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Tag: boko haram

  • Davis, Chibok girls and Boko Haram

    A few months ago, an Australian, Dr Stephen Davis, emerged from nowhere, claiming to be  negotiating on behalf of the government with Boko Haram on the release of the abducted 219 Chibok schoolgirls. His claim was widely reported by the media. Among others, he claimed that the Boko Haram insurgents were ready to release the girls, who are spending their 150th day in captivity today, if government met certain conditions. He did not state the conditions.

    Most importantly, he said, the group was literally tired of holding the girls because it has run out of supplies. By this, Davis meant that Boko Haram does not have food, drugs and other essentials that could make living in the bush a bit easy. And with 219 girls in tow, the sect has added more to its burden with its own hand. Again, some of the girls were ill and needed medication, which Boko Haram could not readily provide

    In such a situation, the wise thing to do is to release the girls, which it seemed the group was willing to do,  everything being equal. Nigerians were looking forward to the government taking the matter up from there, but mum was the word from Abuja. What we heard next was that the government would not negotiate with Boko Haram because, in its own thinking, to do so, would amount to giving in to terrorism. Indeed, I am for standing up to terrorists, but time and circumstance should determine whatever position we take when confronted with two evils.

    In the circumstance that we are in, is it not better to negotiate with Boko Haram and get the girls out before any other consideration?  We have seen such happen in the United States (US). As powerful  as America  is, it did not allow its ego to stand in its way of negotiating with the Taliban for the release of an American soldier, who was captured in Afghanistan. For that lone American soldier, the US released five Taliban militias. There is a lesson in that for us, but our leaders chose to listen to those who said they should not negotiate with Boko Haram. If the US could through Qatar negotiate with the Taliban, what stops Nigeria from reaching out to Boko Haram in order to free our girls?

    Davis is again in the news. A few weeks ago, he released a bombshell. He claimed that he was told by the Boko Haram leadership that its sponsors are, among others, former Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Azubuike Ihejirika and former Borno State Governor Alli Modu Sheriff. Many mouths are still agape over the allegation. Can it be true? This is the question many are asking because as army chief Ihejirika waged relentless war against Boko Haram. If he fought the sect while in office, when then did he become its sponsor considering that he left office not long ago?

    Davis’ claim beggars belief but it cannot be brushed aside with a wave of the hand. He must have been told something by the Boko Haram elements who he has met on a number of occasions to discuss one or two things. It  looks absurd that it took his allegation against Ihejirika for the government to disown him. When Davis spoke about his efforts to rescue the Chibok  girls after  meeting with Boko Haram, government did not tell us then that he was not acting on its behalf. It kept quiet, and silence, they say, means consent.

    If the government did not disown Davis then, why is it doing so now? Is it because he claimed to have been told that Ihejirika is a Boko Haram sponsor? What Davis said is mere allegation. What is more; it is hearsay. What this means is that he has to produce the person who told him that Ihejirika is a Boko Haram sympathiser for his statement to be worried. So, why is the government fidgety over his claim? Rather than being troubled by the allegation, it should try to get to the root of the matter, if it is  serious about stopping the Boko Haram insurgency.

    How do you stop Boko Haram if you are not ready to follow a lead that would help you in your investigation? It is disheartening that the State Security Service (SSS) could come out boldly the way it did without investigation to dismiss Davis’ claim against Ihejirika,  and yet in the same breathe, it upheld the allegation against Sheriff. Sheriff, the SSS said, would be invited for yet another interrogation. What did the SSS find in its previous interrogations of the former governor? If SSS did not find anything against him then, is it now that it will get cogent evidence of his romance with Boko Haram, just because of what Davis said?

    At times, our security agencies act hastily without looking at the merit of a case before drawing their conclusion. And this is just one of such occasions. There is no serious security agency in the world that will dismiss such grave allegations without prior investigation. For instance, a court will never dismiss a claim as frivolous and vexatious without first hearing the parties. Who and who did the SSS quiz before dismissing  Davis’ allegation against Ihejirika? If SSS  cleared him because as ”army chief he waged battle against Boko Haram”, why can’t it extend the same gesture to Sheriff, who the agency  investigated in the past without finding anything incriminating against him?

    The battle to unmask those behind Boko Haram is not one to be fought on sentiments. Our security agencies should bear in mind that they owe Nigerians a duty to end the Boko Haram insurgency and bring all those behind it to book, no matter how influential they may be. Nobody should be seen as too big or untouchable in this Herculean task of ridding our nation of this evil. No sane person will be happy with what Boko Haram is doing in the Northeast today.

    The insurgents  have been capturing towns and villages in Borno and Adamawa states, leaving death and destruction in their trail. We must collectively put a stop to this and the only way we can do that is to be truthful to ourselves. What is the essence of disowning Davis when we know that there is no way he could have found himself in Boko Haram’s enclave without the knowledge of those in power? And of course, that of the Australian High Commission, which represents his home government here. If Davis was not hired as government negotiator, what then was he doing in Boko Haram’s  den knowing the inherent danger in such adventure? Training the insurgents on the use of arms and how to make bombs?

