TACKLING THE
HARAM..........
Boko Haram: Timeline of terror
·
2002: Founded
·
2009: Hundreds
killed when Maiduguri police stations stormed
·
2009: Boko Haram
leader Mohammed Yusuf captured by army, handed to police, later found dead (killed
by Nigerian military force on the street)
·
Sep 2010: Freed
hundreds of prisoners from Maiduguri jail
·
Dec 2010: Bombed
Jos, killing 80; blamed for New Year's Eve attack on Abuja barracks
·
2010-2011: Dozens killed in Maiduguri shootings
·
May 2011: Bombed
several states after president's inauguration
·
June 2011:
Police HQ bombed in Abuja
·
Aug 2011: UN HQ bombed in Abuja
·
Nov 2011:
Coordinated bomb and gun attacks in Yobe and Borno states*
·
Dec 2011. Bombed
a church killing dozens
Jan 2012 Bombed police station
Jan 2012 Bombed police station
*Source: culled from the BBC News website
History has
proven to us over and over again that politicians make the same mistake over
and over again, not just in Nigeria but the world all over. The intelligent
ones learn from history and the not too intelligent is left gullible. The group
also known as The Jama’atu Ahlus Sunnah Lid Da’awati Wal Jihad may have achieved
most of what they set out to do and have done it so well that they are now
known internationally Italy,
Germany, and Usa all condemned the group and they have been compared to the Al Qaeda.
Such a comparison shows how successful thy have been.
So what’s
the way forward? Let’s take a look at some ways the problem can be eradicated.
1. Amnesty: This would be another shortcut
in solving the problem using the nation’s resources on paying them off but can the
country stand another amnesty?
2. If you can identify a problem, then
it is half solved. That was the solution when the president came out that
his government has been infiltrated and that takes boldness. So what should
be done is now Names calling of who has been proven to be in contact with the group
by getting telephone details of his ministers, getting private detectives to
follow suspected ministers in his cabinet. Is that too undemocratic and abuse
of private human rights? Then government secrets continue getting leaked to the
terrorists. After all the Christmas day bombing suspect was found in a governor lodge
in company of an air force officer. Were they all arrested including the
governor and the air force officer or even questioned? Why
was the suspect not transferred to Abuja and why was he left in Maiduguri and
why is the police boss Ringhim still in office? He has proved not to be able to
live to expectation and he should be questioned too and even arrested.
3. Arrest and trial of the governor who
brought sharia into the country. The country had her laws and constitution,
bringing sharia into the country was an offence that should be punished. Zamfara State governor Ahmad
Rufai Sani should
be tried and punished by the law for bringing a different law into the country.
The violence that ensured when he brought the law also went unpunished.
4. I have this gut feeling that the
heart of the crew is in the desert and could also be in the Chad, Niger Republic.
After all the suspect was arrested along the borders. These people get help
from the terrorist in these countries and seriously controlling the borders will
help Nigerians. After all the
US government spend 49 BILLION DOLLARS to protect her Mexican border. Nigerians
should all have a passport that also comes with a customized ID card that the citizens
should always walk with because we have aliens
among us and thousands of illegal and undocumented immigrants are living with
us.
5. Increase the Police force. We have
seen that the force is not well equipped enough and the military are too brutal
and do not even know the constitution of the land. The police force should be
increased and not just increased but also well groomed and well educated.
6. The greatest problem lies in our
borders and should be well policed by customs and all the forces. No one
without passport should come in to the country like it is done in all European
and developed country. The group could be planning the wicked acts there and
carrying it out in Nigeria.
7. Dialog and a national apology not over the way their leader was killed on the street but the military men who took the law into their hands and masacared men who had not been tried by the law . And haram is still angry and wants vengence for that and that is why they still attack police stations and all till tommorow.
8. Take these actions seriously and stop hoping for a miracle from God. Its never going to happen unless we stand and fight this menace together.
While i was writing this, Boko Haram were bombing police station in Kano state.
8. Take these actions seriously and stop hoping for a miracle from God. Its never going to happen unless we stand and fight this menace together.
While i was writing this, Boko Haram were bombing police station in Kano state.
It is indeed heart breaking that this could be happening in a country where we have every opportunity and potentials to make things work!I have thought about this BH issue and all I can conclude is that the country is indeed playing a political game with its citizens...sure someone somewhere can lift d veil on BH and say who are behind it...and for what pourpose because this goes beyond religion!!
