At last, faced with the grim reality that the Boko Haram terrorists are bent on spreading terror everywhere in Nigeria, especially in their strongholds in the north-east of the country, the United States, Canada, Britain, France, China and some other foreign countries have decided to assist the country to fight the menace. Apparently, the world is united in wide condemnation of the recent activities of the terrorists who have resorted to large-scale abduction of children, especially schoolgirls. On April 15, more than 240 schoolgirls were abducted from their hostels at the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. Since then, the fate of the innocent, little girls have been subjected to mere apocalyptic guesswork.
In a recent video posted on YouTube, Abubakar Shekau, the self-styled leader of Boko Haram, admitted that his group actually abducted the girls. He also boasted that the girls would all be sold out as there was a thriving market for the sale of women. Perhaps, it is this open admission by Shekau that has fuelled condemnation and indignation all over the world. Now, help has finally come for Nigeria. I am sure many people may be tempted to say that the offer by the international community, particularly the Americans, is coming a bit late. The reason is that Nigeria is America’s strategic linchpin. America believes Nigeria’s military could contain the spread of Islamic militancy. But for four or five years now, the country has been facing so many odds in its campaign against terrorists, especially Islamic terrorists operating in the North.
Help may have taken time in coming because Nigeria has, in the past, rebuffed attempts by America to train its military whose history of shooting freely and widely has raised eyebrows in Washington and other places. This has, rightly or wrongly, led to a conclusion that Nigerian soldiers actually fuel the very terrorism they are supposed to counter by this operational blunder. Even at that, Washington has struggled for years to cement close ties with the Nigerian military. About nine years ago, the African Command of the US’ military invited the Nigerian military to participate in a joint military exercise codenamed “Operation Flintlock”, an annual multinational counter-terrorism exercise. Surprisingly, Nigeria’s generals balked at sending a large contingent of soldiers. The US later proposed setting up a specialised counterterrorism unit within the Nigerian military, but it floundered.
However, since Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, otherwise known as the “Underwear Bomber”, tried to blow up an airliner approaching Detroit on Christmas Day way back in 2009, the US has been working with Nigeria on creating an “Intelligence Fusion Centre” for rapid sharing of information collected by various Nigerian security agencies. The US views this as an important first step to see whether Nigeria can handle security threats themselves. Unfortunately, after two years of effort, the plan has only inched forward due to mistrust among Nigeria’s security services reportedly over funding.
Besides, as I said earlier, American officials are really worried that the Nigerian security forces’ free shooting ways may have worsened the security situation in the country. That is very true. Military and police heavy-handedness in the North is core to the story of Boko Haram’s emergence. In July 2009, Mohammed Yusuff and a good number of his lieutenants were summarily liquidated by Nigeria’s security forces even after they had been arrested and paraded on the streets. The effect of that brutality cannot be easily discounted from the mindless conflagration that has engulfed that part of the country.
All the same, it is good that the Americans and others have decided to intervene and stop the naked madness of these terrorists who, as it seems, are determined to overrun a section of the country. It is almost certain that the American Special Forces which will participate in the operation might be deployed from the US Drone Base in Niger, the Gulf of Guinea, the sea of Somalia and other bases in Africa under the US Africa Command, while additional equipment required for the sensitive operation could come from the US Department of Homeland security. The US Military Base in nearby Niger Republic could provide drone surveillance, logistics and intelligence support for the operation. What this means is that the drones are coming.
I am not sure the Americans may want to commit much or any ground troops for this campaign. This is so because after a decade of troop-intensive land wars that have strained the US budgets and left the country war weary, the Americans may rely on using Nigerian soldiers for the campaign. The only problem here is that the US and Nigerian authorities don’t fully trust each other. This may put a limit to cooperation against the present threat. The point is that the US officials are wary of sharing highly sensitive intelligence with the Nigerian government and security services for fear that it cannot be properly safeguarded. This is more so since it is almost glaring that the terrorists have informants within the government and security agencies.
All these notwithstanding, one way or another, both the US and Nigeria must cooperate in this war against Boko Haram. Nigeria is America’s largest Africa trading partner and its fifth-largest oil supplier. Canada, Britain, France, China and other foreign countries also have interests in Nigeria. Furthermore, Nigeria has, by far, the biggest army in the region where Al-Qaeda’s influence is spreading rapidly. As a result of this, America, Europe and the world surely need Nigeria to curb the rising influence of Islamic extremists and this can only be safely done if the country can be extricated from the stranglehold of terrorism perpetrated by religious extremists. In actual fact, the bitter truth is that countries with common borders with Nigeria that are providing sanctuary for the terrorists and pretending as if nothing is happening should realise that they will be the next target, once the terrorists are routed from Nigeria. I am talking about Cameroun, Chad, Niger and others.
It is important to note that terrorism is used by extremist to scare the public into meeting their unfathomable or weird demands. They do this because they believe that if they can spread fear among the populace and cause some sort of panic, then they can exert force and have power over them. It is universally acknowledged that their tactics are generally extremely violent and they will do whatever is necessary to strike fear into the hearts of those they perceive to be their enemy. This now brings us to what can be done to combat terrorism. Is there any way that we can keep ourselves safe from these extremists?
As we all know, combating terrorism is no tea party. It is a task that cannot be achieved overnight. It is a long struggle that could be quite dangerous as well. However, one of the basic things to do is to find out all of the methods that these terrorists use and understand their strategies. How do they launch attack? In what ways have they been most successful? If all the ways they may attack could be understood, it will be much easier to set up defences and stop them in their tracks before they inflict any harm. Once where they will attack is known, then strategies could be mapped out to either stop them or neutralise them.
Above all, one of the greatest weapons that can be used to combat terrorism is to simply get citizens involved and make sure they understand how important it is to report anything that is out of place. That is what is called Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative in the US. Having the citizens get involved is one of the most powerful ways to combat terrorism. It can give the authorities thousands of eyes and ears to watch for suspicious behaviours. In addition, terrorism is something that can be stopped. When a terrible act occurs, it is important that the act does not go unpunished like it happens in Nigeria. If the terrorists believe that they can successfully attack and escape without harm, they will become emboldened and more vicious. That is why Boko Haram has festered to this monstrosity.