    The government should spare us  that kind of talk. We are wiser than that. What we want urgently now is for our girls to be rescued and the lost towns in Borno and Adamawa states recovered from Boko Haram.

  • Lagos council chiefs to FG: Include states, LGs in security framework

    Chairmen of the 57 local government and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State have tasked the Federal Government to include state and local governments in the country’s security framework.

    The Chairman of the group known as Conference 57, Mr. Hakeem Suleiman, gave the charge on Wednesday at a summit on security strategies, grassroots awareness and information management, organised by council chairmen for stakeholders in the state.

    The summit which was held at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, was attended by a wide range of stakeholders including the Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi, his local government counterpart, Mr. Ademorin Kuye and the state’s Attorney-General, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, among others

    He lamented the present security problems, particularly in the northern part of the country, stressing that the inability of the Nigeria Police Force to contain diverse security challenges had constituted threats to Nigeria’s indivisibility and unity.

    “There is a problem of insecurity which needs urgent attention and re-strategising. One of the most increasingly worrisome issues in Nigeria today is the issue of insecurity,” Suleiman stated.

    He explained that thousands of lives and properties “have been lost during the incessant killings, bombings and abductions in various parts of the country under the jack boot of Boko Haram insurgency.”

    He cited the militancy in the Niger Delta, which according to him, had degenerated to oil bunkering and oil theft.

     

  • Politicisation of Boko Haram Insurgency, Bane of Nigeria’s anti-terror fight

    Politicisation of Boko Haram Insurgency, Bane of Nigeria’s anti-terror fight

    The Boko Haram crisis is readily used by the PDP to rationalize the Jonathan Government’s abdication of its constitutional responsibilities, including visits and assistance to areas affected, effective response to kidnappings and abductions (e.g. the GEJ government was silent over the Chibok girls kidnaps for over 15 days).

    The declaration of emergency rule, massive increases in spending on security without correspondent impact, has become a political gimmick by the PDP now being counted as the GEJ achievement in promoting peace and security.

    The PDP is actively politicizing the declaration of emergency rule. For instance, the PDP government is ever quick to propose and declare emergency rule in areas controlled by opposition political parties, but not in PDP-controlled states even where the scale of violence, killings and destruction are similar. For example, despite incessant violence, killings, displacement and destruction in Taraba, Benue and Plateau (PDP controlled states), the PDP has been quick to discount the possibility of a full scale emergency rule in the above mentioned states, however it is quick to impose emergency rule in non-PDP states at the slightest episode of violence.

    Finally, the status quo favours the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan. Why? Boko Haram affected areas and indeed the Northern region are APC strongholds, hence Boko Haram crises, the declaration of emergency rule and general atmosphere of insecurity in the North are likely to affect voting (low turnout due to displacement). There is already talk of cancelling elections in some areas in the Northeast, all plots designed to minimize President Jonathan-PDP electoral losses in the North and enhance the likelihood of a PDP victory.

    C.      The Boko Haram Crisis and GEJ security Spending Spree

    One salient, yet under-reported and under-discussed issue is the incredible amount of Nigeria’s national income being expended, by the President Jonathan administration purportedly on combating Boko Haram in the last 5 years (since 2010). I will share the mind-boggling figures with you.

    APC’s research on total security sector spending (covering Defence, Police, Office of National Security Adviser, Road Safety Corps, and security-related service-wide votes (e.g. on Amnesty Programme, internal security operations, etc.) is based on information contained in successive budget documents.

     

    Year  Amount (Naira)                   Dollar Value

                                                                                               (@N165 = $1) 

     

    2014   1,174,897,477,334.00                             7.12 billion

    2013   1,178,832,576,309.00                             7.14 billion

    2012   1,154,857,159,110.00                             6.99 billion

    2011   1,080,894,801,178.00                             6.55 billion

    2010   836,016,773,836.00                                5.07 billion 

    Total 5,425,498,787,767.00                             32.88 billion

     

    Why and what is important about these statistics?

    a.      On the average the Boko Haram Insurgency has fuelled increases in security spending to around 25% of annual federal government budget.

    b.      In light of the rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP (put at N80.3 trillion or $509.9 billion), the yearly average 2010-14 is $6.58 billion, is equal to 1.3% of GDP.

    c.       The total for the 5 budget years amounts to 6.5% of Nigeria GDP.

    d.      Most importantly, there appears to be nothing to show (commensurately) for the huge monies purportedly expended. There are recurring reports and stories in the media about how frontline troops and soldiers have inferior weapons and firepower compared to Boko Haram’s and how Nigerian soldiers have been fleeing battlefields (into Cameroon), and communities and military barracks being easily overrun by Boko Haram fighters. This begs the questions about where and how is the money being spent? Is it truly spent on security? Is corruption taking place in security spending? What and where are the military hardware acquired? Who is supplying security equipment – manufacturers or third party agents?

    D.     Unanswered Questions and Puzzles about Boko Haram Insurgency

    APC’s research and analysis of the Boko Haram insurgency has unearthed some intriguing puzzles that warrant serious attention.   Since 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan-PDP led government has increased security spending; declared and renewed emergency rule, issued propaganda claiming the capture and killing of Boko Haram members (including the leader Abubakar Shekau), destruction of Boko Haram camps, and countless assurances of improving security and winning the battle against Boko Haram.

