…. And now, who blinks?

We lost hundreds and even thousands of young people and even not so young to the insurrection. We lost tremendous material wealth aside the peace that the North Eastern parts of the country were known for since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914.Senseless politics of region and religion was put at the forefront and while […]

We lost hundreds and even thousands of young people and even not so young to the insurrection. We lost tremendous material wealth aside the peace that the North Eastern parts of the country were known for since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914.
Senseless politics of region and religion was put at the forefront and while peace continued to evade us, the government in Abuja in fierce confrontation with any such views was unwilling to see reason and understand the nature of the upheavals talk less of designing more effective methodologies in dealing with it.
The president complicated the matters a few weeks ago when he belatedly visited Borno and Yobe States. Even at the visit, he blundered because he refused to understand the nature and magnitude of the problem either truthfully or out of natural shortfalls.
Before the 2-state visit, the tension and insurrections were seemingly under serious control and the bombs were all time low. Lives were saved while activities and life were beginning to return to normal until Dr Jonathan went to Borno and insulted the elders of the region who have since the escalation of the problem advised severally on what they believed would have addressed the issues.
Unfortunately, President Jonathan and his think tank especially under the leadership of the former NSA Andrew Azazi thought otherwise and the response to the insurrection was in the mode of fire for fire. The insurgents killed indiscriminately while the soldiers went on cleansing. If the reports of Amnesty International is anything to go by, the allegations of extra judicial murders in Borno especially is sufficient to hang a warrant on the neck of Mr. President for the lives of those innocent young boys who were extra judicially murdered by men in Nigerian uniforms simply because bombs were thrown around their neighborhoods.
The tears of mothers whose children were dragged right under their beds and sent to the next world will continue to haunt the president who failed to listen to wise counsel and instead paid premium on politics at the expense of life and well being of a large chunk of his constituency.
The president claimed that Boko Haram members are ghosts but he has people in tens arrested across different police cells and prisons in the country, yet, those he accused are alleged members of the boko haram movement. Bombs are thrown and lives are lost. The only response we hear from the villa was, the government was on top of the situation.
In physical terms people were killed and property lost, but the government in Abuja believed that such crimes were committed by ghosts or political opponents and as such would neither negotiate nor grant amnesty as a strategy of bringing the situation to an end. The only answer the president has for this situation is force. Brute force for that matter.
Other Nigerians who unfortunately are not from the North saw the problem in similar light with the president to the extent that all calls right from beginning of this crisis to deploy more effective measures in addressing it failed in deaf ears. The result is what we see today.
In fact at a time, there was a serious conspiracy theory peddled as to the effect that the crisis was in fact supported by the state whose political ambition in 2015 was placed over and above the lives and well beings of a majority of Nigerians who incidentally habit the Northern part.
It was easy accepting such theories as reality when placed against the backdrop of the wise counsel advanced to the government free of charge by both the governments in the affected states and their elders on how to end the insurrection was repeatedly rebuffed. The insistence of military action which will definitely be a liability to the president in the future was seen as a measure of population control and deployment of violence on a people that ought to be defended by their soldiers and politicians.
I understand that at the meeting between the president and representatives of the Northern Elders Forum midweek, the president is thinking of reversing his unwarranted hardline on resolving this endemic insurrection. Could it be because 2015 is next door or a sudden realization that objective 2015 is hardly realizable under the existing scenario?
I am of the view that no matter the option, President Jonathan has squandered the opportunity he got to provide leadership to Nigerians from all sections. His actions are tragically more divisive and destructive to the Nigerian unity worst than what an opposition irredentist would have done.
As Sam Nda –Isaiah wrote recently, I would not like a 2015 elections that will not have President Jonathan as a candidate. The reason is simple so that he can be roundly defeated and the world would then see that Nigerians too could defeat an incumbent due to crass lack of performance which has cut across the terrain of  tribe, region and religion, the cheapest denominators that this government has used in securing support.
We will soon begin a campaign of warning our Imams and Clergies to say the word of God and leave politics out of the pulpit. Representatives and leaders must be elected on the basis of what they have to offer not what faith they profess. Faith is only important to the extent that it will guide adherents on the right thing to do and not this scenario that is dark and ugly.
My view is that there is no alternative to freedom. There is no price that cannot be paid for peace. I wonder how a sitting responsible government can make do with such a bloody scenario and the politicians would turn deaf ear even when strategic pool of state is of the view that carrot and stick can do the magic.
The government must as a matter of necessity begin negotiation with the insurrection. Nigerians would understand if it extends the olive branch and it is rejected after all management of conflicts and crisis situations and not just appropriation and allocation of our resources are the hallmarks of mandate representation.
The government must talk to boo haram so that we may have peace in Nigeria and in Northern Nigeria in particular.