Boko Haram continues to leave a trail of blood and tears in its wake. In the early hours of Tuesday February 25, barely six months after a similar attack, a band of murderers invaded the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, wielding explosives and guns and machetes, slaughtering more than 40 boys in cold blood.
As a father and grandfather I am deeply saddened, not just by the latest murders, but by every single life that has been lost to the activities of these murderers. Every life lost is one life too many.
As a country we are not doing enough of focusing on and implementing solutions. We are all guilty of expending endless energy on handwringing and the trading of blame, none of which is able to save lives or change the status quo.
In light of this, I’ve got some suggestions, focusing on solutions.
First is regarding the use of local militias.
When the President, in his most recent media chat, spoke about the government’s successes at pushing Boko Haram to the “fringes” of the North East, it immediately occurred to me that some of the credit for that should go to the ‘civilian JTF’ – the band of youth in and around Maiduguri who have taken it upon themselves to act as a vigilante force to fight Boko Haram.
I acknowledge that talk of a government-backed civilian militia is a controversial matter, but I do not think that should stop us from debating and seriously considering the matter, including it in our list of possible measures. Especially as we’ve seen it work in flushing the militants out of Maiduguri.
My suggestion is for the military to more actively engage with the civilian JTF, and train and support them to be its eyes and ears in the battle against Boko Haram. No doubt the military is operating in very unfamiliar terrain, and needs all the local support it can get. There’s a lot that both parties – the military and the civilian JTF – can gain from collaborating.
My second suggestion has to do with something I’m quite familiar with.
In January 2012, the American University of Nigeria (AUN), which I founded many years ago, established a Community Peace Council in Adamawa State. Spearheaded by the AUN Council Chair, Ahmed Joda, and the University President, Margee Ensign, the initiative assembles a wide range of stakeholders, from government (law enforcement agencies, including the Police and SSS), civil society, religious organisations, and market associations, to collaborate on activities aimed at maintaining an atmosphere of law and order in Adamawa State.
Like the ‘civilian JTF’ the Community Peace Council speaks to one fundamental truth: the Boko Haram crisis will not be solved without active local involvement and support.
Abuja has a critical role to play, no doubt, in providing and controlling the military and ensuring that it is capable of fighting and winning, and also in supporting state governments to tackle the underlying issues of poverty and underdevelopment, but the role of local stakeholders can never be overemphasized.
We need to throw everything we’ve got, local and national, military and non-military, at this crisis.
And we must also realise that no one has a monopoly of wisdom; we need all the solutions we can lay our hands on. Perhaps you’ve got ideas on possible solutions, please share them in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter.
Governors in the Country should liaise with all Local Government Chairmen and encourage youths in the wards and villages to form vigilante groups which will serve as watch dogs for law enforcement officers. Traditional institutions should be empowered to have a say in governance. All strangers and new faces in our towns and villages should be reported promptly to traditional rulers and law enforcement agents for surveillance. Hotels and landlords must have proper documentation a of their guests and tenants. Security should and must be every body’s business.
First thing first boss,let go to the gradle of the problems and prosecute all involved.
Secondly, our army chiefs are not helping matters, this an unfurtunate upon us. The should stop taking part in politics becouse they are our heroes.
We should engages our hunters, harbalist and religious leader cuz this is war.
Let all join hand in prayer and fasting May Allah bring the end of this era problem, and Allah expose all those hiden BH among us and the Government.
Thank you Boss.
First thing first boss,let go to the cradle of the problems and prosecute all involved.
Secondly, our army chiefs are not helping matters, this an unfortunate upon us. The should stop taking part in politics because they are our heroes.
We should engages our hunters, herbalist and religious leader cuz this is war.
Let all join hand in prayer and fasting May Allah bring the end of this era problem, and Allah expose all those hidden BH among us and the Government.
Thank you Boss.
YOU HAVE SPOKEN VERY WELL ATIKU ABUBAKAR, IS LEFT FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO DO MORE AND END THIS DISEASE PLAGUING US ALL, ESPECIALLY OUR BROTHERS IN THE NORTH EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. MAY THE SOULS OF THE DEPARTED REST IN PEACE..
This is totally unacceptable and GEJ should resign period! He has failed us, we voted him in to protect life and properties of which he sworn to do.. He is a total failure and should throw in the towel now.
Why politicking? Same reason why this evil has continue. I am overwhelm that his excellence has given one of the best clue to end these menace.
So if GEJ throuws in the towel, you or ur retched grandfather will take up the mantle? this is a grand show of ur childishness, this should be a moment of constructive/realistic opinion, Atiku has stated his opinion on this, for this, I respect him so much even though I used to hate his decisions – I am non partisan but I have so much respect for people who matured stand out for truth. Stilo or what ever your name is, please grow up.