    Over the same period however, the empirical realities are that Boko Haram has become more daring and audacious in its attacks through:

    Increase in the scale, number and spread of attacks, even against supposedly fortified military bases.

    More Boko Haram killings and casualty levels among civilians and security personnel.

    Rapid growing number of Nigerian Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Refugees, now estimated by the UNHCR at over 600,000!

    Increasing reports of mutinies and soldiers absconding (desertion) from battlefields.

    Boko Haram declaration of a Caliphate.

    The key issue in all of this is this – are all these mere empirical coincidence or statistical correlation OR are there genuine organic and logical connections (some form of action and reaction)? Certainly it is my and APC belief that there is a pull and effect logic at work. Put simply, President Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency has been a spectacular failure, and this is deliberate for political reasons. Where and even if the President Jonathan-PDP Admnistration may claim to know nothing about the origin of Boko Haram, it has actively sustained the crisis, profiteering from it.

    E.      The Way Forward: APC’s Stand

    The APC has consistently argued for New Thinking and alternative approaches to the Boko Haram crisis. The five pillars of APC’s approach are:

    i.        Urgent formulation of a holistic Counter-Terrorism strategy that emphasizes the synergistic use of military, political and economic elements, and roles for civil society and other critical stakeholders.

    ii.       Political negotiation with Boko Haram. All recent cases of internal security challenges (militias. etc.), including the OPC, MEND, etc. across Nigeria have all been resolved through political negotiations of some sort. Boko Haram cannot be an exception.

    iii.      Planning and Investing for Peace through a Human Development Approach to address the socio-economic, governance and environmental conditions that gave rise to Boko Haram. Key here are youth development, employment and means of livelihoods, education, access to markets, revival of agriculture, etc. What is advocated is a serious and genuine consideration of socio-economic revival of the Northeast and other affected Northern areas, not the tokenistic (£7million) gesture proposed by the Jonathan Administration

    iv.   Bring in the United Nations (and its specialised agencies), and mobilise local and international peace building organisations to work with communities and groups affected by Boko Haram.

    v.       Security Sector Reform through a thorough National Security Review, New National Security Policy, and tailored institutional, legal and operational reforms and re-organisation of Nigeria’s security agencies. The Boko Haram crisis has exposed systemic failures in Nigeria’s national security system, and there is a rare opportunity to use this as the basis to transform Nigeria’s National Security architecture.

    Conclusion

    Unfortunately but truly, the Nigerian government had bungled the fight against Boko Haram. The government’s attempt to make political capital out of the insurgency has backfired.

    The Boko Haram crisis and the Jonathan Administration’s response to it must be seen in the context of the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. The status quo favours the PDP and President Jonathan. Why?  Because Boko Haram-affected areas and indeed the Northern region are opposition strongholds, hence the Administration is hoping – and perhaps secretly wishing- that  the Boko Haram crisis, the declaration of emergency rule and general atmosphere of insecurity in the North will lead to the cancellation of voting in some areas and limit voters’ turnout in general, a development which the PDP believes will minimize its electoral  losses in the North and enhance the likelihood of a PDP victory.

    Beyond that, reports from the grapevine are that the government is even trying to cash in on the worsening crisis to explore the possibility of delaying the elections and extending its tenure. It does not occur to them that the country must first survive for anyone to rule it.

    Our worst fears were confirmed recently when the Australian hired by President Jonathan to help negotiate the release of the over 200 school girls named the President’s allies and members of the ruling PDP as the sponsors of Boko Haram. He said the Boko Haram commanders identified the men: Former Army Chief Azubuike Ihejirika and a former governor of Borno State Ali Modu Sheriff – among the sponsors of the sect.

    Now that the cat has been let out of the bag and the real sponsors of Boko Haram have been exposed , we hope President Jonathan will summon the courage to do the right thing: Hand over the identified Boko Haram sponsors to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and prosecution.

    There is no doubt that Boko Haram has committed crimes against humanity in its scorched-earth campaign against unarmed citizens, and the most appropriate body to investigate and try the sect’s sponsors is the ICC.

    According to Article 17 of the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, and to which Nigeria is a signatory, the ICC is a court of last resort, expected to exercise its jurisdiction only if states themselves are unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate and prosecute international crimes.

    In view of the fact that the alleged Boko Haram sponsors are either members of the ruling party or friends of the President, it is clear that the PDP- led Federal government is unwilling and unable to try them.

    As we all know if the funding of Boko Haram is not cut off, it will be difficult to defeat the sect.

    I thank you most sincerely for your attention.

  • Cameroon: we killed 100 fighters

    Cameroon: we killed 100 fighters

    Cameroon’s state media reported yesterday that its military had killed 100 Boko haram members who travelled from Nigeria to attack a town just across the border.

    Citing a statement from the Communication Ministry, Cameroon Radio and Television during the battle in Fotocol at the weekend, the army fired mortars at the extremists and pushed them back into Nigeria. It said no Cameroonian soldier was killed in the fighting.

