President Buhari will have, at least, one thing going for him as Nigeria’s president. Most rational people will not doubt the fact that he means well for all. Every part of Nigeria is in urgent need of structural attention but the North-east has more claims for urgent, immediate and purposeful attention.
The incoming administration must build the cities of the North-east, give renewed meaning to the lives of its terror-ravaged people and restore a new order of life in their communities. This does not mean that other Nigerian cities will or should be abandoned; it just means that as a country, we need to fix our immediate problems or they will prevent us from dealing with our remote challenges. Before the escalation of terror in that region, it was the least economically developed part of Nigeria.
Can you then imagine what five years of unprecedented terror attacks have done to the way of life there? Saving the North east is a matter of urgent national importance. A lot can be done in the short term while a long term plan must be designed and committed to. In the immediate, Boko Haram must be defeated and normalcy restored as it is almost impossible to build in a state of war.
We need an updated economic plan that taps into the resourcefulness of the people, involve as many as are ready to work to get to work with enough earnings to help them start small scale businesses and farms. We don’t want more idle hands. We need El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club back home in Maiduguri. We must set up a sports development plan that will tap into the bravery and natural abilities of the young people.
When people play together, they may fight but they often end up coming back to play together again. Sport is a unifying tool that could also help develop talents for the state and national teams, not to mention the possibility of even earning revenues from a well-developed sports plan that incorporates the private sector. Children, women and the girl child education have been the worst hit while Boko Haram held sway. We need to restore the belief of girls in education. We cannot afford to assume that the onslaught of Boko Haram on children and their destruction of schools did not impress on children.
There is work to do on the psychology of not just children but even adults in the most ravaged parts of the North east. General Muhammadu Buhari has his work cut out but this is not something he can effectively do without the cooperation of the government and people of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and the other affected states in the region. We cannot move forward without facing the truth of why we are where we are today! Religious leaders must meet to outline a truth and reconciliation agenda that focuses on establishing the ideas of living together as one people in peace and unity.
The people must take responsibility for their own peace towards going forward. Government will always play a central role but the North east can only heal if the people commit to a thorough healing process. The civilian JTF helped to fight Boko Haram and on many occasions not only prevented attacks but indeed saved many lives. The civilian JTF will however, have to be disarmed once the shadow of terror has been completely receded with the light of the people’s victory over terrorism. We don’t want a North-east populated by arms and ammunition. If they are there, they will be used.
The incoming administration must prioritise the rescue of those already abducted by Boko Haram. They must institute a rescue operation that is able to operate side by side with the direct war on terror. This is not negotiable because we cannot move on until we rescue those that can still be rescued and confirm the status of those that cannot either due to death or the fact that they have been sold off elsewhere.
Nigeria will move forward as a collective nation but we cannot afford to leave any part of Nigeria behind. If we do, it will cost us in the short and long run. This is why the North-east must form a crucial part of what General Buhari must immediately commit to as president.