonathan. So, how does he hope to win this unfortunate war? And how does he hope to win the presidential election against the run of play?