There are sources of funding. There are obviously people with huge pockets funding these insurgents. There is alot of motivation. These insurgents go around in Amoured Personnel carriers. Gun carriage Toyota Hilux’s. Where’s the source of this kind of heavy artillery. So heavy the governor came out to declare that the insurgents are better armed than our army. We’ve shifted priority from the real issues of the country to chasing shadows (Sanusi Lamido ) a government that cut police overhead by almost 2 billion and salary by almost 20 billion. And slashed the customs budget by half. How do we protect our borders. How do we protect the grassroot ? How do we defend the fact that a small sect. Not up to half the population of our army. Talkless of the entire armed force. Can terrorise and bring the country to a state of mourning. In the glaring eyes of the international public. The country should have cancelled the centenary to mourn the death of future generation leaders. Instead we spend our might on hosting celebrations when our pepole suffer in silence. It is unfair for a corrupt set of leaders and a self motivated, ambitious people to lead us to greatness. No great nation was built on the back of corruption and no corrupt nation can emerge a world leader.
If only the truth can be heard. sometime the sound of government or military terrifies citizens especially residence of North-eastern states. People has lost confidence in the emergency imposed rule. I remember similar episode of insurgence by one Maitasine in Kano back in the 80s, the matter was quelled with cooperation of local vigilante, community, groups, clerics, police & army. A combined effort and success was recorded ever since. Government need to wake up to its responsibilities and not giving excuses for their failures…
The department of state security service has to flood this areas with undercover men.The traditional rulers/mai uguwa etc must be active players as they know their subjects,therefore all strangers in their domain have to first of all report to them giving details of lodgings.The motor parks must be well organized to spot strangers.the decision to cut off telecommunication services has to be revised,I don’t think it is helping the locals in communicating with security agencies during attacks.Helicopters or choppers have to be deployed(in numbers) to the North east to aid in surveillance and cutting off insurgents when escaping .
May be its time we request for help from abroad. I mean this people have gone wild and must be curbed immediately. But the question is why innocent people? Why the people who don’t even knw what they are fighting for. Worst still,I learnt the whole thing took place in not less than one hours,meaning the students were left crying for help to the government who swore to protect them and couldn’t get any. God,these thoughts keep coming. I can’t stop weeping!
Well not until we as a nation stop seeing every issue and crisis as a tool for gaining political points will Nigeria truely focus on the issues that matter. I refuse to believe that a country that has won aclaim for our peacekeeping endeavors in other troubled countries can’t do anything about its security challenges if we aren’t just paying lip service to this issues. Its about time our leaders but the interest of the nation first above self preservation in office
You have spoken well sir, its just like in the south west where we have opc with the opc around criminal activities have been stermed, don’t see any reason why the civilian jtf in the north east can’t be trained adequately to help in security situation,its sad government playing politics with life of innocent nigerians living in the north east.
Allah yakawo saukin alamari
Quite a piece of insightful solutions. I must congratulate Atiku for having the inerest of peace and security of Nigerians at all time. Unfortunately, most of our leaders in the north are still surprisingly mute about this mayhem on innocent folks.
In addition to what you’ve suggested, it is extremely important that Abuja looks at infrastructure and educational defecit, which many see as injustice done to the north east. There’s the need for mass litracy campaign, which in the long term, will help citizens appreciate their fundamental responsibility of protecting their community from wild and extremist ideologies that promote violence in our land.
Govt must step up intelligent gathering by working with village heads and local vigilante groups in all the communities.
May the souls of the brutally killed, rest in peace, and cause a reason for this terrorism to end in the north and Nigeria as a whole.
My heart and thoughts are with the families of the victims.
I sincerely recommend that the best ways to solve this problem are:1. There are allegations widely on bias, and that can be solved by evacuating the present military troops and replacing them with other troops mainly and purely from North-East, North-West and North-Central. 2. Both money and power are used to block the truth from reaching the public and to corrupt the media sector, we therefore need credible and authentic playing ground as that will no doubt help in rapidly bringing about an end to this monumental human disaster. The media must be allowed to perform its primary duties without being left in darkness or being threatened. 3. It is clear that politicians especially those in Abuja are taking the advantage of the situation for their selfish aims. That has to stop! Politics must be excluded from this catastrophe. May the souls of the deceased rest in peace. May we never witness these heartbreaking scenarios in our beloved nation again. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Good for a start
Alhaji right now as I’m writting this piece a lot of refugees are in need of food,clothing and shelter,can you please help provide succour to this our brothers.may Allah reward you most abundantly multiply your wealth tenfold and make aljannatul firdaus your final abode ameen summa ameen.1
My thoughts are that we should gather as much intelligence on ground as possible. We have to truly understand the scenario so we don’t offer vague solutions.