    Fotocol is just over the border from  Borno State. Thousands of Nigerians have fled into Cameroon to escape the violence, but now the militants are attacking towns in Cameroon, too.

  • Book Haram: Pupils desert schools in Cameroon border towns

    The 2014-2015 academic year began in Cameroon with thousands of students and teachers deserting schools in towns along the border with Nigeria’s Borno State, which is home to the Boko Haram terrorist group.

    With some schools either destroyed or occupied by the militants, Cameroon officials said they will relocate populations to more secure areas.

    In Kolofata this week, 1,000 children were expected to start in government schools, but only a few students showed up.

    Foncha Rene, 17, who was one of the few who arrived, said Boko Haram attacks in the area have scared his fellow students away.

    “There is no way we can go to school. Some time ago the Boko Haram kidnapped some students in Nigeria and they have been attacking schools in the border zone of Cameroon,” Foncha said.

    Foncha’s school was attacked two weeks ago. Walls were knocked down in an armed confrontation between the Nigerian insurgents and Cameroon soldiers.

    English teacher Pamela Singeh, who works at the government school in Kolofata, spoke to VOA while taking refuge in a military camp.

    “I cannot advise any child to go to school in the border zone because it is dangerous,” Singeh said. “Look at some classrooms, they have been destroyed by Boko Haram. They even come here to pray, so I would not advise or allow any child to go to school in this area.”

    In Mora, 100 of the 700 expected students showed up only to find more than 2,000 Nigerian refugees in their school building.

    The area’s senior administrative official, Babila Akao, said he has asked the Ministry of Education to postpone the beginning of the school year.

    “So what we are expected to do is to make proposals to the ministers of basic and secondary education to postpone the date of the school year here. People are suffering; the situation is a bad situation,” Akao said.

    Kolofata and Mora are just two of the 25 localities on the border with Nigeria’s Borno State.

    Cameroon Secretary of State for Secondary Education Monouna Fotsou said the government plans to move students for security reasons.

    “Where the situation is so bad, we will de-localise some schools,” Fotsou said. “At that moment also, we will bring the staff and the students to the new sites. The objective of this Boko Haram is to traumatise our citizens.”

    Boko Haram group has massacred, kidnapped and looted villages along Cameroon’s 2,000 kilometer border with Nigeria – with attacks becoming more frequent as the group has gained momentum in its fight for its own caliphate in northern Nigeria.

    Military action by Cameroon and Nigeria armed forces has done little to stop the violence.

  • Maiduguri must not fall

    Maiduguri must not fall

    •President Jonathan must show that he is capable of defending the country

    For those who reside far away from the epicentre of slaughter and human flight, the surge of the insurgent group Boko Haram still carries the air of another man’s battle. Nigerians, especially those who live down south, only see video clips of the ghastly images as well as still pictures. There are also narratives of plunder, deaths, rape and kidnap.

    But the past few weeks have given greater potency to the story. They have been advancing from town to town, making mincemeat of residents and travellers. Above all, they have beaten our soldiers who seem to demonstrate little answer or imagination against these organised marauders in the name of Islam.

    It has seemed that as a nation we are dazed, frozen into inaction at times and tokenism of feeble counter-action. But in sum, we have shown ourselves below the task of defending our citizens and territory against the militants who are growing in armour, men and confidence.

    As at press time, major towns and locations have fallen into the savage hands of Boko Haram. We have mentioned such places as Buni, Damboa, Gwoza, Madagali, Marte, Dikwa, Ngala, Michika as already fallen. The past few days were characterised by intense battles for the key town of Bama. Conflicting media reports have befogged the status of the town as to whether it is in Nigerian hands or the so-called caliphate.

    Territories in Adamawa,Borno and Yobe states tremble. The three states are beleaguered. Some Nigerians no longer know the state of our defence as any place seems within the capture of the insurgents. The leader is hoisting flags all over its conquered territories. The fear now is Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. The reasons for the fear are palpable. The governor, Kashim Shettima, was reported to have said that a third of his state has been captured by the militants. Some other indigenes are less sanguine as some have claimed that two-thirds have fallen.

    The other point is the leaflets that the insurgents have spread in the city of Maiduguri, warning of their imminent invasion. Such ominous literature shows a high level of confidence and clinical propaganda acumen.

    The third point is the rally of the youths. Recently they paid a visit to the palace of the Shehu of Borno and promised that they would fight to the death to defend the throne against the rapine of the zealots.

    The fourth concern is that our military has not shown exemplary firepower in earlier battles.  The government has not inspired us with confidence that Maiduguri will not fall. This is a clear and present danger.

    Maiduguri should not be allowed to fall. If it falls, the implications are huge. It is the capital of the state, and it is the seat of government. It also has the concentration of the state’s population. It is the commercial nerve centre of the state, and the northeast’s big dwelling. If it falls, all its gifts and virtues will belong to the insurgents.

    It will mean, to all intents and purposes, that all of Borno State will be a rogue caliphate under Shekau. If Maiduguri falls, there will be no Nigerian government in the state. We shall have 36 states only in name until we get it back.

