Re: We must look deeper for answers to Boko Haram

To start with, it is true that prior and aftermath colonialism, the North Eastern part of Nigeria “had since remained virtually peaceful until the early 1990s when signs of rapid deterioration of the social and economic life of the people in the region began to manifest.” The quality of life of the people of this […]

To start with, it is true that prior and aftermath colonialism, the North Eastern part of Nigeria “had since remained virtually peaceful until the early 1990s when signs of rapid deterioration of the social and economic life of the people in the region began to manifest.” The quality of life of the people of this region has been captured times without number in international and domestic reports and development indices. The most resent was published by National Bureau of Statistics, which corroborated the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey which place this region as the least in terms of quality of human life. Someone may rationally ask where was Nyako in early 1990s that he referred to in his emotional speech.
The answer to this question is not farfetched; Murtala Nyako was the governor of Niger State in 1976. He served in this post until December 1977. Later he was appointed the Chief of Naval Staff in January 1990. Two years later, he was appointed the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff and retired from service in September 1993 with the rank of Vice Admiral.
Even though Niger State was new, Nyako left it worse off than he met it.  Ii would not be absolutely correct for Nyako to assert that “nobody now associates the group [Boko Haram] with any religion.” The reality bite which most Muslims are shying away from is that Boko Haram is a philosophy that is rooted in a form of Islam that is constantly at war with Muslims.
Muslims are always their targets! It is therefore not surprising that they are attacking Muslims in both urban and rural areas.
That is why it is time we begin to address the Boko Haram from a pragmatic and scientific point of view and exploit the demographic linkages far beyond the region which Nyako spoke about in the advancement of this region. It could be used as an instrument of social transformation and development of the entire North East of Nigeria that have been ravaged by insurgency.
 
Muhammad Ibn Muhsin al-Ansari  <[email protected]>;