Nigeria News
They claimed they were protecting the interest of the Yoruba race which had been trampled upon by successive military administration which had culminated in the cancellation of the June 12 presidential election of 1993. Though factionally divided, O P C had leadership elements that their followers associated with and were known throughout the country.
Odua people’s congress would hold rally in those days at Lagos, sometimes at Tafawa Balewa square and other times at Ikeja; though there used to be confrontation between the group and law enforcement agents and there were always casualties, at least government did hold responsible their factional leaders who were known to both State and federal government.
Enter the Niger Delta youths with their lorry load of grievances against both government and their community leaders. While Gen. Obasanjo held sway in his Second coming as a democrat, he was able to keep them at bay, what with his autocratic Signal to raze Odi in Bayelsa State; a signal that warned the irate youths of the Delta that his administration would not condone youthful civil disobedience.
The militancy of the Niger Delta youths gained an all time prominence at the dawn of the new millienium with militant factions doing damage to petroleum pipelines across the length and breadth of the Niger Delta and as far as the Atlas cove in far away Lagos.
These militant factions had cabal heads and a strange cult of followership who knew the terrain very well. They were invincible, well connected and were wrecking tumultous havoc that was damaging the integrity of Nigeria in the comity of Nations.
At a time in the course of the thriving business of militancy, kidnapping became an icing on the cake. And no age was too young to fall victim by the hands of the hooded militants. So terrible was this ill that it became unbearable in some south East community. The Late president Yar’dua appealed to the sentiments of their leaders and packaged a presidential amnesty for all the willing members of the different factions of the Niger Delta militant youths with an attendant mouth watering, soft landing rehabilitation packages. This presidential pardon Signalled the end of month-long armtwisting by the militants. It is on record that this Scourge of militancy lead to the loss of billions of petrol dollars by the Federal Government. Though dubious, the militants’ excuse and ideology was that they were fighting for and On behalf of the poor people of Niger Delta whose natural resources were used to develop other region, while they were left high and dry.
What do you say of the drive and ideology of Boko Haram? Boko Haram when translated means education is evil. Any ideological group whose philosophy is contigent upon the condemnation education deserves a psychoanalysis. Is education evil? Your guess is as good as mine.Yet, the Boko Haram sect says Western education is an infiltration into their land and culture that must be waged a war against.
Putting the Boko Haram ideologues in their proper perspective is necessary so as not to confuse ideologically grounded sentiments that were mismanaged such as the right of self –determination of the people of Niger Delta and the right of the Yoruba people to demand for active participation in the polity with the seeming illogic of a self contradictory attempt to banish Western education from the Northern Nigeria’s public Space. Reports have it that BOKOHARAM was a movement whose genesis was traceable to the attempt of some group of politicians in the north to consolidate on their powerbase. Credence is lent to this view when an alleged arrow head of the organization, Baba Fugu was made a commissioner in the government of mallam Sanni Yerima, the ex governor of Zamfara State.
At this point when elements of this organization were enjoying some patronage from one or two northern governors, BOKO was no Haram. The first signal of a clash between the State and BOKO haram Sect was when their nuisance value in the north became intolerable and their leader YUSSUF was arrested. Fearing that the suspect might provide intelligence that could implicate his sponsors he did not make it to trial and the controversy surrounding his complicated extra judicial murder yet awaits resolution. And all of a sudden BOKO became haram!
Since the death of mallam Yussuf, the acclaimed sect leader in the custody of the police over two years ago, there has been a BOKO HARAM uprising in the core north, reminiscent of the Maitasine crisis of the 80’s if not worse. Another angle to this development which seems very apparent is that the Original Boko Haram cell has been outsourced to crack terrorists who are driven by suicidal motives and who are hedged on by the foulest of abominable philosophical and religious indoctrination. Experts in Quranic Studies have repeatedly maintained that Islam is a religion of peace, and we have no reason to doubt this. Moreover, the psyche of an average Nigerian is repulsive to wanting to die and causing people to die painfully and prematurely through a premeditated effort that would also make a victim of the planner of such multiple deaths.
This to all intent and purpose is alien to average Nigerians. We therefore believe that whoever carries out a suicide mission On behalf of BOKO Haram has been put through a bullet theory Indoctrination that has sedated his Conscience from rational thinking.
It would be safe to say members of the BOKO Haram Sect are not muslims in the corporate Sense of the Islamic worship of Allah through his prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him. Rather, they are bigots and extremists who appear to have had a set motive of destabilizing Nigeria and affecting the air of insecurity at all cost.
From Maiduguri to Kano, Kaduna to Jos, Yobe to Niger and even Abuja, it has been cases of serialized and technically coordinated bombing of government facilities and religions houses in manners that betrayed the BOKO Haram Sect as people who are not only educated, but versed in the deployment of technologies of the west.
People have died in their hundreds Since the emergence of these grim terminators. Except the fact that these people claim Western education is evil, there is no other ideological Standpoint driving their attacks on innocent people and property worth millions of naira that they have destroyed.
This is the more reason they will continue to standout as a suspect extremist organization who are mere pawn in the chess game of some people who could have been using them to make that part of the nation ungovernable.
In the recent past, the BOKO Haram phenomenon has added to its list of victim Mr. Afiz Ringim, the erstwhile Inspector General of police in the sense that their constant attack and the failure of the police force he headed to secure in custody a Boko Haram Suspect, Abdu Qaka also known as Kabiru Sokoto cost him his highly placed job and smeared his chequered Career as a police officer.
Same thing goes for police Commissioner Biu who is facing trial over the escape of Abdullahi Sokoto, who has just recently been re arrested in Mutum Biu, a village in Adamawa State.
The latter is said to have made statements that is alleged to be a can of worms. Kabiru Sokoto was fingered in the Christmas day bombing of a church in Madala, Niger state where fourty-five people lost their lives. With the rearrest of Sokoto, the police has regained the people’s trust, but the feeling of insecurity in the land will not go away. Last Christmas, Some Boko Haram Suspects were arrested in Enugu and that implies that no where and no one is save. Insecurity is a terrible thing; it fouls the air and spoils the economy of the nation.
It is this feeling of insecurity that has made the Igbos of the South East to begin a gradual return in droves to their home lands. These are people who have stayed the better part of their lives in the north and have built houses as well as maintained chains of thriving businesses up north.
Federal Government has its job cut out well here. The arrow heads of this administration can not continue to watch this turn of events. It has gone beyond the usual approach of ‘government will find a lasting Solution’. Government must Start with the Statements being made by the latest prime Boko Haram suspect, Kabiru Sokoto. Nothing, this time around must be swept under the carpet. Every suspect indicted must be brought to trial. Now is the time to checkmate the activities of these localized terrorists because if government misses it, there will be dire consequences.
Another challenge Federal Government should square up to is to put a lie to the conspiracy theory that Nigeria will disintegrate by 2015. There is a feeling of insecurity in the air and this is very ominous.
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