The involvements of locals is truly a good step in the right direction. People affected in their everyday lives may have more passion and information that can help in moving forward.
I’ll not join the majority in Government ‘bashing’ and endless complaints while we sit on our hands and wait for miracle. Needless to say, we must be proactive. We have the tools(social media) and coalition(concerned citizens). How about you, Atiku Abubakar, spearheading this movement? You are more than able and capable. Solicit global help, don’t let the anger and passion waste. Show me more. Martin Luther King Jr. was a ‘no body’ when he led a nation to take another look at itself. 50 years later, people are still enjoying the results of his leadership. History has always shown great leaders emerging in difficult times. Seek help and consult other world leaders. You don’t have to be President to do that. You have the audience, you have the political wind. Seize it!
PS: Call me when you are ready. I’ll surely participate.
#FrustratedNigerianHausaGirl
#PassionateCitizen
#ArewaIsMyHome
#IAmSad
You have spoken well sir, it’s now left for the goernment to look into it. North East insurgence has cliamed many life and innocent souls are being killed every time.
God bless you for this. I have always been a great supporter of yours. The reason is not farfetched. Unlike many, you criticize constructively and prefer to proffer solutions over condemnation. May Allah continually give you wisdom.
That said, speaking of a militia, as you have rightly observed, this would be a risky venture. Putting arms in the hands of civilians who have no formal training in the rules of engagement may have detrimental results in the long run. The Niger Delta militants in an example to this end. Asides the casualties that may occur in their watch, what then happens to these people once the menace of Boko Haram (BH) has been curbed. Do you think the present government would be able to integrate them back into the system? I think they would just pay them off, and this isn’t healthy being that they have learned the ways of the arms without proper formal training. Why not instead use these locals as informants. A well guarded secret society so to speak. This I believe would go a longer way. Let the military be the ones to handle to guns.
In my strong opinion, a very good way to handle this BH insurgency is by stealth actions. Secret undercover methods. The BH sect are not a group of people in the creeks or in a camp where the government can just lay siege to and wipe them out, well at least not yet. This group act as a network, and how else do you corrupt a network if not by a hidden virus. Of cause just like a network, there are anti-virus in place to check the normal functioning of the network, this still doesn’t prevent viruses from causing damages when they have to. My analogy is this, undercover or double agents as the case maybe. This is how al-Qaeda is kept in check. Aren’t our security agencies, most especially the SSS up to this task? Or are the BH (people who say western education is sin) now more intelligent and outsmarting the supposedly educated people? An Undercover approach still remains one of our best hopes.
Moving on, a more probable solution is for the government to call together all the northern elite, both royalty and politicians, of which you my good sir is a prominent member. I believe and know within my heart that if this is done, a solution would be brought out. If there’s anything i know, the average northerner respects his/her leaders. A lot can be done if you all put your heads together. I only pray the presidency can sheath swords and put aside political differences and call a round table to achieve this.
Another solution as suggested by a colleague, although brutal, and I must add here that I do not necessarily support it, but as you have said sir, some suggestions may be controversial, but it should not stop us from debating it and including it in our list of measures. It is the idea of wiping clean. ‘Merciless killing’ as I hear it is called in the military. Just like what President Obasanjo did in Odi Bayelsa in 1999. I know this may not exactly apply here since the BH insurgents camps has not exactly been determined due to their diffuse and porous nature of attacks, but the idea stands in the case if and where ever they are found. my only fear, just like in Bayelsa is that innocent lives may be affected, this is why I fear this approach, but at last people have been pushed to the wall.
May God help us to deal with these ugly demons that have brought this sadness on Nigeria, and make no mistake, God would pull us through. May the souls of the departed Rest In Peace, and may justice be found for their sake. Let me add again that may Allah bless you Alhaji Atiku for your will for solutions finding rather than criticism. This is why you stand out among the politicians I admire. You are a patriot over being a partisan politician.
JusticeForBornoYobeAdamawaMassacre
Thank You very much sir. You’ve said something very important here. thank you once again.
Firstly, I would like to thank Mr. Atiku for initiating such a forum where all of us can contribute towards finding a solution to this menace. I also acknowledge the efforts of all those who have written and commented on this thread.
Secondly, I would like to propose an idea of how we can create an optimal solution and have it implemented by the government. My proposal is as follows:
1. We should collect all intelligence, proposed solutions and ideas on a platform (such as this one)
2. With a team of experts in security, law and government, we should review those solutions and create a sensible and optimal solution.
3. We should proceed to prepare a step-by-step action plan that could only be implemented to achieve the desired solution.
4. We should then carefully draft a petition to the federal government for action and broadcast it to gather signatures and support through online media, SMS service, tv stations, newspapers et cetera.
