The All Progressives Congress (APC) is probably being attributed a lot of membership at the moment. Since Steve Davis, an Australian
negotiator, made the chilling, some say ‘satanic’, revelations alleging that some politicians are sponsors of Boko Haram; many who
believed this story have been tagged APC apologists or its members.
Even Modu Sherif, one of those fingered by Davis as Boko Haram sponsors, alluded to the fact that he was being accused because some
people are not happy that he ditched the opposition party. And of course, anyone who ask Sherif or Ihejirika to answer to the allegations levelled against them has been perceived as speaking for the opposition party. In Nigeria, everything is politics and politics is everything.
Since Boko Haram began its terror campaign, mainly in the north-eastern Nigeria, thousands of innocent Nigerians have been butchered or bombed, massacred or executed by a merciless and irreverent group determined to shed the blood of the innocents. As I write this, Nigeria is yet to be rid of a very repugnant violation where over 200 girls are taken from their hostels by a set of deranged scum. With all this turmoil and with the whole world becoming emotional over the plight of the Chibok girls (as evident from the global nature of the BringBackOurGirls campaigns), our politicians, especially those of the ruling party, still think this whole mess is not more than a conspiracy against the President. In our own country, political race has no finish line. We don’t know when to stop playing politics and start thinking of an escape from what is gradually becoming a collective danger.
May be, and just may be, our politicians are thinking more of a winning strategy for 2015 elections than they are of a formula to stem the tide of terrorism and make Nigeria habitable to all of us.
But Steve Davis, the Australian hostage negotiator who is talking to Boko Haram about the release of the abducted Chibok girls, has upset
the applecart. He has released a ‘bombshell’ that is making our political elites, both in the ruling and opposition camps to shiver,
because they don’t know whose name will come up next.
Two nights ago, my wife drew my attention to a news report on the internet. The report was about a press conference granted by Senator
Ali Modu Sherif, ostensibly to exonerate himself from the allegation of sponsoring Boko Haram, which was made against him by Davis. While pointing to the picture that accompanied the report (it was a picture of Senator Sherif weeping while addressing the press), my wife asked me, “but what is your guts telling you about this allegation? Are you convinced that this man (Senator Sherif) is actually sponsoring Boko Haram”.
I am sure that as a woman, my wife must have been taken in by Senator Sherif’s public show of emotion. But I also didn’t know what to think
or believe. So I simply told her that I don’t know what to believe anymore. But since hope has power, I told her to hold unto that power
and, like many other Nigerians, pray that the Boko Haram problem is overcome. After all, it is not sensational revelation that matters to
us, but the eventual triumph over terrorism and allied forces of darkness.
But would the revelation coming from Steve Davis be the beginning of the end to the insanity called Boko Haram? Only time will tell.
However, there is always a process towards resolving any crisis. And Boko Haram crisis would not be any different. Towards this end, we
must be willing to examine all information and revelation that may constitute a part of the process that would resolve this logjam. Any
information, no matter how little or big, must be treated with all the seriousness it deserved. This is why we must look beyond the tears of
Sherif or the diversionary statements of Rtd General Ihejirika. While we cannot hang them based on the allegation of a foreign ‘mercenary’,
we must not fail to investigate the content of the allegation. As usual, it is not about the messenger but the message.
The Director of the National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, has denied hiring Davis as a hostage negotiator. Although this new report
sharply contradicts earlier reports that Davis spent four months negotiating with Boko Haram on behalf of the Nigerian government to
free the over 200 abducted Chibok school girls. But who cares? Whether or not the Nigerian government contracted Davis to negotiate with Boko Haram on its behalf is of no importance at this moment. What is at issue now is the allegations made by Davis. Whether or not he has the official backing to make those allegations is immaterial.
Omeiri did say that “the government is investigating the allegations made by the alleged negotiator. However, the government has no plan to
question anybody because of those allegations.” Omeiri’s statement is both a plus and a minus for the government. It is a plus because the
government is at least taking the allegations serious by investigating them. But at the same time, how it (the government) intends to find
the truth without at least questioning those alleged is a BIG minus and a huge gap in the quest for the truth that is essential towards
resolving the Boko Haram imbroglio.
About a year ago, the United States government arrested Uzair Paracha on charges of material support for terrorism, the same ‘charge’
levelled against Senator Modu Sherif. Paracha was not only arrested but was also moved to a harsh regime of solitary confinement. A
national security restrictions was placed on his contact with others, permitted to speak only to prison guards. And all this was based only
on allegation.
So why are we treating those alleged to be supporting terrorism in our own countries like untouchables.
I belief Noam Chomsky did not have Nigeria in mind when he said “for the powerful, crimes are those that others commit.” If the Nigerian
government has arrested and questioned other suspects of terrorism in the past, nothing stops them from doing same in the case of Modu
Sherif and Ihejirika. Afterall, questioning them would not mean that they are already guilty as charged. But not “questioning anybody” in
relation to weighty allegations of material support for terrorism would be a validation of the Orwellian assertion that “some animals
are more equal than others”. Yet, selective investigation or “questioning” would not help the fight against terrorism. If the government is serious about putting an end to the deadly activities of Boko Haram, any Nigerian, especially those who have serious allegation of supporting terrorism hanging on their necks, can be subjected to serious questioning. This will help us to know the truth and the truth will help us to put an end to terrorism in this country. May God help Nigeria and also help our leaders to know and work with the truth.
Abdullahi writes from Abuja
Boko Haram and Davis’ explosive allegations: what is your gut telling you?
