Watching Aisha Sesay the other day interviewing President Goodluck Jonathan’s propagandist, Dr Doyin Okupe and Information Minister Labaran Maku on CNN over Federal government’s lackluster response to the Chibok school girls abducted by Boko Haram left one wondering whether these agents of the government know that the world is a global village and no country is an island.
Spewing blatant lies and falsehood, Maku and Okupe tried unsuccessfully to hoodwink the CNN correspondent into believing that Jonathan and indeed the Nigerian government was on top of the situation and would soon bring the perpetrators of the dastardly acts to book, as they often tell us here after every terror strike by Boko Haram.
Pointedly they were asked why it took our president three weeks to appear on camera to talk about the abducted school girls. And like a thief caught in the act, they were incoherent, particularly Maku, in their defence of the Commander-In-Chief. Sesay asked such probing questions that the authorities here would have berated the reporter over if the questions were being asked by a Nigerian journalist.
The CNN woman was a reporters’ delight, forget about whatever prejudice the American network or any other western media might harbor against Nigeria, our government gave them the opportunity to lampoon us, and that they did, justifiably so, to their satisfaction.
I wonder what the hired defenders of the Jonathan administration here at home would say now. The truth has no duplicate; the federal government messed up as always in situations like this, on this Chibok school girls abduction and every attempt to put up a defence or explain why it did not act on time would only infuriate Nigerians the more. May be the president should apologise to the rest of us, I mean the parents of the girls and other Nigerians, draw a line under the matter and we move ahead with the search and rescue operation.
Prior to the global outrage that followed the abduction and the less than impressive handling of the matter by the Federal Government, intelligence sources had indicated that Nigeria was not willing to accept offer of foreign assistance, especially military assistance in order to protect the nation’s sovereignty. Which sovereignty you might want to ask? Is it the sovereignty that is being gradually taken away by Boko Haram under the president’s watch? The sovereignty that our government appears so incapable of defending?
Well, thank God that doesn’t seem to be the position any longer following President Jonathan’s acceptance of military/intelligence assistance from the United States and a host of other friendly countries. And I think our president has done well here.
And now that the world has offered to assist and we have accepted, no effort should be spared to bring the girls home. Thanks to Madam Oby Ezekweseli, the #BRING BACK OUR GIRLS, campaign has gained such support around the globe and prompted the avalanche offer of assistance that even Boko Haram has been forced into a rethink. Now the terrorists are showing a softening of position, offering some sort of unilateral ceasefire albeit with conditions.
And just yesterday they released a group photograph of the girls against the backdrop of series of reports that they might have been sold into sex slavery somewhere in the Central African Republic. The photograph, with a couple of armed hooded terrorists on guard, I believe was Boko Haram’s way of saying the girls are ‘safe’ but don’t attempt to come and rescue them militarily; let’s talk if you want them back. Uhmmmmm, what a dicey situation. Meanwhile there are reports that our soldiers are combing the Sambisa Forest where the girls are presumably being kept. So what do we do?
In rescuing the girls efforts should be made, by our military to utilize whatever superior technology, weapons and intelligence our friends are offering. Casualties, especially on the part of the girls should be minimized as much as possible if they cannot be avoided totally. There is no point in going it alone if we cannot do it safely. The example of the botched rescue of kidnapped foreigners in Sokoto sometime ago is still fresh in our memory.
In whatever operation to rescue the girls, the Nigerian military would be on trial and the focus of attention by all the militaries of the world. If we do it well, then we would be making a statement that we are up to it in terms of protecting our people and rescuing them wherever and whenever they are in danger. But can we really do it?
With the attention of the world firmly on Nigeria and Boko Haram, the international community should use this opportunity to help rid our country and by extension the West African sub region of terrorism; and France in particular has a big role to play here. The bulk of the ECOWAS is dominated by French speaking countries and the lack of cooperation between these countries and the few Anglophone West African nations is very glaring, especially in terms of security.
Though not a West African country, Cameroon for instance borders Nigeria to the east and south east and is known to be a haven for Boko Haram. The reluctance of the authorities in Yaounde to help Nigeria fight this terror is well known in spite of appeals from Abuja. It does appear that nobody except France can push or cajole Cameroon into taking action against Boko Haram, even if only in its territory. France could lead a joint military operation involving Nigeria and Cameroon to get these terrorists out of our sub region. Recall that with France leading and an African military contingent comprising mainly of Nigerian troops, went into Mali not too long ago to rid that country of elements linked with al Qaeda. Same can be done here and Boko Haram would become history.
Our people have suffered enough in the hands of these sons of the devil and if the international community truly wishes Nigeria well and desirous of the good health and wellbeing of West Africa, then they would crush Boko Haram and all such terrorist groups threatening the peace of our continent. Don’t forget the al Shabab in Somalia threatening to throw the whole of the east African region into disarray.
It is not enough to help us BRING OUR GIRLS HOME, but the international community must help us make our region safe and create a conducive atmosphere for economic prosperity. By doing this they would also be helping themselves by not only destroying the sources of supply of terrorists in their countries, but also stemming the tide of economic migrants from Africa to Europe. As the Yoruba would say, Irorun igi, ni irorun eye; the comfort of the tree, is the comfort of the bird.