ReplyDeleteGood view with the politics part...But i also think the president is trying to tread soft waters thats why he has not been able to call names and has dows not want to take a brutal action apart from imposing state of emergency and thats all he can do. I think if he takes a brutal action,the northeners will bring up the amnesty for south south militants and thats a blow for him,so he treads slowly.....
DeleteThanks for your recommendations. How do we get Boko Haram for dialogue? Fine, are they not in fashions for disagreement to ensue? What kind of punishment could be unleashed on the wicked who value nothing even life itself?
ReplyDeleteI like your concern, what we discuss here now, how do those in policy making get it? For sure, there is no easy solution to this security challenge. Now, there should be as many security posts in the North as possible. Are these people air that they carry arms and cross regions for operation without confrontation? I'm sick!
hi,thanks for dropping comments here.This post would go far if we all share and post in facebook and twitter so those somewhere and anywhere could see it and hope it gets to them in power.thanks.lets not get sick. lets ne strong and face this like men do
DeleteI appreciate your intentions. However, you clearly do not understand the root course of the problem. The BH crisis is in no way religious, it is purely socioeconomic. For us to effectively end the BH reign of terror, we need to address the factors that allow them to prosper and recruit combatants and would-be suicide bombers. The only way this could be accomplished is by addressing the economic imbalance between the southern and the northern region. In the north where im from,70% live below the poverty line and this creates the situation where by people are more likely to be influenced by extremist indoctrination.
ReplyDeleteWe need to create programs that ACTUALLY WORK to alleviate extreme poverty, only this will ensure that the poor do not become too marginalized as to fall out of mainstream society. Another important macroeconomic action would be to bring about the rejuvenation of Northern industry so that the whole federation can have uniform GDP. The current indicators suggests that while the south is getting richer, the north is getting poorer.
It is also vital that you realize the naive understanding that Shariah Law is inherently evil, i believe that stems from your lack of knowledge of what Shariah law is. Do not be blinded by hearsay on such issues, do read further unbiased sources and you will learn what this system of jurisprudence stands for. Note that Ahmed Yarima did not introduce Shariah, it has been in practice since 1804 and even the British colonialists did not meddle with it. It has been chosen by the people in exercise of their rights to choose a legal system as is enshrined in the 1999 constitution.
Do not let ignorant bigotry cloud your noble goal of achieving peace in our homeland- A goal that i firmly believe in too.
Anwar H. A
Thanks for stopping by and taking your time to drop a comment. You sound very intelligent and educated. Your opinions are what the former presidents, a majority of which were from the north SHOULD have done but now its too late to start building companies and restarting industries when the chicks are already hatching from the eggs.BH has reached a crucial point and i think what i wrote are points that could really help NOW to stop killing of more and more innocent,future leaders and talents.
DeleteHi, thanks for this write up. I agree with all of your points except points 1 and 7. Any nation that has tried to negotiate with terrorists and giving them amnesty has ended up paying a huge price With more lives being lost in the long run. The problem of taking this approach is two-fold: 1. You end up giving credence to the terrorist group as them representing all people 2, You then end up creating several other terrorist groups due to their perceived gains from the dialogue, amnesty and sometimes payoffs that have come from dialogue and amnesty. Boko Harram have seen how profitable dialogue and negotiations were with MASSOB and this has furthermore influenced their actions in pursuing their goals.
ReplyDeleteIf we take Britain and America for example who have suffered terrorist attacks from within and out of their respective countries, the last thing they have ever done is negotiate or enter into dialogue with terrorists. This initially was at a great cost to them i.e. lives being lost as a result of not giving into terrorists demands of releasing kidnapped people and bombing of locations. Eventually, terrorists over the years have realised that Britsin and America will not negotiate with terrorists and as such the attacks have reduced.
In addition to this, and using Britain and the terrorist organisation known as the IRA which had fought a terrorist campaign with Britain over 40 years, the war on terrorism was won by the British government giving the IRA group the ultimatum of lowering down all of their weapons before any discussions. Eventually the IRA agreed and they became part of the British Government.
To round up, Goodluck Jonathan has already highlighted the problem - Boko Haram is sponsored and sympathised with by elements of the government and within the cabinet, members of the Islamic leadership who have not wholeheartedly condemned the killings of innocent lives. One could go as far and day that the mainly Islamist North are not completely at ease with having a Southerner as president and bearing in mind that the PDP do not have a majority in these northern states then it is inevitable that negative and anti-southern sentiments could easily be encouraged among the masses.
