In April 2014, more than 200 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram fighters from a boarding school in the northeast town of Chibok in Borno State. The scale of that operation generated international attention and exposed the Nigerian government to a barrage of criticisms. Not only this, it also attracted many competent partners to the fight against the insurgents.
After many of the girls had escaped and were found by the Nigerian authorities, it took over two years before 21 of the girls still held captive were released in October 2016. Another 82 girls were released in May 2017 in deals brokered by partners like the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC. But beneath the loud jubilation about the freed girls, there was deafening silence on the part of the government on the cost of releasing the girls. In spite of this, many believe that as part of the deal, the government released key Boko Haram fighters and parted with money to pave way for the release of those girls. This tactic was always a risk, and some poor families may now be paying for it.
Sad enough, in the evening of Monday, February 19, Boko Haram terrorists, in a deliberate and targeted attack, raided the Government Girls Science and Technical College, on the outskirts of Dapchi in Yobe State. Much like the Chibok attack, the insurgents made straight for the dormitories and gathered many of the girls into trucks they had brought to collect them. A count coordinated by the affected families revealed that at least 110 girls had been abducted.
Much has been said in international circles about negotiating with terrorists. George W. Bush, former President of the United States famously said that no nation can negotiate with terrorists as “there is no way to make peace with those whose only goal is death”. However, despite the hard-line position, the US and many other countries negotiate through intermediaries and under the radar. These negotiations come with the risk of encouraging or rewarding acts of terror.
In negotiating with terrorists, governments are wary about appearing weak and as such prefer to deal under the radar. The Nigerian government was very loud about its negotiations with Boko Haram, before any deal was reached and afterwards. The country suffered the embarrassment of negotiating with terrorists, which is a mark of weakness in international circles. Having suffered that, it is now suffering the humiliation of repeat attacks and abduction that will most likely lead to more deals.
One simply never negotiates from a weak position; and surely not with terrorists. As long as there were holes in the security plan for the entire northeast (for starters), the government remained in a weak position and negotiating was a bad idea. This is why the competence or sincerity of the ‘partners’ of the government in the northeast should be called into question. In the quest for the glory of finally helping to “bring back our girls”, there may have been oversights on the extended strategy for securing the northeast and ensuring that no further attacks like Chibok occur.
When Chibok happened, we all tried to imagine how a convoy of Landcruisers and trucks used by the insurgents could simply appear from thin air, take part in an all-night operation and vanish from the face of the earth in an area experiencing on-going terrorism and counter terrorism operations. Four years later, we are back here, in spite of the claims by the army of “crushing” the insurgency. This only shows the weakness of the security apparatus and its level of readiness to engage in negotiations with an adversary with no acceptable moral code.
This latest attack comes amidst an increased manhunt for Abubakar Shekau, the slippery leader of Boko Haram. It shows that if the government had any awareness of the risks associated with conceding to demands by the terrorists, it did not take adequate measures to ensure that the terrorists never attain such an opportunity in the future. This Yobe experience has now completely nullified any perceived success of the unholy negotiations.
Even while over a hundred families from Chibok still spend each day in the misery of not knowing the fate of their daughters, Shekau’s army of radicals has thrust more families into the endless wait for action from a government and military that does not realise its own weakness. The huffing and puffing of the Nigerian army in the face of colossal disintegration of internal security, especially in the northeast, is unfortunate for the lives and property of the people they are sworn to protect.
One recognises that the government finds itself in an impossible position, but it has failed to manage the situation to an acceptable degree, even with the huge resources in financial and human terms being volunteered from all around the world. Sustained violence on the scale at which we are currently experiencing within our borders is one of many markers of failed states. Now, how far is the Nigerian state from failure?
While many have taken the political route to reacting to the news of the latest abduction of girls, it is important to note that the current terrorism of Boko Haram is a collective result of the all brawn and no brains approach of the Obasanjo regime, the docile reaction under Jonathan and the over-confidence of the Buhari administration. It is obviously not a partisan issue but a grave danger to the whole country and its economic drive. More important is the pain of incompetence that is not felt by the government officials that fall short of expectations, but by the lowly masses looking up to the government to protect them from the enemies at their doorstep.
In all of this, it is saddening that Boko Haram has had the advantage all along. The girls were abducted for many reasons, and even after their release, the terrorists had taken something from them. Many of them returned with babies and those who did not, had been similarly violated. The emotional and mental toll seems to be unending for the returnees who have spent months in government re-integration camps and away from their families. The girls that were returned had lost their innocence, if nothing else.
All the while, funds collected through the charity of foreign donors were diverted with boldness and disdain while the terrorists made babies with their captive brides. The rumours about high ranking military officers who are complicit in the terrorism also remain, even in the Yobe attacks. It is inconceivable that in an organised system, a coordinated attack on this scale can take place twice in the same region after “intensive” military operations against it had been in place for years.
Our shame as a nation now knows no bounds because the government keeps showing weak points for terrorists and other blood-thirsty groups to exploit. There were the so-called militants in the Niger Delta that are still receiving plum government pay-outs today in exchange for their calmness. The amnesty extended to that group has been suggested even for Boko Haram members. Does our government know any other tricks apart from capitulation?
Now that Yobe has happened, are we going to go through the same roller-coaster of military gymnastics that end up in capitulation? If our nerves deep in the south are frayed from the incessant killing and violation of people in the northeast, one only wonders the state of mind of the people that have to live in fear and realisation that they are not safe after all.
There are no easy solutions, but there is room for improvement in all quarters, even with those providing “expert” advice and support to our military chiefs and government officials. We all need to be frank about safeguarding the lives of these defenceless girls and their right to an education. It is not time for trading blames, but a time for collective responsibility.