PS. It is important that the entire process remains politically neutral. Our government is one that would not respond to a politically motivated movement.
5. We should promote this petition locally and internationally in a non-political manner.
I believe that if we do this right, we would not only achieve the end of our problem of insurgency but also create a sense of unity, commitment and empowerment within ourselves.
Thank you all once again.
I do think the best possible means to bring this to a stop is to stop corruption. When all our leaders re corrupt it will be difficult to handle situations like this because people will want to play politics using bh as a tool for thier own selfish interest. And also I do not believe in people after leaving power they will want recognition by trying to be gud and speaking loud meanwhile when they where in power they took decisions that will only favour them, I will like to see people using thier office for the good of the people just like what sls did when he was still a gov of cbn,
Thank you sir for taking an empathic route on this matter, it is highly appreciated. I have lived a few days of my life in North Eastern Nigeria which is most affected by the insurgent, thanks to NYSC and I moved around alot due to my role play in NCCF.
Our northern borders are beyond porous because they are without control. This includes international, interstate and intrastate borders, unchecked mobility is outrageous and something needs to be done.
One thing that must be fixed is the borders. From my observation, it is possible to drive a tank from Hadejia to Dutse through to Bauchi unnoticed, you just need to know when to move. I have travelled from Mallamadori through Gummel, down to Kano in the early hours of the day severally without seeing another vehicle until I approached Kano, I have done Dutse to Jos through Bauchi, moving for miles without meeting a single block or perhaps sometimes vehicle until I get to town. From Hadejia to Guri Yobe state through Kirikasama is the same experience, you move for miles unchecked and there are quite a number of settlements within this communities. It is thesame in Adamawa, only the town seems to be alive. I have never been to Maiduguri but I am almost sure it is worst over there, taking into consideration the level of activity of the insurgent in the state. The only part of this northen states that breathes some level of monitoring is the town and the sad situation is that this is mostly a single spot in Northern Nigeria and in most case, it’s the capital except in Jigawa state where Hadejia seems to be the hub. Other local governments in northern states except the capitals are mostly villages. What the insurgent enjoys now is the freedom with which they move around in this villages, avoiding the capital as much as they can, they know the terrain and they know when to move and no matter how heavy they move, the road is free for miles in what ever direction they choose to ride. They only attack the town and urban areas with expertise using bombs and suicidal approach but most of the attacks are on unsecured places, schools and villages.
The military needs to work with the people like you rightly suggested sir, they need to work with them to identify routes, major and minor roads that goes into everywhere and a good communication system needs to be built for military emergencies. This guys spend hours in one spot carrying out this dastardly acts and the only thing people can do is tweet about it while it’s going on like the case of Adamawa yesterday… we need a military hotline that is dedicated to this operation.
That means if the Nigerian mitary can’t stop boko haram, the whole nation shld be worried about the safety of lives and properties. Our security officialls needs to be well trained again and again, they should be well paid in order to be focused on their job. As the americans do it there should be a special army members taking for a special training especially for this type of cases. Our secret service should also play a very big role here. Our defence intelligence should play in as well. Finally the whole military is affected heavily by playing politics. They should ne far away from that and focus in more important issue.
In my opinion, the approach to solving the boko haram insurgency is two pronged. Firstly, the government has to understand the structure and modus operandi of boko haram. These people are running a highly funded and well trained organisation. The government needs to trace and cut off their funding both domestically and internationally and also weed out their sleeper members in our society. Secondly the military needs to go back to the drawing board and re strategies to be able to tackle this menace. I sincerely think that we are asking a lot from our military. These people can’t give what they don’t have. Our military is outdated and has to inculcate the strategies of modern warfare and discipline so as to reduce civilian casualties. Furthermore, I humbly disagree with the use of local militias; my reasons being: in a country like ours( still developing) where unemployment is high it is not advisable to arm civilians for any reason because after the problem at hand has been solved a new problem arises i.e how do you get those weapons of the streets as there is no guarantee that the militias will not use those weapons for personal gain, we have seen the aftermath of Libya and also the mend amnesty disarmament programme. Thank you
Interesting read and also refreshing to see a leader so involved with trying to fix this malaise that has continued to plague us. That said, I’ve been doing some research along the lines of the above and despite being your recommendation of the somewhat use of military, I think the use of military as a counterinsurgency strategy should only be taken as a last resort. There is little evidence to show that use of military works. It hasn’t worked in most nations and frankly speaking no proof it will in our country. First and foremost, the strategy should be more focused on dialogue, underatanding both sides and taking compromise where necessary. More importantly however is as you have highlighted the focus on the underlying factors. The north east has the highest illiteracy, unemployment among other things. It is no surprise but also should not be an excuse for the horrific events happening in the region. To end, ” a society where far greater part of its members are poor will hardly flourish and be happy” Adam smith.