So what's the solution in this area. First of all, investigate and bring to book those who do sponsor Boko Haram; especially those in government. It would have been good if we did not have a corrupt and weakened judiciary Whom should have been carrying out the laws of the land with impartiality.
Beautiful view. Thanks. the first point concerning amnesty is the easy way out( you are really right about no dialog) but i wrote it out because i wanted to bring out all the possible options out. your view about bringing to book was also in the write up by me. Thanks for such a nice piece.
DeleteWell... U said we should read and give comments,thats why I am commenting... U tried in intent in what u wanna achieve,but u lack knowledge concerning this polity... Things are not as they seem
ReplyDeleteSharia Law is a recognised law operational in 9ja
You can only attain peace thru equity,love and justice... A departure from any of these will render ur write up or intention viewd as bias towards ur objective... Aluta continua...
Thanks for your piece. we all know there is no peace and love in the country.we all know that its all man for himself and thats why cirruption is still high.sharia was abolished by the military Ahmed Sani Yerima reintroduced it and that for me is totally unaccepatble. A man steals a goat he gets his hand cut off,while a man steals billion he gets 3 years in jail,is that democracy? i think he should be tried,and if it is proven that he has a hand in all the BH crisis,then let him face the music.thanks for your comment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Rufai_Sani
DeleteI respect all opinions on this blog. We continue to compare our dear nation to the "WEST" which is one of our biggest problems. Also, speaking of socioeconomic, we have had more Presidents/Head of State from the northern part of the country since our independent but they all did not develop the north. I continue to believe education is a way forward to my northern Nigerians and I believe FG needs to do more by encouraging the Northerners to be more educated,they are already doing this through JAMB scores but more needs to be done. The honest truth is Nigerians need to accept that BH is here to stay for some time at least before things get better because we don't have the tool nor the structure in place to counter this group. "BH SPOKESMAN" jailed for 3 years and a "GAY MAN" jailed for 15 years, what kind of a judicial system is that?
ReplyDeleteHi, I don't think it's a case of comparing Nigeria to the west but actually seeing what steps countries have taken to overcome terrorism in their midst. Nigeria does not have the knowledge, capability or even capabilities to deal with terrorism, especially suicide bombers and it makes sense to learn from those who have made some progress in combating terrorism - irrespective of the fact that they are from the west or any other nation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the North should have been developed far more than the rest of Nigeria bearing in mind people of Northern extraction have ruled the country longer.
I personally don't want to comment much about Sharia as I am not Muslim and don't know what it is to live under Sharia law.. However if we do Look at the facts and measure the statistics, a large number of recent terrorist groups have evolved from fundamental islam and those countries and areas have largely been influenced by Sharia. May I state that I bear no grudge against any Muslim but I am responding on verified facts that have been discussed and accepted as true. Nevertheless I stand to be corrected based on facts rather than fiction or figments of imagination.
Run true Federalism. All these problems will go.
ReplyDeleteThe center is too big and too wasteful.
Boko Haram came more to open after the PDP political concoction of Baba Iyabo. We too cheat in this country. And we are never sincere. Agreements broken by the custodian of powers and truth and the rest is history.
If we run true federalism and democracy within our historical and cultural template: many of our problems will be solved. Imaging Peterside Atedo saying Lagos State is the major beneficiary of Oil Subsidy and Jigawa is poor and Lagos has to suffer for Jigawa to survive. If Atedo a Banker at his level can pay for pages on newspaper to be playing politics with truth; we cannot get more than all these Harams. Boko Harams1! Oil Subsidy Harams!! NNPC Harams!!! PDP Harams!!!! Every where Harams.
thanks for stopping by. Lovely write up and i cant help but smile at your views.thanks.i think sharia should be canceled and the man who brought it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Rufai_Sani be tried,by the law a married or unmarried woman cheats on a man she is stoned to death and the man who reintroduced it stole million and rigged election and he is still in sentate..i hope you get my point..
ReplyDeleteNice views, the north should solve thier problems period.They have squandered more resources of this great nation than any other region.I believe we need a confiderate regions so as to have peace and more resource control for each region, you distroy your own region at your own peril!!, by so doing the leaders of the north will know that the days of sharing the national cake it over.The BH and the almajiris can be used to raise the north to its former glory of groundnut pyramid.....why most we surfer together?