    If Maiduguri falls, it will enrich a growing militancy with more resources. It is well-armed now, with Borno State in its hands, its armoury will increase. It can run rampant in the state, molest its citizens and slaughter at will. It could mount a vast concentration camp of perceived upstarts, Christians, nubile girls and other resisters.

    The citizens will be more facile to radicalisation. Because they are under the gun, the insurgents will happily recruit many youths into its army.

    With that assurance, we cannot guarantee that it will not rumble into Yobe and Adamawa states and bring them into the ambit of its counterfeit caliphate. By then, the country under the eyes of President Jonathan would have shrunken significantly.

    When the over 200 girls were abducted from Chibok, the nation was benumbed. The argument was, and still is, the Federal Government could get these girls out through either negotiation or some other sleight of hand. If Maiduguri falls, the story of the Chibok girls will be a footnote in a vast concentration camp of hundreds of thousands under the spell of a charismatic brute. The story is potentially a disaster.

    President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in the region, and issued a suite of rhetoric that was only fiery in words but short on action. The matter is getting so serious now that the president as commander-in-chief must show that he is capable of defending the country according to the oath of office.

    If he cannot, it is high time he stepped down. His first assignment is to defend his country. If he fails in this primary task, he has failed to justify holding that position.

    This is no time to apportion blame from the presidency. This is the same Nigerian army that has, over the decades, served as the symbol of the African pride. Our soldiers have acquitted themselves competently in Liberia and other areas of the West African sub-region. We have led in discipline, strategy and tactics. We have also served in other places in Africa, and the African Union as well as the United Nations have come to regard our army as indispensable in the pacification of the continent.

    For that same army to squelch under an apparently ragtag force remains unthinkable even as we are harassed by the day. Trillions of Naira have been expended on defence in the past few years, and should translate into a formidable force that should make a quick work of the militants. We have not seen that yet.

    It is on that score that we reiterate the need for the president to act as commander-in-chief. To do that he has not only to restore all lost territories but the lost pride of the Nigerian Army. Never again should we accept a situation where a neighbouring Cameroun would do with dispatch what our soldiers cannot dare.

    We reiterate that Maiduguri should not be allowed to fall because the consequences are serious.

  • ‘Our Girls’; Lessons from Ebola: Wanted- ‘A UN Declaration on Expanded Role Of Media In Ignorance Elimination?’

    ‘Our Girls’; Lessons from Ebola: Wanted- ‘A UN Declaration on Expanded Role Of Media In Ignorance Elimination?’

    Our Girls’ are still in captivity since April 15.

    Cholera has just killed 16 Nigerians, more than the ‘deadly’ Ebola. ‘Boko Haram, Typhoid and Delivery’, having a baby, each kill thousands annually. Fortunately, Cholera and Typhoid will be reduced by the hand washing and hygiene and reduced contact strategies against Ebola. As we look to ‘Life after Ebola’ as it winds down in Nigeria hopefully, we commemorate the dedicated and courageous Dr Ameyo Adadevoh and prayerfully remember all other professional victims.

    What is Nigeria’s ‘Post Ebola Preventive Medicine Policy/Strategy’ at government, ministry of information/health and media levels? Nigeria needs larger ‘Medical Research Council Funding’. Google South Africa’s Medical Research Council. If not, all will go quiet until the next crisis while the internationally donated money, $200m, disappears like the military budget. Language and Communication Arts and Social Science departments in universities must study the role of the media in the Ebola episode. The importance of the media has come to the fore. Nigerians swim in a sea of ‘IGNORANCE’ about things that will keep them alive while being overloaded with adverts ‘educating’ them about products they can survive without. Ebola taught us to share ‘Life Skill Information’.

    It has come to pass. What? The massive media participation in preventive medicine involving government and private sector corporate adverts along with the engagement of officials and celebrities. For me this is long awaited triumph and a vindication of the position of Educare Trust on the media! So much airtime is wasted daily. The media has been woken to its responsibility to ‘Educate and Inform’ and become unselfish, helping to keep Nigerians informed and alive through ‘Ebola Info’. Usually the media only ‘advertises’ prepaid products, not ‘unsponsored’ messages. The world needs a plan of action towards ‘Ignorance Elimination’ – a greater killer than Ebola!  What we have been preaching as a ‘Public And Private Media Policy And Strategy’ for 20 years has come to pass but it must not pass away with Ebola, only to be revived for ‘Alobe’. Education must be continuous to fight the contagious.

    Our people suffer from a disease ‘IGNORANCE’, ‘Ignorance About Life Skills’. Ignorance is not the preserve of the uneducated. The educated are also ignorant. These ‘Life Skills’ are not taught in schools or out of school. Only the media parts, the electronic, print and advertising, are equipped to ‘Eliminate Ignorance’ in our citizenry. Before Ebola, the media was negligent and selfish in executing that responsibility and ignorance has spread like Ebola. The media elements face a negligence charge for only doing things for money under the ‘increase internally generated revenue’ order. For example Cholera and Typhoid kills thousands more than Ebola but when last did you see or hear any message/ advert about preventing Cholera or Typhoid? We like the sensational or terrifying and ignore the routine. But dealing with the routine with strategies like hand washing and sanitation, should prevent the sensational, like Ebola.