In most cases as reported, it took four to five hours or more before any help from the military, the police or whosoever to arrive to the scene. One wonders the type of security government has put in place in such vulnerable areas if there is no immediate and up-to -the -task response.
People in these areas do have cell phones.
Government should set up hot lines and make it available to responsible and trusted people for immediate contact and report of any strange or suspicious movements or people in the area.
Government should be capable of providing security when the life of people and property are under threat at all cost.
The toll this has taken brought to question the readiness and capabilities of Nigeria in case of invasion.
Rumors say this has a political, religious or social links. Whatever the case, Is Nigeria not capable of defending it’s citizens in situations like this?
Tax payers money is being spent on military, police and all security agents.
Of what use are they if they cannot tackle problems like this and bring to book those responsible no matter who or what they are or whose interest they are serving.
am of a divergent opinion in all this, this BH menace is already out of reach to this present clueless Govt. We must stop deceiving ourselves as a people that this war will be won by local militia in collaboration with the soldiers. I don’t personally think so. Any group of aggrieved persons for whatever reason as BH, who now go as far as killing innocent children, the interpretation of such action is that Boko Haram is ready to war with the Nigerian Nation. Therefore we must as a matter of urgency declare timely war against them.
My suggestion on how to win this war with time frame is simple, GEJ should invite NATO NOW before this situation becomes uncontrollable, it is obvious that this sect are more equipped in ammunitions and are better organised than the Nigerian Soldiers if the truth must be told. Am of the view that NATO be invited as a matter of urgency while the indigenes of the volatile states who are in the Army be available to show the way to the obscure parts of the states where this people hold sway.
You don’t dialogue peace with terrorists, you provide the wherewithal to crush them…..
Ayokunle writes from Lagos.
Like I wrote to you earlier on,
1st the service chiefs, including the DG SSS, IG Police, should be given an ultimatum of 3 months or be relieved from their job.
2nd the house gives the presidency 6 months ultimatum to contain the crises or be impeached.
3rd if the above two fail, then the insurgents should be appeased and have the issue resolved, just like it happened in other places like UK.
Also, your solutions can work hand-in-hand with the above pragmatic suggestion.
Government should provide some numbers like 3 or 4 digit numbers for easy memorization so that anybody in Nigeria can call or send text to for free across all network in Nigeria, so that when ever there is any sign of danger, some one can easily alert the police or does in charge of the number for prompt action.
Also houses in the cities, towns, villages, streets all over Nigeria should be properly addressed for easy identification.
Oga, I perfectly agree with your suggestion. Also, there is need for intelligence to be improved, and one way is to really get involved with the locals.
I also think that the federal authorities should declare a full state of emergency and suspend all political office holders. People might argue that this is not right but when we understand the political and religious undertone of this crisis, I think it will be a right decision. But will the federal authorities be ready to do this with 2015 in focus? Iam not sure.
Yeah, for the first time I agree with U Atiku, but some of you guys initially; where using this same guys to dis-stabilized this present government. but I guess it has gone off your hands.
Well, as for the idea you shared, its a good one. The government are also being careful of not training an arm-robbers among the Civilian JTF.
I think some of them could be recruited into military automatically but disguised them among the community as a spize. but this also could be risky as some of the Nigeria Army officers are also giving out information to BH. Its a complicated issue that need an expatriate to analyze and come out with the best solution that befit the Civilian JFT.
Civilian JTF has done very well. I commend their effort so far, many of them lost their lives in the process and others are still standing for peace. They need Arms. let them re-group them and give their leaders training and support for their up-keeping to motivate them.
Honestly speaking I do not think the government and the military are doing enough to quell this insurgency. The government should declare a full scale war on the rebels. Moneys should be appropriated to execute the war,military hardware’s and facilities should be purchased.24 hours surveillance should be carried out on the areas involved,all the northern boarders should be secured. About a hundred manned helicopter with sophisticated weapons will be enough for 24 hours aerial surveillance. I don’t want to believe that the government and the military goes to sleep at night while the citizens are slaughtered. The government should wake up to its primary responsibility of securing lives and properties. No excuses should be given for the killing of Nigerians by these Islamic infidels. We should put all hour expertise and resources towards winning this war,invite the foreigners if we dont have enough expertise and technology to execute the war.
May Allah (SWT) intervene in these senseless killing of innocent souls in my country and world over to stop. May He help the helpless, may he the exalted one accept the Shahada of all the departed souls in these inferno and grant them Aljannatul firdausi.
Amin
The best solution is dialogue #amnesty comittee report should be implemented#secondly securing border areas#thirdly is for our leaders to be faily justice in creating more jobs & be truly accountably#lastly is for Nigerians to dislodge PDP may Allah help us through.
