The road to a post insurgency-free Nigeria
Even though there are some traces of insecurity, the truth is that we have covered appreciable grounds.In fairness to our troops who are putting in their all in defence of Nigeria’s territorial integrity, its sovereignty and people, the insurgents are daily mowed in droves, giving hope that soon we shall hit the streets to celebrate […]
Even though there are some traces of insecurity, the truth is that we have covered appreciable grounds.
In fairness to our troops who are putting in their all in defence of Nigeria’s territorial integrity, its sovereignty and people, the insurgents are daily mowed in droves, giving hope that soon we shall hit the streets to celebrate the final fall of Abubakar Shekau’s tower of destruction. I am confident that other Nigerians will very soon begin to share in the optimism of our military’s readiness to flush out these deranged elements and devilish troublemakers from our land.
True, some critics in the media have expressed skepticism over the assurance made by the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, that all known Boko Haram camps will be destroyed within six weeks before the next general elections. Nonetheless, recent developments have tended to bear this out. It is increasingly believable that that projection is attainable going by the increased military offensives against the terrorists.
Poised as one is, not a few yearn for the eventual disgraceful end of this dastardly terror group whose stock in trade has been to inflict pains, sorrow and anguish on fellow human beings. It is a clearly confused and amorphous Islamic group notorious for fighting a cause that is known to be at variance with what the Almighty Allah (SAW) has laid to grow the moral and spiritual uprightness of the society. There is no need repeating the time-tested truth that Islam, (a religion that preaches peace and has immense respect for human lives) admonishes its adherents against engaging in murderous and human-demeaning acts such as perpetrated by the bloodthirsty elements masquerading as promoters of Islam.
The Holy Qur’an that I have read, memorized and strictly adhered to and have been teaching others in my more than three decades of existence admonishes adherents of the Almighty Allah (SAW) to refrain from practices, acts, speeches or moves capable of causing their neighbours any form of pain. I don’t think this assertion has changed or the portion of the Holy book where it is written has ceased to exist. Islam is and remains a religion of peace. So, can light and darkness agree? Certainly not!
Without doubts, we shall soon heave a sigh of relief for not too long from now. Peace, normalcy, security and all that used to be our identity or trademarks shall replace fear, tension, bombing and mindless killings orchestrated by the insurgent group led by the rudderless Abubakar Shekau. Therefore, it is high time we all rose in defence of our dear countrymen and women who are our brothers and sisters in the northeast part of Nigeria. The greatest weapon that we can employ to defeat terrorism is UNITY. Let’s close our ranks. Let’s come together and stand our ground against elements who have declared full war against us as a people. These insurgents have so capitalized on our nonchalant attitude to divide our ranks. They have taken advantage of inter-agency rivalry among our security establishments to breach our security and territorial integrity and abused our people and institutions.
Shekau and his band of cowards only took advantage of certain weaknesses inherent in our system. The group concentrated on those loopholes. They tried hard to give their struggle a religious coloration, but have failed. They did this by initially targeting Christians, churches and government establishments and later exposed their devilish intents against humanity by extending same cruelty to fellow Muslims.
Nigerians, especially Muslims, have seen their heinous acts, their sheer wickedness and have kept a distance. Their desperate efforts to convince Nigerian Muslims that they are defending Islam by attacking innocent Christians have fallen like a pack of badly arranged cards. Having failed in their resolve to pitch Muslims against Christians, mosques and vocal Islamic preachers became their prime targets. Nigerians now know them for who they are- enemies of mankind.
One of the major drawbacks in the fight against insurgency is the tendency not to celebrate the successes of our troops. It seems even the media have focused more on the cowardly acts of the insurgents, failing often to report on the successes of our gallant troops.
Even the insurgents can attest to the fact that but for the vigilance of our troops, they would have taken over our entire country. In fact, Shekau confessed in one of his videos that he has lost thousands of his foot soldiers in different engagements with our military. While we make haste to rebroadcast video messages containing Shekau’s unverified conquests against our troops, we suddenly become mute each time our troops rout Boko Haram. It appears some critics in the media are very sympathetic to these beasts whose activities have stagnated the nation’s growth and almost rendered the economy prostrate.
Our gallant military are working meticulously to guarantee our security and well-being. All they require from us is more understanding and cooperation. We should pray for them, celebrate their achievements, sing their praises and supply them with useful information to put them in good stead to perform optimally.
The recently announced ‘special operations’ already being carried out in the northeast by the Nigeria military before the general elections is beginning to yield tangible results. Just yesterday, our troops took the battle to the doorstep of insurgents in Sambisa forest where they discovered that some of the kidnapped Chibok girls are scattered around different camps operated by the Boko Haram group. Also, it is in the news that the Nigeria military made huge seizures of arms and ammunition in the process. These are cheering news.
As you read through these lines, our soldiers are fully in charge of Monguno, a Nigerian territory once occupied by the terrorists. This is quite commendable. Good times are indeed returning.
For Nigerians to really appreciate the gallantry of our officers, the military authorities should as a matter of urgency strengthen her information delivery set-up. Those in-charges of the military information unit should do well to keep Nigerians abreast of developments, possibly on an hourly basis. This is one area insurgents are beating our army to. They make good use of the media, especially the social media platform, to dish out lies, propaganda and doctor videos to remain relevant.
Until we come to terms with the truth that any murderous attack against any Nigerian from any part of the country is an affront on us as a nation, these faceless animals will continue to operate freely on our land. Insurgents are our enemies. No government can function optimally in a land under the scourge of terrorists. Imagine a Nigeria without Shekau and his fellow blood-sucking followers? That Nigeria is nigh! That ideal society where people will be free to pursue diverse interests, practise their faith and align with political ideologies of their convictions and not a Nigeria where people live in fear. Surely, not a country where people cannot freely express themselves for fear of being attacked simply for holding contrary views and practising a different faith. In no distant time, we shall fully return to our normal, communal, peaceful and harmonious way of life.
This is not the time to play politics with an issue as serious as security of lives and property. Instead, we should rally round our military men in their avowed resolve to chase away the terrorists from any part of the northeast. Let’s give our security apparatchik the benefit of the doubt. Let’s encourage them to comb every nooks and crannies within the northeast in the weeks preceding the general elections. I am very optimistic that these guys won’t disappoint Nigerians this time around. A secured, prosperous and progressive Nigeria is a possibility. Let’s make it work.
Abdullahi wrote in from FHA, Kubwa, Abuja. [email protected]