How to end the Boko Haram mayhem

In Borno State, in less than two years, thousands of people have been killed, over 2.5 million survivors displaced and hundreds of primary schools, health centers, shops, markets, houses both public and private buildings  burnt down as a result of criminal activities of Boko Haram insurgents.  While a whole generation has been lost, these burnt […]

In Borno State, in less than two years, thousands of people have been killed, over 2.5 million survivors displaced and hundreds of primary schools, health centers, shops, markets, houses both public and private buildings  burnt down as a result of criminal activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
 While a whole generation has been lost, these burnt structures, which took the Nigerian government and the people over fifty years to build, would again take a very long time to be rebuilt.
 The question now is how many years will it take the government and the people to renovate these burnt down structures? Nigeria is undergoing economic meltdown as a result of the mismanagement of the country by, perhaps, previous administrations and their cohorts, an ugly development that coincided with the collapse of petroleum prices.
Notably, state governments in the North-East, the region worst hit by the violence, also mismanaged the money accrued to the Commonwealth account, especially funds belonging to local government councils.
 More poignantly, governments, at all levels, are not meeting the expectations of the Nigerians.
 As someone from Borno state, I am in the know that since Governor Kashim Shettima was elected as governor, the caretaker chairmen appointed by him have only succeeded in mismanaging the taxpayers’ money more than ever, in the history of this country. Despite the enormous money released to them, the people are politically passive, and nobody is asking the caretaker chairmen to account for their stewardship, particularly those from northern part of the state.
Undoubtedly, poverty among the people is fueling the Boko Haram crisis. I know that President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to end this conflict as soon as possible. However, for him to achieve this goal, he must be bold enough to take the following steps:
 The federal government must diligently investigate matters relating to the finances of Borno State and all the local government area councils from 2011 to date. All the revenues accrued to the state and local governments, including federal allocation and internally generated revenues (IGRs) must be thoroughly and properly investigated and audited. This should be done in the interest of national security; I am sure this will throw some light as to why the Boko Haram crisis is prolonged; and perhaps, if this investigation is properly carried out, there might be some discovery of some of the politically motivated attacks in some local governments. If one is to summarize the entire Boko Haram conflict, I can simply say it is an organized crime between few aggrieved original Boko Haram members and those who are in the helm of affairs of government. In other words, the conflict is all about fraud, theft and embezzlement occurring within or against the state, local governments’ finances and people of Borno.
These crimes are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and are basically dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence.
State governments and the caretaker chairmen must therefore be probed and must be stopped from planting sons and daughters of political contractors as council administrators, especially heartless politicians in affected states.
This is because, the question of development projects in some LGAs in northern Borno is a matter of serious concern, and something needs to be done as early as possible.
The Boko Haram’s days are numbered, and their criminal activities will soon be history. Therefore, the next chapter is the reconstruction and the resettlement of internally displaced people. Authorities are urged to work with credible and reliable individuals and donor agency for the benefit of the Nigerian state. They should not hand the people over to the hyenas and continue watching these hyenas eat the long-forgotten and oppressed masses.
Political will, anchored on sound political structure is necessary for any positive, people oriented development.
It is important to note that in 2011, we had successful took part in the Presidential and National Assembly elections as well as gubernatorial and state Assembly elections in Borno State, and this year alone (2015), we had three elections without single attacks by the Boko Haram.
Throughout the insurgency period, there was no single month that Borno and its councils did not receive federal allocation, but how these resources are being managed remains a serious source of concern.
President Buhari’s promises to develop Nigeria’s north-east have received a boost from President Barack Obama and Washington policy makers. The World Bank has agreed to a low-cost and interest-free-for the first ten years-loan of 2.1 billion dollars for the rebuilding of infrastructure and the resettlement of displaced people.
Therefore, the governors of the north-eastern states should emulate President Buhari, who assured that under his watch, gross corruption at the local level will be checked, by ensuring that there is responsibility and accountability in governance. 
 In a nutshell, good governance, based on the principle of justice and accountability at all levels has come to stay in Nigeria. However, we have our doubts on the present administration in Borno State and other so-called leaders as regards the post-insurgency rebuilding and resettlement.
 Right now the IDPs are experiencing some unprecedented hardship and our schools have remained closed for over two years.
 The federal government must investigate how are resources have been spent and must also champion the rebuilding of the ravaged state and its neighbours.
 Bolori writes this piece from Maiduguri
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