Re-birth of ECOMOG in Borno State?

came the youth, the “nduli ka’a” (the stick wielding youth; vanguard). Happily ever since, so much seems to be happening to return life to normalcy especially in Maiduguri and to some towns in the State. The people of Maiduguri have gone back to lavish and loud lifestyles especially at weddings, perhaps venting out their deprivation […]

came the youth, the “nduli ka’a” (the stick wielding youth; vanguard). Happily ever since, so much seems to be happening to return life to normalcy especially in Maiduguri and to some towns in the State. The people of Maiduguri have gone back to lavish and loud lifestyles especially at weddings, perhaps venting out their deprivation for such a long time. Perhaps, it is better for the good people of Borno state to use their time and resources well, and they should be reflective on the challenges and be prayerful to Allah to avoid His trails again.
The need for us to be more reflective brings me to the crux of this article: the resurfacing of the dreaded “Ecomog”, the group of youth drawn into drugs, vandalism, and murder by politicians that, not too long ago, became a nightmare to all and intimidated all well-meaning people into a coma in Borno State. Its versions had existed in few other states. The youth themselves have been so abused to the extent they never realised their worth in this world, often drenched in drug cocktails and armed with vicious weapons to maim anybody that dared their employers or even mentioned them in a bad light. Indeed they have been widely used to make voting at elections in the state a no go event to all who favoured their safety. Money was of the essence, which was freely flowing to recruit the youth. It was the era when university and polytechnic students, the very few lucky ones received paltry sums as scholarships grants while “Ecomogs” drove in Lexus Jeeps; the lesser ones received Volkswagen Golfs, while others got free motorcycles! It was a huge incentive for the vulnerable youth that made going to school or engaging in productive activities very unattractive, and, drove them into a murderous and destructive life, under the protection of their political godfathers and a political system wallowing in impunity.     
The advent of the insurgency has driven the Ecomog underground. Indeed some of the bosses fled to other parts of the country. Many others, however, must have gone to swell the numbers of the insurgents. Yet many who wanted to “retire” to their homes were caught by the blanket profiling of people between the ages of 14 to 35 by the JTF and have ended up at the other end of the guns or have been swooped into the detention camps. Alas, the political godfathers were not there to rescue them.
It is very disturbing then that when our euphoria about the youth vanguard becoming our messiah of sort has hardly lived long enough that politicians have now started building camps of “Ecomogs” in the state. It is disheartening to see groups of youth, reminiscent of the ungodly era surfacing all around Maiduguri. This must not be allowed to blossom. Without a doubt, the security agencies in Borno have been benign in their dealing with security issues; indeed they cannot be absolved of playing along with builders of embers of insecurity. They ought to have learnt enough lessons by now. A stitch in time saves nine they say.

Our youth have been abused and are at the receiving end of hardship for too long, and the situation must be arrested. A recent research finding in the United Kingdom reported the degree of disillusionment among the British youth between the age brackets of 16 to 25 to the extent they predominantly felt “they have nothing to live for”. This is very disturbing for the British. More disturbing, however, is for us when one reflects on the situation of our youth in Nigeria, especially in the states ravaged by the scourge of insurgency and long term neglect by all levels of government and abuse by self-centred politicians. No wonder then that they have become easy prey for recruitment into life destroying “businesses” like Ecomog and insurgency. They have been made to believe they are worthless but as a tool for destruction in the interest of the politicians and other predators.
One must call on the state government to be more aware of its responsibility of ensuring a lasting peace and security and do everything possible to see that our youth feel cared for and have the emotional stability to want to live a fulfilled life and keep them away from vices and vicious manipulators. The government should re-focus its effort in youth skills development and empowerment to make it meaningful; trained youth must be financially empowered to turn their training into sustainable businesses. The scope of opportunities available to youth should be expanded through investment into projects like waste to wealth, agriculture and agro businesses, food processing, welding etc., while support for qualitative and productive education should be strategic and access to these without hindrance to all. The Federal government has a moral and constitutional obligation to transparently establish its commitment to the reversing of the long neglect of Borno state. By now everybody should have realised it is cheaper and more expedient to have a well organised society than one built on impunity, mayhem, and nepotism.
Above all, our youth must realise that their destiny and dignity are really in their own hands. In Borno, we all remain thankful to them for giving us back our lives. They need to be reminded of the fact that when the chips were down, all the rich and powerful were nowhere to be found to protect them. The youths have been empowered to stand up and risk their lives to rescue their souls from wanton murder and incarceration. This should be an indicator to the youth that nothing is impossible if they are determined. They should be positive about life and engage positive political means to demand their rights to better education, better access to opportunities and, good governance from the politicians. Our youth must say NO! to any politician that seeks to bastardise them and push them into hooliganism and drug abuse. Our youths now know that they have what it takes to be leaders simply by carrying sticks but with the strength of heart and will to do the right thing. Let this spirit guide our youth all over the country to help establish a government that is responsive to their needs, our collective needs and for the entrenchment of and upholding of the dignity of all responsible citizens.

Dr Ali of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation<[email protected]>;