    Just as for Ebola, so for the media. The media needs to be taught or ordered to use its power to eliminate the disease ignorance by allocating a specific quantity of airtime or page space for ‘free’  ‘LIFE SKILL MESSAGES’ to keep its customers alive to consume more. There is also a ‘secret message weapon’ that is little used but gets into every home and office, rich and poor. It is the $500 billion corporate advertising space on billions of items moved in packaging and adverts governed by advertising gurus. Criticise every empty space on a bottle, bag, and box as being wasted and can be used in the ‘Ignorance Elimination War’. That space can be offered by the corporate world to WHO, UNICEF for the top 100 life skill messages and to local advert needs, at no extra charge. Such messages can be on anything from bullying, sexual violence to healthy eating. This Ebola epidemic forces us to demand that the UN, WHO etcetera, partner with the corporate world for joint messaging through a ‘New World Order In The Media’. ‘Life Skill Messaging’ on corporate advertising on products and product packaging will prevent citizens dying from ignorance and keep them alive to buy products longer.

    We want A UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE EXPANDED ROLE OF THE MEDIA in the 21st Century as follows:

    ‘We the People of the World need

    A UN World Media Social Responsibility Law for every media outlet to ‘include in every 24 hours of broadcasting 15 minutes up to one FREE HOUR of 15-120  messages of 30-60 seconds each per day on chosen Social Life Skill Messages to bring about behavioural change in society’. The UN should recommend this LAW to the world

    A ‘PRINT MEDIA SOCIAL MESSAGE LAW’ mandating that every company should also ‘INCLUDE A SOCIAL/MEDICAL MESSAGE IN EVERY SINGLE ADVERT’ in the media –on air, in the press, posters and billboards, packaging.

    Competitive Awards For The Best Corporate/Media Social Life-skill Message Partnership under the slogan –‘Helping Keep Citizens Alive’ at all the different International and National Annual Media, Advertising and CSR Awards and film and TV and cartoon Awards worldwide.

    The UN should convene a Meeting of the Global Fund and include Corporate Giants and Advertising Agency Gurus to kick-start this new initiative that Ebola has exposed as necessary and present to the world the annual top 100 Life Saving Messages for the media and advertisers to use.

     

  • Fire on the mountain

    Fire on the mountain

    Fire on the mountain!”  This may look like a familiar lyric from a popular song. It is not. But if the drama that is currently unfolding in the north-east of Nigeria is anything to go by, then, it is crystal clear that, indeed, there is fire on the mountain. In the last few weeks, the Boko Haram terrorists have intensified their attacks and open confrontation with Nigeria’s security forces. They have been moving from their base in Sambisa fortress to some parts of Borno and Adamawa States, seizing towns and villages along their route. At the last count, the terrorists have taken over at least nine out of the 27 Local Government Areas in Borno, representing one-third of the entire state.  Recently, they proclaimed the town of Gwoza, a “caliphate under Islamic law.” Michika, Uba and some parts of Adamawa, have also tasted Boko Haram’s bitter pill.

    Following the terrorists’ recent incursion into Bama town, about 72 kilometers from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, fears were heightened that the next port of call may be Maiduguri itself. Speaking in Abuja last Thursday, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, said the frequency and scope of terror attacks had grown more acute, adding that this had constituted a serious threat to the overall security of Nigeria. According to her, “Boko Haram has shown that it can operate not only in the North-east, but in Kano, Abuja and elsewhere. We are very troubled by the prospects of an attack on and in Maiduguri, which would impose a tremendous toll on the civilian population. This is a sober reality check for all of us”.

    It is, indeed, time to engage in a sober reality check. This is because at no time since the end of the country’s civil war in 1970, has the territorial integrity of this country been so threatened than what is currently playing out today. In spite of all the havoc the terrorists have wreaked on innocent people all over the place, they had the audacity to distribute leaflets in Maiduguri, the state capital, warning the residents of an impending attack. For one, the major weapon of terrorists is fear. Those leaflets must have been circulated to create fear in the minds of the people. If that is the aim, the terrorists may have largely succeeded in view of the mass exodus of residents in Maiduguri.

    For whatever it takes, the military and the federal government should do everything possible to safeguard Maiduguri. The city is too populated to allow these vagabonds to truncate its tranquillity. It is exigent that the temerity of the rampaging terrorists should be halted without further prevarication. By now, it must be clear to our policy makers that we have an emergency at hand. There is no doubt that the army is short of manpower, having been overstretched because of its involvements in internal security duties in the country. Be that as it may, we may not have any other option than to resort to what happened during the civil war by recruiting those who are ready to do the job. Care must; however, be taken not to recruit Boko Haram agents or sympathisers.

    In that case, rather than the usual one year training, the new recruits can be trained for two weeks and deployed in large numbers to crush the terrorists. The thing is to get the whole place flooded with troops. If the enemy out-flanks you, pull back, regroup and re-think your strategy. It is good that the terrorists have now come out of Sambissa Forest due to the rains and the subsequent marshy terrain. The security forces should launch a massive and sustained attack on them in the towns and villages they now occupy as well as lead an assault on Sambissa itself. The terrorists must have left some line guards behind to take care of the place for them. All the security forces need do is to muster enough manpower and fire power to do this. Obviously, the terrorists cannot cope if many fronts are opened.