ReplyDeleteI clearly see this blog as that of intelligent minds, While i see some lack of understanding on islamic issues i will not dwell on them at the risk of not been termed biased due to the faith i profess.
ReplyDeleteMy take is thus, these bombings have gone beyound BOKO HARAM ,we need to take a second look at the the letest series of events as they unfold.
1.Police Headquaters bombed,suicide bomber, proof?The car drove in while police where looking. in the car park why not ram into the building which would have caused more damage.
2.Roast Fish park Abacha Barracks. Who was the target? What motive? Why not the living quaters in the Barracks.
3. INEC office near Abuja. Why not lagos or Maiduguri. What has dat got to do wlth BH does it help their cause.
4.United Nations Building. What point? What motive?Where are charred remains of the suicide bomber.
5.Beer parlour bombings in Jos. So many Beer palours in the north y jos when a semblance of peace was beginning to return
6.Christmas day bombings near FCT .Why not in deep north? Soon came an annocement chritians live the north, muslims live the south.
7.Then kano Bombings. POLice the target this time. are all the policemen southerners?
8.Bauchi? the same trend.
Something doesnt add up here it is not about Muslims & Christians neither about North and South lets be wise.
I just read about Jonathans home state as well.
Many stories, A senator is their sponsor suddenly it is A Guy close to the VP a supposed PDP stalwart,then another Guy in Kaduna with his son caught by the Army with only A pump action Gun, few pieces of bullets and 3 machetes. I live in Warri the average youth man has a pump action. Even in portharcout which i suppose u come from the average Ekwere man has more than 5 machetes in his house does that confer on them title of terrorist.
The common decimal here is these crimes and their modus operandi point to acts of sophisticated minds like me and u.I suspect different groups with the same motive of trying to cause a major upheavel.
They tryed the ethnic angle it didnt work, stung the Army no show,religious angle Nigerians remained together, .But caution the momentum is gathering what with the fuel subsidy crises.
Our leaders should be told in no unclear terms a lot of people are pained it is high time we get things right or there sure will be anarchy. Nigerians surely have an elastic limit, things cant go on this way.(Buisness as usual).
thanks. as much as i try to appreciate how beautiful your views are,i can only say its a little disrespectful,not to me,but to the souls that have been lost to this group. pls read the signs everywhere.please
ReplyDeleteGreatly appreciated are your views on this subject bedeviling our society. However, I feel the leadership needs to tackle the root cause of all these problems and that is addressing issues of injustice,corruption, equity and accountability. What do you expect will happen in a land where the people are oppressed? Nigeria again has been ranked among the poorest nations of the world...! Your recommendations keep pointing to force, is it not evident that force does not work anymore? How do you force an individual who targets the force? Again, it is disheartening to read another piece harping on Islam and its legal system. This brings us to my point, injustice!! Muslims are guided by a way of life (Shariah)which is all encompassing from the rewards to the punishments. In a truly Shariah society, theft of public funds is a grave offence( browse Quran CH 2 VERSE 188. Shariah is all about justice, equity, transparency and accountability.You may not know this but Shariah is a way of life that fits humanity, the reason being that the system guides humans on how they should lead their lives from the time they wake up in the morning till they retire at night. Its a system that guides the way you talk, the way you dress, the way you interact, eat, drink, sleep, bath and so on. The problem is that people look at the punishments alone which form less then 15%. It is not about killing, oppression, stealing and so on. Shariah is the constitution of all Muslims and that's all. We need to start understanding and respecting that. I feel greatly embarrassed and feel disrespected when you say do away with a system that guides me. You may not have that in your religion and thus look unto man made laws to guide you which of course are designed based on individual beliefs whereas Shariah is divine ( You really do not have to believe me now as much as I want you to! but you will some day).
ReplyDeleteMy own solutions include: The govt should be in all sincerity transparent and accountable, be just and equitable. Secondly, we should understand each others religions and allow everyone practice theirs peacefully. Thirdly, the security should be more intelligence gathering centered then reactive ( If they infiltrate your Govt then also infiltrate theirs). Fourthly, as much as we would not like it, their has to be dialogue with these youths. Lastly, I think it is high time a Sovereign national conference is called in order to discuss this nation.