We have the solution but can only be revealed to a sure and secured channel to avoid leakage. The MAFNA! 0812 606 0827.
My own opinion is all security agencies including pra-military to all relocate to border with good housing school hospital social amenities etc then allow only 20% of them around the cities. Our boaders are very poor
You are right Sir, insurgency cannot be fought without the support of the local community as intelligence gathering is very important and we hope that these killings will come to an end. Also there is need for dialogue with the members of the sect so that the problem will come to an end.
I agree with you to some extent, on this sir, but what about creating jobs to our teeming youth in the street and for our leaders to be sincere on what they do and also oppressing the common man because this are some of the reasons why most of our youth join this so called bokoharam if you watch Mohammed Yusufs video when he was alive you will see that he always sighted example with how out leaders a stealing our money in the name of democracy and be oppressing the common man with what clearly we all no is not a legitimate money and so many wrongs our democratic leaders do which is a fact you and I know. And with that kind of arguments he succeeded in recruiting so many of our youth which are either frustrated intelligent graduate or innocent people who are frustrated with our government. These insurgents. Mostly use which and . corrupt countries to papituate, there act. This. Insurgency has taking arewa 30years back .so please sir less stop deceiving ourselve, come out tell ourselves the ugly truth as GOD for forgiveness and do the right thing .All of use but our leaders should start first. Because in everything. Leadership is very important.
Hi everyone, here are my suggestions. Let’s use dialogue strategies to solve this matter. All the stakeholders, businessmen, politicians regardless of any party, government officials, community leaders, council of emirs and obas in all geo-political zones, local government chairmen, council-men committee in all local government areas that concerned, all governors in all geo-political zones and the president of federal republic of nigeria should find means of conducting several meetings on this issue. However, all these groups need to work loyally with Mr. President to control the situations in those areas that concerned. They should make sure that all the resources and information must be distributed simultaneously to the areas that concerned. Also, they should set up the committees that would be incharged of monitoring the resources in order to make sure that, it reaches the people and the concerned areas. Another important thing is that Mr. President, you have to provide the resources or works that would keep the youth in those areas busy in order not to involve or engage and to reduce the evil activities nationwide. May God helps and consoles the families of the students…
This view is very paramount and would be effective. Additionally, the FG should begin to think of reverting to the old system of intelligence gathering before IBB destroyed our security structure and our lives. In Kenya, the people are poor but their institutions work. Intelligence gathering should revert to Police, they live and relate with the people, they will be better placed to process whatever information they gather before the consequences manifests.
What worries us is that, why is that it take several hours for military personal to go to the place that was attacked by the terrors.
Why is that network providers cease their network when there is any attack
My opinion is that all these wouldn’t solve this problem as long as we are unable to identify the enemy,the boko haram menace is beyond what the ordinary Nigerian thinks it is. If eye witness accounts of the recent yobe killings which hhave stated that before the attacks military checkpoint close to the area were withdrawn and the helicopter which hovered around the school earlier on the day of the attacks, the undetected movement of the assailants in large convoys then it is safe to allege that the real enemy could be within the establishment that is saddled with the responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians.
We are in for a long night God bless Nigeria.
I am of the view that an immediate approach to solving this problem includes but not limited to the followings:
1. Complete withdrawal of Nigeria Contingents (troops) from Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Congo, Mali etc and massive redeployment to all affected areas instead of wasting citizens life in Nigeria and claiming super power outside the shores of our Land.
2. Stop engaging troops seeking employment but, soldiers and men ready to die for the Unity of this great Nations. The manner at which our troops are engaged now is not in line with the reason for which the Armed Forces was established. Until the idea of God fatherism, job seekers etc is totally eliminated in the recruitment, the present men and women engaged will continue act like any other civilian in the street.
3. The Federal government has to do it part by paying all benefits of slain soldiers and officers who sacrifice their lives for the unity of this great nations timely and stress free. No soldier/officer will want to do sacrifice after seeing what the families of deceased soldiers pass through to get their benefits after dead. No body, i mean NO ONE will ever make such commitment if the Federal Government does not improve in this area.
4. Security Information Management. This is very paramount and must be treated with top most secrecy and confidentiality. You must learn how to protect the source and medium of your information gathering.
5. Prayers we all say is the key. So we all must come together in unity to pray to God for his intervention as the prince of peace.
first and foremost,let GEJ prosecute all known and indicted sponsors of boko haram.furthermore,let guns and tazers be legalized in Nigeria for self protection and personal security of individuals.Let not the populace be left at the mercy of a dare-devil insurgent all because he has something others do not have.internal security should not be left for the government alone and we should all be a stakeholder,right from the grassroot..