    The terrorists are known to move swiftly just like the ISIS is doing presently in Iraq and Syria. The so-called Islamists, though calling themselves different names, share a common doctrine of destruction. They seek to impose their will through propaganda, forced conversion, kidnapping, beheading, slaughtering, forced marriage, rape and other unspeakable horrors. Obviously, Boko Haram exists for the same genocidal mission as ISIS. It has its own contribution to this hateful movement. The plan by Al-Queda to acquire territories after territories until it enthrones its own Islamic doctrines was hatched many years back with defined roadmap and timelines. This was expected to have been crystallised in 2013. And Nigeria falls within the countries whose territories it wanted (and still wants) to acquire for this indoctrination. What this means is that Nigeria is fighting a formidable enemy.

    The truth is that 16 months after a state of emergency was declared in the north-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, it appears that the country has not got an effective strategy to deal with Boko Haram and its avowed commitment to wage war against the country and its people. Much like the man who has a hammer and, therefore, assumes that every problem is a nail, our policy makers have tried these past 16 months, to define the Boko Haram problem as something that they are comfortable to deal with. Now, it is apparent that they are failing or they have failed, and woefully too. Not with the terrorists who seem to be riding roughshod over everybody and traversing state borders, thereby killing and maiming several innocent citizens as well as displacing people and destroying hundreds of schools in a wave of terror aimed at establishing a utopian Islamic state in Nigeria.

    Recently, the international community was jolted with the abduction of more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok community in Borno State. In the wake of the uproar, some foreign countries sent specialists with medical, intelligence, counterterrorism and communications skills to advise Nigerian officials. In addition, manned and unmanned surveillance aircrafthave been flying over the heavily forested north-eastern region of the country where intelligence officials believe the girls are held. Some 80 armed American troops have also been sent to Chad, one of Nigeria’s next door neighbours, where predator surveillance drones are being operated from a large air base near N’Djamena, the Chadian capital. All these seem to have yielded nothing as the Chibok girls are still marooned in the woods.

    Viewed from the prism of the seeming bureaucratic lethargy with which the ongoing war against terrorism is being prosecuted, it is as if Nigerian leaders are bidding their time and waiting for a miracle from nowhere to happen and put an end to this ugly episode. It is rather senseless to expect outsiders to come to our rescue every time there is a problem. Every nation is and should be responsible for its own citizens’ safety except that, on this score, Nigeria’s record is abysmal. Corruption has become a hydra-headed monster that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation. The nation’s considerable oil wealth has been cornered by a few smart alecs. The result is that the citizens have not been provided with adequate security, water, health, reliable power supply, good and motorable roads, as well as, quality education.

    Now, the army, the last bastion of hope, is starved of essential resources and completely demoralised.  This, in itself, is a bigger threat to stability. Yet, a military response is not a viable option to end the growing disenchantment in the country. It is, therefore, expedient on our grandstanding political leaders to urgently tackle the root causes of disaffection in the country by reducing corruption, and providing jobs and other lifelines to the growing army of hungry and angry Nigerians. As a people, we need a new, honest conversation on how we are going to defeat the multifarious forces of evil that have held the country by its jugular. Perhaps, we would be better off with leaders who do not have good strategies and know they do not, than with leaders who get stuck to bad strategies.

  • Boko Haram is politically instigated – Kalu

    Boko Haram is politically instigated – Kalu

    Former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has said the Boko Haram insurgency was politically instigated by certain enemies of democracy in the country.

    Kalu, who spoke on Tuesday at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party said with “able men like me in the party” there is no way President Goodluck Jonathan could lose the 2015 presidential election.

    He continued: “How can the PDP lose the presidency when it has people like us? I do not see the PDP losing its seat.

    “Democracy is not about one person or President Jonathan. We have to bring our efforts together so as to move democracy forward.

    “President Jonathan is doing everything possible to bring the Chibok girls back. We must thank our military men for the job they are doing.

    “Insurgency is a new thing to us. Insurgency is politically motivated and it is the people who think Jonathan should not contest the 2015 that are behind it. They should allow him to finish his tenure.”

    On his relationship with the present governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, Kalu denied any squabble with Orji, saying the governor is a great asset to the country.

    Kalu, whose attempts to rejoin the PDP are being resisted by Governor Orji and some power brokers in Abia State, however insisted that he rejoined the party about two years ago.

    The former governor has indicated interest in running for Senate in 2015 amid stiff opposition from the governor and some vested interests in the state.

     

  • Why Boko Haram will fail

    Why Boko Haram will fail

    As one Nigerian town after another fell to Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast over the weekend, something continued to tell me that the days of the terrorists are numbered. You want to know why?

    As my attention continued to be drawn to the activities/atrocities of the Sunni inspired insurgency in Iraq called the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS, I began to see the correlation between ISIS and BH (that is Boko Haram) and became convinced that the insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast will eventually fail.

