Nigeria Post Boko-Haram Era

Posted by African Examiner Featured Contributors/Columnists, Latest Headlines, Prof.R.A Ipinyomi Saturday, September 6th, 2014

By Prof. R.A. Ipinyomi, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

My father taught me that while a hunter is still in the tick jungle hunting it is a fruitless effort if he should be clearing the dust and bush rubbish in the hair. The hair will still gather more of the same rubbish as he proceeds further in the jungle. To him he believed that one should start to clear your hair of bush rubbish after you get out of the jungle. In that case it may seem premature to talk about a post Boko Haram era in Nigeria when the Islamist sect is still busy creating its own type of universe and setting up caliphates. What type of universe can a Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda or even ISIS create in this 21^st century when the likes of Adolf-Hitler failed? Even if Africans are asleep and Russia seems to be only interested in annexing more islands to self will the United States of America, the EU and NATO or even the United Nations allow the little gains the entire World has made since 1945 go into the flames?

It is revealing to read about the expert report of one Dr Steven Davis an Australian negotiator probably hired by the Obasanjo regime and now by the Jonathan’s regime on the Boko Haram saga. Dr Steven Davis is insisting that Boko Haram commanders told him that a top CBN official has been involved in funding the insurgency in the country. That is the sect may have been getting their arms from the Nigeria armed forces and getting political support from the Nigerian politicians. According to Dr Steven Davis one of the biggest suppliers of arms and military uniforms to Boko Haram lives in Egypt and receives money sent by political sponsors from Nigeria and that the transaction of the funds is carried out with the help of the CBN legally. The Federal Government of Nigeria has still many battles to fight if this is eventually true of a Nigeria fighting itself on politics and power seeking. Many lives have been lost and many relationships have been affected by the strange desires of some individuals in their attempts to hold on to power they didn’t own. Who is going to pay for these ills?

Hitherto we had blamed the Nigerian authorities severally for being too slow in handling our general security issues, specifically indexed by the kidnap of Chibok girls. I have a girl child and I trained her to Ph.D. (Law) and would never have thought otherwise. As a father it would have been heart-breaking for me to think of what my daughter might be experiencing in Boko Haram captivity. At start Boko Haram were killing Christians and attacking Churches which made our mixed population, especially our Muslim colleagues think it was a religious war and many were only apprehensive. But the sect have been killing more people and indiscriminatingly. Boko Haram has also succeeded in educating the general public that Chibok and many other areas in the North East have a mixed population, Christians and Muslims alike. It is therefore a collective interest to unite and stamp out the insurgents.

Recently we have described the Nigeria young Christian generation as one that is always right in their own eye and never accepting a correction, loves to sing in the Church but doesn’t read the Bible at home, loves to have beautify marriages but never ready to follow the Bible principles, and so on. Similarly we have same scenario in other religion where a young Muslim generation does not know the difference between the Arabic writings and a page from the Quran. As far as they are concerned anything written in Arabic letters is from the Quran because they make no attempt to own one and read regularly. They are easily persuaded by elements from Boko Haram and frustrated politicians who want power at all cost. This young generation must cut itself away from wrong political association who will sponsor them only for evil. Our children must be taught and disconnected from the money bag politicians who supply them with weapons and military uniforms.

What the Boko Haram may have failed to make for itself is an exit strategy because we learnt that they have been recruiting from under aged and using some as suicide bombers. This is another level of offence and our lawyers should not relent on such issues because the war must be prosecuted on all fronts. There are aspects where the international communities, regional governments or national government should handle. Similarly activists and lawyers should find expression in playing a genuine role to end the insurgency and build a less lawless Nigerian community where our children could grow freely. If the government would do what they took oaths to do and individuals will take their parts including reporting perceived offenders to the ICC in the Hague (because and where our government may fail to bring their friends to book) perhaps the tide will begin to shift and the water in which Boko Haram has been swimming unhindered and uninterrupted will soon dry up.

At the end of the day Nigeria must allow democracy to run its full course because we believe that democracy is also powerful both to celebrate a success and to fool a politician that has been rejected by the electorate. We made the same suggestion to Egypt encouraging them to allow the Brotherhood regime of Morsi to run out its full course and get elected out. Our warning was not accepted by the government in Egypt and Egypt prefers to go backward to a pseudo or a quasi-military regime that is currently on there. It will be many years before Egypt will get back to the stage where truly multi-party campaign in the streets of Cairo, Alexandra and other cities will be allowed freely and fairly whereas if Morsi had remained it would have been possible to build on free campaign and free speech. The choice for Africa has always been between the quick fixers and the African elites who think like realists that remain unattained, the Western preferred and the African feudal styles. In the end we compromise on the rights of the people by enthroning governments that won’t exist on ground or lack capacity to develop and protect the people. Our people deserve freedom of association, expression and speech at all time without being quarantined by any factor even when the feudal governments behave as if incapable to attempt on development in the face of abundant natural resources. Hence the ball is in the court of the Nigeria Armed Forces and the Federal government who should be encouraged and cheered to fight for a Nigeria victory and above partisan politics.

Prof. R. A. Ipinyomi

ipinyomira@yahoo.co.uk or/and raipinyomi@unilorin.edu.ng