Its high time our elites from the north stop politicizing this boko haram menace and unite with local volunteer to put it to an end, because president goodluck can’t succeed in this alone, when I hear buhari saying since the federal govt don’t want to create job and fight corruption and poverty that’s why boko haram are killing and destroying, how do we relate the killing of school children to unemployment and poverty, since they knw federal govt effort is not good enough, how many times have the likes of Atiku, el-rufai, nyako, shettima and the rest of them ever call for a strategic meetings with local villiagers, chiefs and religions leaders on ways to curb this menace. instead they are always ready to critize and condemn the govt after every attack, just to score cheap political point. Security is every bodys business all hands must be on deck..
Highly commendable sir, if only the high and mights in nig. can see and analyse the insurgence the way you do, i stongly believe that , the menance would be solved. Lets support Atiku,for he is ready to see that this come to an end. Thank you once again sir.
Crushing the present day Boko Haram is not negotiable and every means necessary MUST be explored to fight this evil but there is alot more that needs to be crushed if we are never to experience this kind of menace again in our country. I believe sir that you know that BH is only the re-incarnation of “Mai Tatsine” its predecessor that tormented Nigeria for decades before it was finally crushed during the days of Shehu Shagari if I am correct. If we concentrate solely on crushing and not totally uprooting, someday the sect will rise again more violently with another man and another name.
BH is not just a menace, but a cancerworm that feeds on the naivety of young northerners in its ambition to incapacitate and destroy the Nigerian state, and if we must win this war, we must sabotage its source of manpower by re-engineering the religious bias in the mind of an average northerner, present value worth living for and present the beauty of Islam in its true form and not the bigoted form instilled in an average northerner from childhood which form the basis of their belief and perception, leaving a huge dearth that creates religious intolerance and room for violence.
To extinguish the current flames of violence, a tactical approach is required. I have made mention of the issue of porous international, interstate and intrastate borders in the north and suggested the use of locals in mapping the terrains and stoically engaging the insurgent by taking the battle to them instead of waiting for them to attack, but if we are to totally eliminate the springing up Islamic insurgents and terrorist groups, we must revisit the content of what our children in the north are fed with in the name of Islamic studies in formal Islamic schools and the almajeri system.
Teachers are the backbones of any nation because they are responsible for shaping and nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. In Northern Nigeria, a good percentage of the children are given the basic Islamic education in formal and informal institutions while other forms of education are given less priority because religion is heavily woven into the fabrics of the daily being of the people. How I wish the real truth and beauty of Islam is taught at this foundational stage to ensure proper understanding of the tenets of Islam the Religion of Peace, but reverse is the case. The truths of Islam are taught sparingly while the extreme values are hammered in to create a bias, lies are peddled about other belief systems and religions while soldiers are raised instead of followers of God. Every other thing is left to fate under the demeaning excuse of “Qadr” (The will of God).
Most of the Imams and Alfas training these children in the Almajeri School as well as structured institution are religious fanatics who learnt and grew up in a similar system; they fine-tune the message of peace and replace it with war, teach young children lies about other religions, and instill in them zero tolerance for others believe systems from a very young age. This foundation creates a very large loophole that can be easily and readily explored for personal gains by any figure regarded as an elite, spiritual or traditional leader in the northern society and the Boko Haram insurgent depends majorly on these loopholes to fuel its unholy crusade, using the opium of the people as the tool of approach in recruiting young Nigerians into its fold. They twist doctrines and use it to drive the already synthesized passion of an average Hausa/Fulani youth into believing that they are doing the will and purpose of God but instead, use them to service personal business or political purposes of northern elites, traditional rulers, politicians or CAN (tandem with Mai Tatsine).
I will share my personal experiences to highlight the facts. I was privileged to have served in Jigawa state and I experienced a few nonviolent confrontation from this children at various times (until after the 2011 elections). I was daring and they loved the fresh fun I approach in my teaching style, more diagrams, more real life examples, less notes so they kept coming to me to ask questions or share an idea. A particular thirteen years old boy “Ameen”, one of my favourite Computer Studies student approached me and gave me this revealing advice. He was straight to the point.
“Uncle I want you to learn Hausa language and become a practicing Muslim because Islam is the ultimate religion and Hausa is the language of power here in Nigeria”.
I wasn’t surprised though but I still had to ask him where he got his ideology from, and he laughed and told me…
” We (Hausa’s/Fulani’s–the North) owns Nigeria and the Holy Quoran places us (Muslims) above all others… Uncle, learn Hausa language mana and I will introduce you to my daddy, I like you uncle walahi”.
