•It is the Boko Haram bulls’ eye attack on northern economy
The security crisis plaguing Northern Nigeria has taken a new dimension with the orchestrated destruction of telecommunications masts across several states in the zone. Obviously the aim is to cripple communications and businesses, and unless the wave is contained, insecurity in the region will worsen.
The Boko Haram sect, which has claimed responsibility for most of the insurgency in the region, has also claimed responsibility for this new development. Tragically, as the infrastructure of the telecom companies are being destroyed, members of their staff and innocent bystanders are also killed by the hoodlums.
With this new tactics, the Boko Haram sect is out to destroy what remains of the distressed economy of the region. As seen in recent times, the sect has been attacking federal and state institutions, alongside the schools that have been their original target. Last week alone, about 16 persons were reportedly killed in Damaturu and Potiskum, Yobe State, while the Ministry of Religious Studies, Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hajj camp, local government INEC office, and Government Secondary School, Damaturu, were targeted with Improvised Explosive Device (IED). In the same week, the masts in Kano and Maiduguri were also targets of the incendiary activities of the sect.
The political leadership in Nigeria as we have severally argued must rise up to the primary responsibility of government, which is the protection of lives and property. Because of the persistent wanton destruction of lives and property, it is gradually turning to a permanent state of affairs in the region. In such situation, more businesses close down, more people get displaced, and a major chunk of the scarce resources is spent fighting the insurgency. The result is that poverty worsens, and those orchestrating the violence get more members from the population of frustrated Nigerians, and the result is a cycle of violence and poverty.
The Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Boko Haram crisis in Yobe State reported that four persons have been arrested in connection with the destruction of the masts, and are being interrogated. We urge the JTF to do more than it has done. It is strange that despite assurances by the Federal Government that it is on top of the situation, the facts on ground remain increasingly slippery. While the Federal Government has changed some key officials and spent huge resources, if the budget is anything to rely on, the results are merely trickling in.
Unfortunately even before the Boko Haram insurgency started, the North-Eastern part of the country was the least educated, and also at the lowest rung of poverty index in the country. Little wonder that the crisis started and is dominant in that area. With all efforts concentrated on containing the crisis, there is no doubt that the zone will be moving further down the rudder of underdevelopment. Targeting education and any modicum of modern development, the religious sect is obviously determined to return the area to its rustic settings of the previous centuries.
Even more tragic is that members of the sect are also destroying the communications channels that they also use. While condemning everything western, they rely on modern facilities, including destructive IEDs to spread mayhem. The sect no doubt uses telephones to communicate and pass down instructions, and it is strange that despite their original claim to be fighting against government and other religions, they have now started destroying private properties that are beneficial to all.
Telecommunication investments in the North have to be protected. Moreover, states in the region would increase the tempo of whatever effort they are making to redeem the north from irreversible destruction. It is also necessary for the states to reconsider their stand on state police, which we have argued may be necessary to stem the apparent descent into anarchy.
