Ikem Adimorah, a public affairs analyst, tasks Nigerian leaders across the political divide to close ranks against Boko Haram insurgency which is the handiwork of criminally minded international and local conspirators to destabilize Nigeria…
In the fifteenth century when the Portuguese sailors learnt something of the African coast and became the first Europeans to do so. The Dutch settlers occupied the Cape of Good Hope two centuries later; the cape later passed into British hands and was called the cape colony. However the continent was little known as the interiors of it were not explored.
Some brave explorers including Dr. David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary explorer (1813-1873) were among the first to make the in road into the interior of Africa. In their footsteps were traders settlers, missionaries and other adventurers thereby exposing the wealth of Africa to the rest of the world. Greater parts of Africa were divided among the leading European powers in the early 1800s mostly through conflicts and wars. However in 1885 European nations scrambled Balkanized and colonized African nations in the infamous Berlin conference.
Majority of the Europeans were traders and business men scouting for raw materials for the new industries of Europe and new markets for their manufactured products. Some Africans received formal education mostly from the missionaries as they were needed by the Europeans for their business and government for the maintenance of law and order to enable the Europeans conduct their business.
With the dawn of the twentieth century, a number of African countries started agitating for independence from their colonial masters. Most African countries achieved their independence through arms struggle while a few achieved theirs through tortuous negotiations and long civil strives. Today all African countries have gotten their independence politically. Many African countries are at the apron strings of the former colonial masters through neo colonialism and imperialism. This has been attributed by many to lack of visionary leadership by African leaders. These leaders, who are remotely controlled by the western powers that be, end up destroying their countries economy in a bid to please their foreign masters. It is evident that those African leaders who refuse to play along with these foreign powers are either killed, removed or their country men are instigated and sponsored to destabilize their countries (and eventually removed them).
Africans need to rise up and unite against all forces covertly or overtly working to destabilize the continent for their selfish interests. The Boko Haram insurgency as is being witnessed in Nigeria today has clearly shown that some powerful criminally minded foreign groups and individuals are bent on ensuring that Nigeria, the most populous in Africa, naturally endowed and potential super power of the world is not allowed to take the quantum leap to liberate Africa and the black race. These foreign powers are not comfortable that a super power will emerge from the African continent that holds the last hope for humanity against faithlessness and moral decadence. With Nigeria playing a pivotal role, in the development of Africa, those economies that are being developed and sustained through the siphoning of African wealth cannot pretend to fold their hands while Nigeria leads Africa out of the woods.
The terrorist activities of the boko haram sect have succeeded in creating a state of confusion in the country. Some Nigerians consider the insurgency as means of Islamizing the country. Their fears were high when many churches in the northern parts of the country were been bounded even as worshippers were praying inside the churches. Many more Nigerian must have concluded that the terrorist are not purely on a jihad for some mosques have been targeted and bombed, even Muslim leaders have also been killed in recent times, especially those that the terrorist had perceived as being against them. Secondly some Muslim leaders both locally and internationally have condemned the activities of the sect and denounced them publicly.
It is commendable that Christians and Muslims both in the south and north have not taken up arms against themselves. They should be encouraged to resist all forces both internally and externally working to destabilize us. Nigerians have refused to swallow the religions bait.
For some other Nigerians the insurgency must have arisen due to the fact that a southerner is the president of the country today. Many believe that most northerners erroneously consider the ruler ship of the country to belong to them. They are convinced that the north can do anything to take over power from any other part of the country. This stereotype may not have arisen out of nothing. It is evident that some northern politicians were too ambitious over acquisition of power and some had voiced it out. The inflammatory statement alleged to have been made by Gen. Muhammad Buhari before the 2011 general election was uncalled. However, majority of Nigerians have one spirit and have expressed their desire to remain one and indivisible nation if all citizens are treated equally at all times in principles and practice. The north had voted freely for southerners a number of time before. The south had also voted for northerners equally and freely. So where is this south/north dichotomy? Politicians are dividing us for their selfish interests.
Secondly, it is evident that many of the initial or founding members of the Boko Haram sect were strong supporters of some northern politicians. The sect members as they are operating today had long gone beyond the control of their political masters. Members of the sect have been used as political thugs in the past and have been dumped along the line. They now have new international masters who are wealthier and have different agenda and mission. These thugs have been recruited, trained and brain washed to terrorize Nigeria and possibly break her up. It is pertinent to remind Nigerians that these foreign powers are the same vampires that started bleeding Africa through slave trade, colonialism and neo colonialism and have not gone to sleep. Boko Haram may be the last straw that will break the camels back, if Nigerians and Africans do not wake up fast to resist this present menace of terror.
Over a decade ago these foreign powers predicted that Nigeria would disintegrate by 2015. However 2015 is around the corner and these forces have gathered small and medium range arms and armmunitions with the help of a few of us trying to force us to disintegrate through terrorist acts. Unfortunately our leaders and people are pretending not to know where our problems are coming from. Our leaders and politicians are interested only in politics and the personal gains that will come with it, watching the nation going down the abyss. It is disheartening that over 10,000 Nigerians have died as a result of the terrorist activities of the Boko Haram insurgents, with billion of naira wasted in properties and many businesses destroyed. If our leaders and politicians are patriotic, this is the time the leaders will call on all well meaning Nigerians to come together to fight our common enemy irrespective of our religious and political affiliations. The APC should encourage the president to declare a total emergency rule in the north eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, with the suspension of all democratically elected position. The president should on his part ensure quick and decisive elimination of the Boko Haram terrorist activities within 6 months to give way for the general elections of 2015 in those states as well.
Finally, Nigerians should choose more of statesmen than professional politicians as their leaders. The nation has for too long treated the Boko Haram insurgency with kid groves. It will be recalled that towards the end of former president obasanjo’s 2nd tenure as president of Nigeria, he had called for the presence of American forces in the Gulf of Guinea to forestall security challenges as there was indication that there were serious accumulation of arms and ammunition around the region. Most Nigerian cried foul apparently due to his antecedents and due to his soiled hands in the aborted third term saga. I believe that the third term saga gave the proposal a different colour at that time. Then entered the late president Yar’adua who witnessed the first terrorist attack of the Boko Haram sect. The issue of the insurgency was removed from the nation’s front burner by the persistent illness of the late president. Then, came the succession quagmire of President Goodluck Jonathan and his subsequent election. This long period which spanned through 8 or 10 years was enough time for the foreign powers to gain enough ground and penetrate more Nigerians.
It is this politicization of every issue that led to the prolonged captivity of the abducted Chibok girls by the Boko Haram terrorists. This long delay has led to the invitation of those who would have ordinarily be left out of our problem. The presidency should as a matter of urgency negotiate with their abductors and return the girls to their families for no good life is worth losing for any reason if it can be saved. The Israelis and the Americans have been exchanging prisoners and abducted citizens. It will not start or end with us. He who fights and runs away lives to fight again.