His spoken English was presumably the best among all my students so I went to the principal’s office to find out more about him because he seems to be far more refined that the others. His file was revealing. He had attended a proper Islamic primary school, and he had some private education with a regular academic curriculum along with it. I found out that his father was a cleric and a chieftain, an elder in Hadejia. If a child with normal basic education and privileges had been instilled with the idea of ethnicity and religious supremacy, imagine what those children lost in the normal roofless Almajeri System are being thought and fed everyday? Extreme! Religious! Values!. After the 2011 election result was released in April, this wonderful children led the onslaught that chased me out of Jigawa state. Some of my co-youth corpers were flogged out of their quarters, macheted and stabbed by the student they were teaching in junior and senior secondary school, churches were burnt down, southerners were killed and even non Hausa Muslims were flogged and burnt because they were regarded as pagans. All of these are obviously a confirmation of what little Ameen told me, Ownership and Religious Supremacy. The good part of this is that this violence and senseless killings was not incited by BH, it was incited by the nature and culture of Northern Nigeria as defined by Alfas, Imams, Teachers, Leaders (Religious and Traditional) and Builders.
I also met a particular postmaster in Nguru, Yobe state in Jigawa who told me the tales of what he was thought about Christianity as a child through the normal Islamic schools that he attended by his Alfas, and how they were made to believe Christians gatherings are sexual orgies. He stumbled on the truth during a holiday trip to Kano with his friend’s immediately after secondary school when he attended a church service with his friend out of curiousity, he waited for the sexual orgies to start but none happened, he attended a few more maybe he would get lucky to see the profanity he was thought as a child about Christianity but he never did, he’s still attending till today. If these stories are true for Jigawa and Yobe, then they are probably true for the rest of Northern Nigeria.
Most youth’s and children in the north grow up impoverished, lacking any expedient skill or refined education because they’ve been locked and stunted within the northern “status quo” of subsistence farming and strong religious predisposition. This deficiency makes them vulnerable to false religious scholars, and their already crooked foundation gives way to religious emotional attachment and traditional believe of Hausa/Fulani supremacy in the Nigerian State. They fall for the lies of the extremists that rides the waves of religion, bringing with them a heavy bowl of food, and weapon for the ultimate domination, perhaps with promises of virgins in the life after if they are lucky enough to die during the course of the unholy crusades labeled “Jihad”.
THE WAY OUT
If we must rid of BH from the root, the right approach will be to direct our energy and resources towards refining the Basic Northern Educational System from ground up. The walls of the current decadent northern basic educational system are hard and tall, but they are penetrable using the underlying principles keeping it firm, Islam. Nothing else appears more charming to a northerner than religion.
What we need is new educational platform that readily absorbs the existing lot that are everywhere doing nothing, going round like time bombs ready to explode, introduce them to value driven engagements and reintroduce them to the truth and beauty of Islam so that they can find value in self, and put a new meaning to life.
This new institution will be chaperoned by a new crop of Islamic scholars and teachers that are grounded in the truths of Islam, and their training will be structured to infiltrate the twisted belief system that is dominant in this young people, directing them beauty of this wonderful religion of peace. This new institution will not replace the existing educational system totally in the beginning, but rather inject the truth tenets of Islam and other value driven knowledge back into the foundation and building blocks of Northern Nigeria while running concurrently with existing system through a confab system until it grows into redefining the nature and nurturing the future of the north and Nigeria in the end.
The platform should be institutionalized to accommodate and absorb adolescents that are already out of school (mostly fresh out of junior secondary because a lot of them don’t go beyond that level), train them on vocational skill, and continue with them on religious and formal education to ensure a proper grooming and development.
The institution should also adopt the approach of developmental teaching using religious tools by identifying and highlighting the developmental values of formal education with examples of events in the Holy Quran. For example, the building of the beautiful Mecca and Medina through appreciation of modern architecture and technology, the building of ships and maps how it aided the prophets in travelling and taking Islam to various nations of the earth through the appreciation of Engineering etc… This will help redefine education as education, and not western education, creating a new interest in the people and removing the warped perception that getting educated is against the will of Allah.
Incentives must also be offered to make the truth more attractive, opportunity to study Islamic Studies, Engineering, Computing etc in formal institutions located the Middle East and Arabian Gulf through scholarships and sponsorship should also espoused for this purpose.
A foundational system that combines the real basic Islamic and formal education at the primary level so as to ensure a thorough integral foundation of the children.
I initiated a programme under the umbrella of Lead2Read Africa in Hadejia sometimes in 2010 while serving, but the post election violence truncated it… I believe we can do more if the people know right from wrong…
Babaolowo wrote in from Lagos.
Is obvious the armies are not winning against boko haram, am of the suggestion the government should go and buy robots to fight them, with that they will be able to trace them to where ever they are hiding and deal with them once and for all.
good one sir