    ISIS like BH is aimed at establishing an Islamic caliphate in the territory under its control, but judging by the array of opposition to it, this will not be allowed to happen. Apart from the Iraqi government and its western allies, particularly the United States, the rest of the Arab countries are opposed to ISIS not just because of what it is, but also what its claims to be.

    The group is positioning itself as a defender of Islam, fighting the Infidels, but the Islamic world as represented by the Arabs is not deceived by this and is bent of destroying the group and whatever it stands for.

    That ISIS has not been able to make inroads into other Arab countries and the rest of the Islamic world shows that its cause is not Islamic but rather political. As a Sunni Muslim inspired insurgency, the group would probably have drawn immense support and sympathy from the rest of the Sunni Muslim world (the dominant group among Muslims worldwide) to its cause if that cause were to be in the interest of Islam. But it is not, hence the gang up so to speak to defeat ISIS by a coalition that is bringing Shia and Sunni Muslims together to fight terror. Ordinarily these two groups don’t see eye to eye, not to talk of standing shoulder to shoulder to fight terror.

    This is the same way I am seeing Boko Haram. That the group has not been able to get widespread support among Nigerian Muslims was an indication that it is not Islamic and cannot be Islamic. It is just a murderous political organization camouflaging under Islam to get support among those left out of the mainstream political arrangement in the northeast. And the earlier the Nigerian government knows this the better in its fight against the group.

    Looking at northern Nigeria, the most backward and least developed in that region is the northeast and the political elite, unlike in the northwest region have monopolized everything to the exclusion of the majority. And the lack of political plurality is not helping matters at all.  The northeast traditionally had never given in to Hausa/Fulani domination and this was exemplified in the second republic when the people went against the mainstream Hausa/Fulani party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and voted for the party of one of their own, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim’s Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP). With that party they were able to express themselves and hold themselves and their leaders accountable.

    But the coming of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the present dispensation and its politics of total domination is stifling the opposition to such an extent that some would rather resort to anything or method to keep the PDP away. If truly a former governor of Borno state was behind Boko Haram at inception, it might just be a desperate attempt on his part to keep PDP away from his state. Even though this was no excuse for supporting terror, PDP’s policy of if you are not with us then you are against us and as such must be destroyed, is driving a lot of people into the hands of the devil in that region.

    If you look at the Arab world, you ask why Al Qaeda, Al Shabab and even ISIS are thriving. It is simply because they are the only avenues through which the people could express their opposition to their governments which have refused to liberalise the political space. And because the Arab leaders cannot legislate against or ban religion, people with dissenting views gravitate towards Islam and inevitably fall into the hands of religious extremists. This is the same mistake Israel is making in Gaza. By making life unbearable for the Palestinians in Gaza, Israel has inadvertently driven them into the hands the extremist group Hamas.

    In our fight against Boko Haram, the PDP as a political organization and the federal government that it controls must rethink their political strategy and allow the people the freedom to choose their leaders. This do or die politics will take us nowhere. It is a lot easier in the south, southwest in particular because there is a viable alternative to the PDP here if the party should force its way into power. But in the north where the only industry they have is government, if that government is imposed and not of the people, the reaction could be the Boko Haram that we are witnessing now.

    What I am saying here is that the solution to BH lies in both military and political approach to the problem. Win the people over with policies and programmes that would isolate the extremists in their midst. Programmes that would make terrorism unattractive; programmes that would be backed by robust military engagement that would ensure security for the people such that when they back out or give out the  insurgents in their midst nothing would happen to them.

    It is no point blaming our military for the setbacks suffered in the hands of Boko Haram in recent times. These are expected of a military that has been rendered impotent for a long time by a political elite that was just interested in protecting its interest or promoting its interest above that of the state. How come that a military that was able to fight and defeat a Libyan backed rebel forces in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 90s is suddenly unable to confront a ragtag insurgency back home few years after?

    Those who reduced our once fearsome armed forces into a mere bunch of Boys Scout over the years should share in the blame of the success of Boko Haram. But this does not excuse the mediocrity being displayed by the Commander-In-Chief and his troops in Bama, Gwoza and the rest of Nigerian territories being fiercely contested by BK forces. It is no excuse for our boys deserting to Cameroun under the guise of beating a retreat. This insurgency has been on for enough time for the government to have fashioned out and put together a robust military response to safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians in that region. Like the Yoruba would say, if you take 20 years to prepare for madness, how many years are you going to use to exhibit the madness?

    If President Goodluck Jonathan has still not fashioned out how to fight Boko Haram by now or his plans are still on the drawing board, when is he going to do it? Getting our neighbours to join the fight is a right step in the right direction, but most important, is getting our military to be on top of the situation or showing enough willingness to confront the insurgency. This is when we will be able to get the support of the international community to fight Boko Haram. Everything must be done to get our soldiers trained, equipped and ready to confront the insurgency. ISIS is being decimated in Iraq by America’s airpower because the Iraqis and the Kurds are taking the lead on ground. The Nigerian military must be at the forefront and the world will back us. Boko Haram ust be destroyed and as I said earlier, something tells me the days of the insurgency are numbered.