Determining victory against the insurgency

He was reported to have said last week that not only would the Boko Haram be defeated but the taunting spokesman Abubakar Shekau would be arrested “before the elections” forthcoming in weeks. Of late, the fortunes of the Nigerian Armed Forces have turned in the war against the insurgency, with successes being scored one after […]

He was reported to have said last week that not only would the Boko Haram be defeated but the taunting spokesman Abubakar Shekau would be arrested “before the elections” forthcoming in weeks. Of late, the fortunes of the Nigerian Armed Forces have turned in the war against the insurgency, with successes being scored one after the other. The developments have expectedly gladdened hearts, even though the applause is being held back by measured caution. Over the years and particularly with regards to the fight against Boko Haram, Nigerians have laughed, only to weep right after.
Many territories occupied by the insurgents have now been liberated, notably in Adamawa State where Bazza, Uba, and Michika have been recovered. Minister for Youth and Social Development, Boni Haruna was in Michika, his home town where he wept uncontrollably as one of the victims narrated to the one time Governor of Adamawa State, the sordid experiences suffered under the occupation of the extremists. Michika presents a unique challenge whose solution cannot be wished away. As efforts are being made for the displaced citizens to return, there are fears that revenge violence will follow in view of reportedly, the many who were said to have joined the insurgency in killings and burning of property of their kith and kin, sadly under the identification of victims who claim to have witnessed it all from refuge in the hills and other vintage positions. It is not safe to simply ask the displaced persons to return to their abodes. It is in place to ask that a judicial truth commission intervenes to assist in the resettlement and healing process. Criminals must not go unpunished.
In fashioning out resettlement, there needs to be a professional and non political assessment of the impact of the Boko Haram occupation, even for record purposes, since it is unthinkable to expect that Government can pay compensation for losses. This is in the short term. In the long term, Governments of the Northern States must undertake a unified approach to the engagement of uneducated and unemployable youth, who suffered the abuse of being engaged by the leaders of the insurgency believably by force of intimidation and coercion.
Nigerians are justifiably angry that the Nigerian Armed Forces were subjected to such a five-year ridicule, and so many “fine” officers and men were sacrificed to failures and tactical manoeuvres; after the jeers by Cameroonian and Chadian militaries, that our seemingly shoeless forces suddenly laced up their boots and began the ongoing crack down. Did it have to be like this?
The deplorable handling of the insurgency by the government particularly the politicisation of the crisis has given rise to several conspiracy theories which have continually been given credence by at times naive leadership pronouncements. In the midst of anger that successes being scored now were possible even years ago, President Jonathan made surprising disclosures during the week, that in deed make you wonder if fears being openly expressed about complicity of government or its friends in the insurgency challenge are with firm basis.
President Jonathan was first reported to have said that he and his team underestimated Boko Haram. For a columnist who had written volumes on the growing capacity of the Boko Haram insurgents, it was an upsetting remark, coming particularly at a time when it was becoming difficult to convince Nigerians that the insurgency was not deliberately nursed to serve the purpose of derailing the election process and the suspect ploy to elongate the Jonathan Administration without a test of the election. It was a naive admission that Government in deed did not respond to the insurgency appropriately. That thousands died, millions rendered homeless, and development resource misapplied avoidably to security requirements was criminal. Certain functionaries must be held accountable. That is why we must ponder on the way to win the war against Boko Haram, and hope certainly that it will not be by parading the “Fourth Shekau” (for three have so far been killed).
Just before one could situate the naive and preposterous admission by President Goodluck Jonathan that himself and his team underestimated the Boko Haram, he dropped another loaded statement, that Boko Haram would be compromised within a time frame. Then he said that Boko Haram cat with nine lives Abubakar Shekau will be caught before the election – as if Shekau is some tortoise caged in a pen to be merely picked up.
To end the war against Boko Haram we must not only win the battles but we must establish some truths. It is still necessary to unravel the circumstances of the extrajudicial killing of the leader of the sect Mohammed Yusuf for it was from this point that the radicalisation of the sect began.
A judicial commission of enquiry must not only establish who did what in this regard, but must record some credible narrative of the Boko Haram insurgency, establishing its birth, gestation, growth, and expansion. Without judicial and security cover and protection, many affected citizens will bottle up currently hidden truths about what Boko Haram truly represented, particularly aspects that bordered on its having served as a tool for the attainment of political ends and grown there from. It needs to be established how funding was effected particularly for the armaments used by the insurgents, more especially the extent to which the national armed forces were compromised.
We must also secure a full disclosure of what truly happened with regards to the over two hundred school girls abducted from Chibok. They cannot be left unaccounted for. Surely also among many burning enquiries, technical attempts must be made to deconstruct radicalisation of the fundamentalist, and learn the methods used in priming suicide bombers, particularly under aged females.
All considered, government must consider that there are grave issues in the insurgency experience of the last 6 years, being determined so efficiently in 6 weeks to keep a commitment to an election we cannot postpone or avoid. There must be a conscious effort to determine how to win the war against the insurgents.