The symmetry between Boko Haram and MEND
The hypocritical elite comprises the superfluously rich Nigerians and corrupt leaders who milk the national treasury dry. The have-nots include the down-trodden and those agitators who want to declare their own republic to enjoy the oil wealth alone. They believe the haves in the Nigerian project are the dirty hands who are responsible for their […]
The hypocritical elite comprises the superfluously rich Nigerians and corrupt leaders who milk the national treasury dry. The have-nots include the down-trodden and those agitators who want to declare their own republic to enjoy the oil wealth alone. They believe the haves in the Nigerian project are the dirty hands who are responsible for their distress in the midst of plenty.
The violent eccentrics do not control the police, army and machinery of government so they tend to vent their frustrated life through vengeance against the society. And so, they turn out to fight the system, that rightly or wrongly, they regard as the enemy.
Those who control the lever of power who are parasites, display ill-gotten wealth. They spend extravagantly, see themselves as special creatures Allah (SWT)/God placed on earth.
The assets build up by one who had only yesterday been known to be living in a rented apartment and barely feeding himself, turning into a millionaire do not add up. For legislators, the difference is always clear before they assume office, during and after they leave office. With chains of expensive cars, landed properties, extravagant campaign expenditures, on-going enterprises like hotels, big farms and extravagant trips like first class flights to Dubai, China, South Africa… fuel the raging fire of commotion.
Respected “elders” sing the songs of their respective “excellencies” and sooner than later, the reward in form of government delegations to pilgrimages or high profile appointments are packaged to reward them for the blind sellout to the almighty emperors. Whatever these dictators do is tagged “visionary” scheme even if it is a mere conduit pipe to siphon the public wealth.
The moment it is time for electioneering, the crumbs drop so votes can be secured. The beneficiaries resort to corruptive games and abuse of office in the name of Allah who “gave” power to these fraudulent schemers.
The worst is that they play the ostrich with people’s wealth and live and expect sanity. There is no concern for governance that is based on justice and creation of a level playing field or sense of responsibility as if these leaders are colonialists.
There is the story about the late Sultan Abubakar III. These corrupt pretenders once went to him and complained about the menace of prostitutes in Sokoto. To impress him, these people even told the Sultan that the lack of rainfall arose from the presence of the women. Okay, said the Sultan. He brought out the Qur’an and swore by Almighty Allah (SWT) that he had never had any affair with any woman apart from his lawful wife. He challenged the jokers to do the same, if, indeed, they were serious and wanted him to act. And the pretenders dared not do same and that exposed their shame.
If our leaders are serious about eccentrics in the polity and want to do away with groups such as MEND, Boko Haram, Area Boys and crooks from the society, they should adopt the strategy of Sultan Abubakar. Let them account for their ill-gotten wealth. Let them become doctors who heal themselves. They should stop chasing shadows. They should publicly declare their assets as required by law and morality. If the facts are to be revealed, many have a hand in these schemes and criminal acts, especially when their political fortunes suffer given the do-or-die politics we play here.
When our leaders divert the wealth to their accounts and build empires in Lagos and Abuja and make life unbearable for the ordinary citizens, how can Nigerians sleep? When there is commotion, no one is immune since both the innocent and the villain are at risk. If the despised in the society come to realize that those superfluously rich Nigerians who ride in air-conditioned cars, offices and houses are their enemies, no amount of deployment of security forces would intimidate them.
Today, our security men are as poor as the ordinary citizenry. The money meant to educate their children, provide infrastructure such as roads, power, water is diverted into the pockets of Western educated elites. Where do we go?
Today, the Boko Haram has devised a survival strategy and no longer confronts the security forces frontally. They target their perceived enemies and do a hit-and-run attack. This portends great dangers!
I have read the editorial of the Peoples Daily calling for a dialogue with the group. I have heard similar suggestions on the VOA Hausa Service. One was even condemning the extra judicial killings and wondered why they were not taken to court. That even if 100 of them were tried and sentenced to death would have been better.
Now every Nigerian is becoming an untouchable. If Nigerians cannot live under the rule of law, then they will have to accept the rule of the jungle. The South-east and South-south have the MEND Haram in the form of kidnapping, armed robbery that surfaced at the end of the civil war and the emergence of the petro-dollars. As they say, those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.
Engineer Fari writes from Kaduna