BURNING POT BY PRINCE
CHARLES DICKSON
Boko Haram, Before And
By June, That Promise!
pcdbooks@gmail.com
The only way to keep the
opposition, especially the ones without alternatives, quiet is to perform
more than creditably. Top-notch deliveries are like pregnancy -- can't be
hidden. Ndubisi Victor O
The modus operandi for the Boko Haram click has changed; bombings may have
reduced considerably depending on who is reeling out the statistics.
In Kano it is police stations, security institutions or the mosque, these
days the force tasked with protecting citizens have been trigger happy.
While Gombe has been hotels, churches and the odd mosque. In Yobe, it’s
security operatives, Custom, SSS, institutions and churches. Yobe was safe
until late last year the onslaught began.
In Adamawa, it was Igbos and the governor's account, then police stations
and markets too. In Bauchi, barracks, banks, churches, and police station.
In Kaduna it has been barracks, markets, near the mosque and the Easter
Sunday blast and a rare bank attack in Saminaka.
In Jos, Plateau, it has been just churches, and new voyages to viewing
centers. In Niger state, it has been Suleja all through, Maddala Xmas Bomb
and others. The Christ Embassy and some very unimaginable ones like the
self-confessed Igbos manufacturing bombs.
Kogi state has entered the fray, with prison breaks, and bomb making
centers. But for some shadow boxing, Abuja has been relatively safe after
the Police Headquarters and UN building bombs.
Despite all the threats, Sokoto has remained safe but for the Hostage
release drama that went sour. Kebbi is clean, Zamfara too, so also
Katsina, Jigawa inclusive. Only the initiated can proffer any logical
explanation.
In Taraba, only the capture of Kabiru Sokoto in the state is a mark. Than
that, the state is clean. In Borno, BH has done almost a full
circle...From churches, Christians, local politicians, and Islamic
scholars/clerics, security agents, schools (without pupils though),
markets, wedding--name it.
From local IEDs to bombs, gunmen that raid victims from motorcycles, bombs
that missed targets and bomb makers killed by their wares.
There are has been several arrests, including the Senator that fingered or
alleged that the Vice President was aware that he had contacts with BH.
One spokesman yet to go on trial, while another one is still having
conference calls with Journalists.
The security agents have made several arrests and killings. Comparatively
in some states they seem to have the upper edge. But fact remains
that...it’s a long way.
Political, economic, criminal, militant, religious and government boko
harams are the few typologies we have seen so far--Those that want to
negotiate but do not trust government. Those blowing up Banks, those
killing other faiths and those that have made sure that more Muslims are
killed and then those too that have become Christian Boko Haram and
government conspirators...
The fact that attacks have continued where there are curfew and cache of
arms and rocket launchers move around these region despite its military
state tells you its far from June.
Demands keep changing, from sharia request, to the president being asked
to convert. To revenge for the Jos praying ground killings to requesting
that Southerners leave the North and recently BH's own ultimatum to the
President.
It’s interesting to note that in most of the affected areas Boko Haram has
greatly changed the way of life. Many believe it is a Northern problem.
Yes, for now maybe but how long--till June according to Mr. President.
Mutual suspicion, mistrust, half-truths and outright lies and purposeful
misinformation exists about the face of Boko Haram.
Who are the sponsors of BH, big ones, small and medium ones? Why is it
that no top government functionary has been victim...being a den of
Haramites.
There is a growing cell structure, international complexity, do we
dialogue, on what terms, with which group, is it justified, are they
faceless, no, at least not on the experience of these writer. Are they
exploiting a weak leadership?
How many has to die before June, our hate quotient is on the red level.
Innocent Nigerians of different faith and creed killed in bestial manner
for things they least understand. Not totally justifiable but at the heart
of all these is a leadership that has long neglected its responsibility to
her people in terms of social justice, economic empowerment, political
stability via electoral process, and ethno-religious tolerance systems.
Have we looked at Borno the central actor from the underlying perspective
of a battle for supremacy along the divide of Islamic schools of thoughts,
so much intellectual disagreements and banana academic peels? The security
experts are faced with underage and gullible boys, on another hand very
sophisticated schooled and doctrinated young men armed to the teeth. While
many do not know even the real BH detest being referred to as Boko Haram,
universities have not been attacked and strangely in all states of
concentration the elite residential areas have been spared not necessarily
more protected.
When a police station is attacked officers of both major faith and pagans
are killed. We are almost confronted with a bad diagnosis leading to bad
therapy. And it is in these lights that I conclude by saying that I doubt
if the president knows half of these... He may be the CEO of Nigeria and
get all the security briefings but he doesn’t know much when he says in
public there is BH in his government.
He knows very little when he makes the same comments he made at the Force
Headquarters, at the UN, at the Catholic Church. It is very
"un-leader-like" to further tell us exactly when this would all be over in
manner of fact that says talakawas can die till June.
Before and by June the only way to keep the opposition, especially the
ones without alternatives, quiet is to perform more than creditably on
this matter of security of the Nigerian life. Top-notch deliveries are
like pregnancy -- can't be hidden. So far Jonathan and the leadership of
the North, right from the Vice President, the governors and traditional
and religious leaders have failed to put a stop to all these unnecessary
deadly pursuit of the hungry Cheetah and the Antelope that needs to
survive.
Like the end of one of those SSS commercials that cost Nigerians millions
it says we are Nigerians not terrorists...WHAT WE ARE--time will tell.--
|